Ruth 4:15
in Ruth 4He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given him birth.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he shall be unto thee a restorer of life, and a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law, who loveth thee, who is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne him.
KJV
And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath born him.
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This verse in Ruth 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseThy life - That is, of the comfort of thy life. Born him - Or, hath born to him; that is, to thy kinsman a son. Better than seven sons - See how God sometimes makes up the want of those relations from whom we expected most comfort, in those from whom we expected least!
This site's exposition
Then the women said to Naomi
on Ruth 4:14-15
The women bless the LORD before the woman who asked at 1:20 to be called Mara, and give the newborn the title "kinsman-redeemer", held by Boaz since 3:9. "He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age" answers her summary at 1:21. Seven sons marks a full house, as at Job 1:2, and a Moabite daughter-in-law is "better to you than seven sons".
This site's exposition
better to you than seven sons
Seven sons was the full measure of blessing, as Hannah's song says at 1 Samuel 2:5. The women give Ruth that rank in Naomi's life. John Wesley remarks that God often supplies comfort through the relative from whom it was least expected.
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 Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life,....
The bonds of love prove stronger than those of nature, and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother; so here there was a daughter-in-law better than an own child. See what wisdom and grace will do. Now here, (1.) The child is named by the neighbours,
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
"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.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
"And she nourished." It means to care for and sustain, as in the phrase "And Joseph nourished his father." Some also interpret it as "to provide," as in "And who will provide for the day of his coming."
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
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהָ֤יָה | vehayah | and he will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָךְ֙ | lokh | for <the> you | ||
| לְמֵשִׁ֣יב | lemeshiv | <into> [one who] restores | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| נֶ֔פֶשׁ | nefesh | life | H5315 → | |
| וּלְכַלְכֵּ֖ל | ulekhalkel | and to sustain | H3557 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שֵׂיבָתֵ֑ךְ | seivatekh | old age your | H7872 → | |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כַלָּתֵ֤ךְ | khalatekh | daughter-in-law your | H3618 → | 34 times |
| אֲֽשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֲהֵבַ֙תֶךְ֙ | ʾahevatekh | she loves you | H157 → | |
| יְלָדַ֔תּוּ | yeladatu | she has given birth to him | H3205 → | 496 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | who | H834 → | 5497 times |
| הִיא֙ | hi' | she | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| ט֣וֹבָה | toah | [is] good | H2896 → | 538 times |
| לָ֔ךְ | lakh | to <the> you | ||
| מִשִּׁבְעָ֖ה | mishivah | more than seven | H7651 → | |
| בָּנִֽים׃ | banim | sons | H1121 → | 4930 times |
וְהָ֤יָהand he will become
vehayahH1961 →3559 times
לָךְ֙for <the> you
lokh
לְמֵשִׁ֣יב<into> [one who] restores
lemeshivH7725 →1056 times
נֶ֔פֶשׁlife
nefeshH5315 →
וּלְכַלְכֵּ֖לand to sustain
ulekhalkelH3557 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שֵׂיבָתֵ֑ךְold age your
seivatekhH7872 →
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
כַלָּתֵ֤ךְdaughter-in-law your
khalatekhH3618 →34 times
אֲֽשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
אֲהֵבַ֙תֶךְ֙she loves you
ʾahevatekhH157 →
יְלָדַ֔תּוּshe has given birth to him
yeladatuH3205 →496 times
אֲשֶׁר־who
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
הִיא֙she
hi'H1931 →1879 times
ט֣וֹבָה[is] good
toahH2896 →538 times
לָ֔ךְto <the> you
lakh
מִשִּׁבְעָ֖הmore than seven
mishivahH7651 →
בָּנִֽים׃sons
banimH1121 →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 55:22Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
it leads to
- 1 Peter 5:7
Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
- Psalms 37:5
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.
- Philippians 4:6–7
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
- Matthew 6:25
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more…
- Psalms 62:6
He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will not be shaken.
- 1 Peter 5:7
Through
Isaiah 46:4Even to your old age, I will be the same, and I will bear you up when you turn gray. I have made you, and I will carry you; I will sustain you and…
it leads to
- Psalms 71:18
Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.
- Psalms 48:14
For this God is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even till death.
- Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- Psalms 71:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Ruth
This page draws on Ephrem the Syrian, HYMNS ON THE NATIVITY 9.12-16; 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.