Ruth 4:21
in Ruth 4Salmon was the father of Boaz, Boaz was the father of Obed,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
KJV
And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
⋯
This verse in Ruth 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd Salmon begat Boaz,.... Of Rahab the harlot, whom he married, Mat 1:5 the very same person that makes a principal part of this book, and whom the Targum here takes to be the judge Ibzan; see Gill on Rth 1:1. and Boaz begat Obed; of Ruth; of whom see the preceding verses.
This site's exposition
And Salmon begat Boaz
on Ruth 4:21-22
Ruth never names the mother of Boaz and Matthew 1:5 does, saying Salmon begat Booz of Rachab, so a Canaanite woman of Jericho and a Moabite widow stand in one verse of the line of Christ. Albert Barnes suggests that a man whose own mother came in from outside Israel may have been readier to marry a woman who did the same, and he offers it as a suggestion rather than as something the text states. This same list is given four times in Scripture, here and at 1 Chronicles 2:10-12, Matthew 1:3-6 and Luke 3:32-33. A book that opened in the days when the judges ruled closes on the name of a king, and 1 Samuel 16 takes it up from there.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
8 Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for thee. Boaz calls a court immediately. It is probable he was himself one of the elders (or aldermen) of the city; for he was a mighty man of wealth.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Salmon begat Boaz - Matthew has preserved the additional interesting information that the mother of Boaz was Rahab Josh. 2; 6. It is possible that the circumstance that the mother of Boaz was a Canaanite may have made him less indisposed to marry Ruth the Moabitess. As regards the whole genealogy in Rth 4:18-22, it should be remarked that it occurs four times in Scripture, namely, here, 1Ch 2:10-12; Mat 1:3-6; and Luk 3:32-33, and is of course of singular importance as being the genealogy of our Lord. One or two difficulties in it still remain unsolved.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
these are the generations of Pharez--that is, his descendants. This appendix shows that the special object contemplated by the inspired author of this little book was to preserve the memory of an interesting domestic episode, and to trace the genealogy of David.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
And Salmon begat Boaz - The Targum goes on, “And Salmon begat Absan the judge; he is Boaz the Just, on account of whose righteousness the people of the house of Israel were redeemed from the hands of their enemies; and at whose supplication the famine departed from the land of Israel.” And Boaz begat Obed - “Who served the Lord in this world with a perfect heart.”
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשַׂלְמוֹן֙ | vesalmon | and Salmon | H8012 → | |
| הוֹלִ֣יד | holid | he fathered | H3205 → | 496 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֹּ֔עַז | boaz | Boaz | H1162 → | 24 times |
| וּבֹ֖עַז | uvoaz | and Boaz | H1162 → | 24 times |
| הוֹלִ֥יד | holid | he fathered | H3205 → | 496 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עוֹבֵֽד׃ | oved | Obed | H5744 → | 10 times |
וְשַׂלְמוֹן֙and Salmon
vesalmonH8012 →
הוֹלִ֣ידhe fathered
holidH3205 →496 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בֹּ֔עַזBoaz
boazH1162 →24 times
וּבֹ֖עַזand Boaz
uvoazH1162 →24 times
הוֹלִ֥ידhe fathered
holidH3205 →496 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עוֹבֵֽד׃Obed
ovedH5744 →10 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
Matthew 1:5Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, Obed the father of Jesse,
it leads to
- Ruth 1:16–17
But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be…
- Hebrews 11:31
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies in peace, did not perish with those who were disobedient.
- James 2:25
In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute justified by her actions when she welcomed the spies and sent them off on another route?
- Joshua 6:22–25
Meanwhile, Joshua told the two men who had spied out the land, “Go into the house of the prostitute and bring out the woman and all who are with her, just as you promised…
- Ruth 1:4
who took Moabite women as their wives, one named Orpah and the other named Ruth. And after they had lived in Moab about ten years,
- Ruth 1:16–17
Through
Luke 3:32the son of Jesse, the son of Obed, the son of Boaz, the son of Sala, the son of Nahshon,
it leads to
- Ruth 4:18–22
Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,
- Isaiah 11:1–2
Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
- Matthew 1:3–6
Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
- Ruth 4:18–22
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; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.