Ruth 4 | |
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Book | Book of Ruth |
Hebrew Bible part | Five Megillot |
Order in the Hebrew part | 2 |
Category | Ketuvim |
Christian Bible part | Old Testament |
Order in the Christian part | 8 |
Ruth 4 is the fourth (and the last) chapter of the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible, [1][2] part of the Ketuvim ("Writings").[3][4] This chapter contains the story of how Boaz goes up to the city gate, calls his kinsman; inquires whether he would redeem and marry Ruth, Ruth 4:1-5. He refuses, Ruth 4:6-8. Boaz, with the people witnessing and congratulating, buys the inheritance, and marries Ruth, Ruth 4:9-12. She gave birth to Obed the grandfather of King David, Ruth 4:13-17. The genealogy from Perez (Pharez) to David, Ruth 4:18-22.[5]
The original text was written in Hebrew language. This chapter is divided into 22 verses.
Some early witnesses for the text of this chapter in Hebrew are of the Masoretic Text, which includes the Aleppo Codex (10th century) and Codex Leningradensis (1008).[6] Some fragments containing parts of this chapter were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, i.e., 2Q16 (2QRutha; ~50 CE) with extant verses 3‑4,[7][8][9] with only slight variations from the Masoretic Text.[10]
There is also a translation into Koine Greek known as the Septuagint, made in the last few centuries BC. Extant ancient manuscripts of the Septuagint version include Codex Vaticanus (B; B; 4th century), and Codex Alexandrinus (A; A; 5th century).[11][a]
Three sections of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) — Judges 17–18, Judges 19–21, Ruth 1–4 — form a trilogy with a link to the city Bethlehem of Judah and characterized by the repetitive unique statement:[13]
as in the following chart:[14]
Judges 17–18 | Judges 19–20 | Ruth 1–4 |
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A Levite of Bethlehem (17:7) | A Levite of Ephraim who took as his maiden a concubine from Bethlehem | A movement from a Moabite to David in Bethlehem (4:17-22) |
Left to seek employment (17:7, 9) | Received his concubine from Bethlehem to which she had fled | A man left Bethlehem, but unlike the other two stories does not ultimately deface the town, but enhances its name |
Came to a young man of Ephraim (Micah) (17:1-5, 8) | Returned to Ephraim by way of Gibeah of Benjamin | Bethlehem became the subtle setting for the birthplace of King David |
Served as a private chaplain in Micah’s illicit chapel (17:10-13) | Set upon by evil men who brutalized her and left her for dead | |
Hired by the tribe of Dan as a priest and relocated in Laish (N. Galilee) | Her husband related the event to all of Israel (cut up) | |
Established a cult center which continually caused God’s people to stumble | They attacked the tribe of Benjamin almost annihilating it | |
The Levite was Jonathan the son of Gershom and the grandson of Moses (18:30) | Repopulated Benjamin with women from Shiloh and Jabesh Gilead for the 600 surviving men of Benjamin | |
Jabesh-Gilead was (probably) the home of Saul’s ancestors [thus his interest in it] | ||
Reflects badly on Benjamin and by implication Saul--Saul’s ancestors humiliated and disgraced a Bethlehemite | ||
Bethlehem suffered at the hands of Benjaminites |
Verses 18–22 contains a genealogy Perez (son of Judah) to David with names which, on literary grounds, "form a counterpart to the tragic names" in Ruth chapter 1.[34]
Perez | |||||||||||||||||
Hezron | |||||||||||||||||
Ram | |||||||||||||||||
Amminadab | |||||||||||||||||
Nahshon | |||||||||||||||||
Salmon | |||||||||||||||||
Boaz | |||||||||||||||||
Obed | |||||||||||||||||
Jesse | |||||||||||||||||
David | |||||||||||||||||