Ruth 4:12
in Ruth 4And may your house become like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring the LORD will give you by this young woman.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and let thy house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which Jehovah shall give thee of this young woman.
KJV
And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman.
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This verse in Ruth 4
Commentary
8 notes on this verseLike the house of Pharez - This was very appropriate; for from Pharez, the son of Judah, by Tamar, came the family of the Beth-lehemites and that of Elimelech.
This site's exposition
We are witnesses
on Ruth 4:11-12
The elders name Rachel and Leah over a Moabite bride, and Genesis 35:19 buries Rachel on the way to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem. Micah 5:2 names the same town by the same double name. The blessing also names "Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah", one irregular line set over another, and the genealogy ending the chapter starts from Perez as the answer to this prayer.
This site's exposition
like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah
Adam Clarke notes that the Bethlehem families, Elimelech's among them, came from Perez. John Wesley adds that the house of Perez became one of the chief families of Judah. Tamar too was a widow who bore Judah an heir.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
It was an old custom that if a groom wished to divorce his bride he took off his sandal and this was the sign of the divorce. Consequently, he was ordered to take off his sandals, lest he approach the church wearing sandals like a …
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Pharez - As honourable and numerous as his family was; whom, though be also was born of a stranger, God so blessed, that his family was one of the five families to which all the tribe of Judah belonged, and the progenitor of the inhabitants of this city.
And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah,....
The senior elder, it is likely, made this prayer, and the rest of the elders, with the people, joined in it, and therefore it is spoken of as made by them all; for in public prayers, though but one speaks, we must all pray. Observe, (1.) Marriages ought to be blessed, and accompanied with prayer, because every creature and every condition are that to us, and no more, that God makes them to be.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
let thy house be like the house of Pharez--that is, as honorable and numerous as his. He was the ancestor of the Beth-lehem people, and his family one of the five from which the tribe of Judah sprang.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Like the house of Peretz. From whom they were descended. 9 Otherwise they should have blessed Bo’az to be like Ephrayim and Menashe.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Like Rachel and like Leah. Even though they were from the tribe of Yehudah and of the descendants of Leah, they conceded that Rachel was the mainstay of the household and they mentioned Rachel before Leah. 8 Alternatively, the blessing was for (Naomi)[Ruth] who was the daughter of idolaters.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וִיהִ֤י | vihi | so may it be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בֵֽיתְךָ֙ | veitekha | household your | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| כְּבֵ֣ית | keveit | like [the] household of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| פֶּ֔רֶץ | peretz | Perez | H6557 → | 15 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | whom | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יָלְדָ֥ה | yaldah | she bore | H3205 → | 496 times |
| תָמָ֖ר | tamar | Tamar | H8559 → | |
| לִֽיהוּדָ֑ה | lihudah | to Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַזֶּ֗רַע | hazera' | the offspring | H2233 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֨ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| יִתֵּ֤ן | yiten | he will give | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לְךָ֔ | lekha | to <the> you | ||
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַֽנַּעֲרָ֖ה | hanaarah | the young woman | H5291 → | 63 times |
| הַזֹּֽאת׃ | hazot | <the> this | H2063 → | 603 times |
וִיהִ֤יso may it be
vihiH1961 →3559 times
בֵֽיתְךָ֙household your
veitekhaH1004 →2046 times
כְּבֵ֣יתlike [the] household of
keveitH1004 →2046 times
פֶּ֔רֶץPerez
peretzH6557 →15 times
אֲשֶׁר־whom
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
יָלְדָ֥הshe bore
yaldahH3205 →496 times
תָמָ֖רTamar
tamarH8559 →
לִֽיהוּדָ֑הto Judah
lihudahH3063 →819 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַזֶּ֗רַעthe offspring
hazera'H2233 →
אֲשֶׁ֨רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
יִתֵּ֤ןhe will give
yitenH5414 →2011 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לְךָ֔to <the> you
lekha
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַֽנַּעֲרָ֖הthe young woman
hanaarahH5291 →63 times
הַזֹּֽאת׃<the> this
hazotH2063 →603 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Chronicles 2:4Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, bore to him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.
it leads to
- Matthew 1:3
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 38:13–30
When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
- Matthew 1:3
Through
Genesis 38:29But when he pulled his hand back and his brother came out, she said, “You have broken out first!” So he was named Perez.
it leads to
- Genesis 46:12
The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 2:4
Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, bore to him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.
- Numbers 26:20
These were the descendants of Judah by their clans: The Shelanite clan from Shelah, the Perezite clan from Perez, and the Zerahite clan from Zerah.
- Genesis 46:12
Through
Matthew 1:3Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
it leads to
- Genesis 38:29–30
But when he pulled his hand back and his brother came out, she said, “You have broken out first!” So he was named Perez.
- Genesis 38:24–27
About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”
- 1 Chronicles 4:1
The descendants of Judah: Perez, Hezron, Carmi, Hur, and Shobal.
- Genesis 38:29–30
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Ruth
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Isidore of Seville, ON RUTH; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.