Ruth 4:13
in Ruth 4So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife. And when he had relations with her, the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in unto her, and Jehovah gave her conception, and she bare a son.
KJV
So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bare a son.
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This verse in Ruth 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseSo Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife,.... Without any other rites or ceremonies than what are here expressed; for as yet the rites and ceremonies now in use with the Jews (o), in marriages had not obtained: and when he went in unto her; which is a modest expression of the conjugal duty performed him: the Lord gave her conception; for this is of God, let the circumstance of the person, as to age, be as it may: and she bare a son; at the year's end, as Josephus (p) relates, (o) Vid. Buxtorf. Synagog. Jud. c.
This site's exposition
So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife
God is reported acting twice in the book, giving his people food at 1:6 and here enabling conception, and people keeping faith do everything between. Deuteronomy 23:3 bars a Moabite from the assembly, and the book neither cites nor argues it. Adam Clarke and John Gill report Jewish readings limiting the bar to Moabite men or to Moabites who kept their gods, and Ruth left hers at 1:16.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Let Tamar rejoice that her Lord has come, for her name announced the son of her Lord, and her appellation called you to come to her.By you honorable women made themselves contemptible, [you] the One who makes all chaste. She stole you at the crossroads, …
The Medieval Church1 voice
And Boaz begat Obed of Ruth. Ruth was a foreigner, but nevertheless she was married to Boaz. So, too, the church is from among the Gentiles. For like Ruth, these Gentiles had been foreigners and outside the covenants, yet they forsook their people, their idols …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Took Ruth - Which he might do, though she was a Moabite, because the prohibition against marrying such, is to be restrained to those who continue Heathens; whereas Ruth was a sincere proselyte and convert to the God of Israel. Thus he that forsakes all for Christ, shall find more than all with him.
Prayer to God attended the birth of the child. What a pity it is that such pious language should either be disused among Christians or degenerate into a formality. " Blessed be the Lord that has sent thee this grandson,"
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
So Boaz took Ruth - The law of Moses had prohibited the Moabites, even to the tenth generation, from entering into the congregation of the Lord; but this law, the Jews think, did not extend to women; and even if it had, Ruth’s might be considered an exempt case, as she had been already incorporated into the family by marriage; and left her own country, people, and gods, to become a proselyte to the true God in the land of Israel.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
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 ▾
"That he will not leave to you an empty one as a redeemer." The reason being that the name of the deceased would be established upon his inheritance.
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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֨ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| בֹּ֤עַז | boaz | Boaz | H1162 → | 24 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| רוּת֙ | rut | Ruth | H7327 → | 12 times |
| וַתְּהִי־ | vatehi- | and she became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| ל֣וֹ | lo | of him | ||
| לְאִשָּׁ֔ה | leishah | <into> a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
| וַיָּבֹ֖א | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֵלֶ֑יהָ | ʾeleiha | into her | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וַיִּתֵּ֨ן | vaiyiten | and he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| יְהוָ֥ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| לָ֛הּ | lah | to <the> her | ||
| הֵרָי֖וֹן | herayon | conception | H2032 → | |
| וַתֵּ֥לֶד | vateled | and she bore | H3205 → | 496 times |
| בֵּֽן׃ | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
וַיִּקַּ֨חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
בֹּ֤עַזBoaz
boazH1162 →24 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
רוּת֙Ruth
rutH7327 →12 times
וַתְּהִי־and she became
vatehi-H1961 →3559 times
ל֣וֹof him
lo
לְאִשָּׁ֔ה<into> a wife
leishahH802 →781 times
וַיָּבֹ֖אand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
אֵלֶ֑יהָinto her
ʾeleihaH413 →5510 times
וַיִּתֵּ֨ןand he gave
vaiyitenH5414 →2011 times
יְהוָ֥הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
לָ֛הּto <the> her
lah
הֵרָי֖וֹןconception
herayonH2032 →
וַתֵּ֥לֶדand she bore
vateledH3205 →496 times
בֵּֽן׃a son
benH1121 →4930 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
Psalms 127:3Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 1:27
I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 128:3–4
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table.
- Deuteronomy 28:4
The fruit of your womb will be blessed, as well as the produce of your land and the offspring of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
- Genesis 48:4
and told me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you; I will make you a multitude of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you as an everlasting possession.’
- Genesis 33:5
When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?” Jacob answered, “These are the children God has graciously given your servant.”
- 1 Samuel 1:27
Through
Ruth 3:11And now do not be afraid, my daughter. I will do for you whatever you request, since all my fellow townspeople know that you are a woman of noble character.
it leads to
- Proverbs 31:29–31
“Many daughters have done noble things, but you surpass them all!”
- Proverbs 31:10
A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.
- Proverbs 31:29–31
Through
Genesis 33:5When Esau looked up and saw the women and children, he asked, “Who are these with you?” Jacob answered, “These are the children God has graciously given your servant.”
it leads to
- Psalms 127:3
Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 127:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Ruth
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ephrem the Syrian, HYMNS ON THE NATIVITY 9.12-16; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, EXPLANATION OF MATTHEW 1.3-4.