e. Marriage and the birth of a son (Ruth 4:13–17)
e. Marriage and the birth of a son (Ruth 4:13–17)
13. The court case over, Boaz proceeded to wed Ruth. Was of AV might be better rendered became (as RV and RSV), for the verse is speaking of the process rather than the continuing state. Went in unto her (AV, RV) is the usual Old Testament expression for sexual relations. Notice that the son that was born is regarded as God’s gift. Throughout this book there is the consistent thought that God is over all and works out his will. We have just seen that the elders and others regarded children as God’s gift (4:12) and we see the same thought now from the author.
14. It is interesting to notice that it is Naomi who is featured in the closing scene, not Ruth. The women of the city are delighted at the birth of the child. We have previously seen their interest when they met Naomi on her return to Bethlehem (1:19). They come to her now rather than to Ruth possibly because they know her so much better, possibly because she is the one with the greater need of companionship. After all Ruth has a husband and a child to occupy her attention. The women congratulate Naomi, but consistently with what we have seen through the book, they ascribe what has happened to the hand of the Lord. Blessed be the Lord was a usual way of expressing thankfulness. The oldest Jewish form of prayer known to us (admittedly much more recent than this) is called ‘the Eighteen Benedictions’ because each prayer begins with ‘Blessed art Thou, O Lord’. Yet, though this may be a conventional form of expression we should not miss the significance it has in this narrative. Our author does not go out of his way to stress the divine activity. Apparently he is concerned with a story of human activities and he tells it much as other stories were told. But it is basic to him that God is over all men and all things, and that he brings his plans to pass. So in this book now and then an expression of this sort allows us to see that it is God who is the principal participant. He it is who has given Naomi the blessing. The reason given for the thanksgiving is that God has not left Naomi without a kinsman (AV). Up till now we should have thought that kinsman (AV, RV) would refer to Boaz, but this statement carries on till it culminates at the end of the next verse with a reference to Ruth’s having borne him. This makes it plain that the women are speaking about the new baby. God has sent the child to be Naomi’s kinsman (Knox, an heir). That his name … (AV) should probably be as RSV, may his name … It is a prayer that the child would become famous, just as the men have previously prayed for the same thing for Boaz (4:11).
15. The women prophesy that the child will mean much to Naomi. Restorer of life (there is no ‘thy’ in the Hebrew as in AV) probably has little specific meaning. It is a general term of good (cf. Ps. 19:7; Lam. 1:16). There may be a hint at her poverty since returning from Moab, but it is difficult to make much of this since Boaz must have been looking after her for quite some time now. There may be more to be said for a nourisher of thine old age (AV, RV). Boaz was not young (3:10) and it is probable that by the time Naomi was old he would have died and she would be dependent on the son of Ruth. But again we are probably not meant to look too closely into the term. It expresses a hope for the future, and one not to be too narrowly defined. The women now go on to the reason for their hope. They put a certain emphasis on the word daughter in law (after kî one expects the verb before the subject, but here the subject comes first). The daughter-in-law they characterize as one who loveth thee (AV, RV). The love of Ruth for her mother-in-law shines through this book and it is appropriate that it be given this recognition at the end. The tribute, which is better to thee than seven sons (AV, RV; cf. 1 Sam. 1:8), is all the more striking in view of the place usually given boys in comparison with girls. A numerous male progeny was the ambition of all married people and thus to speak of Ruth as being worth more to Naomi than seven sons is the supreme tribute. For seven sons as proverbial for a perfect family, cf. 1 Samuel 2:5.
16. As was only to be expected Naomi took a special interest in the baby. She took it up in her arms, laid it in her bosom, and became nurse unto it (AV, RV). One imagines that there would have been no difficulty in obtaining a nurse for the son of Boaz. But for Naomi this child was special. She had expected a lonely old age when her husband and sons died. With none of those near to her left her future had indeed looked bleak. But thanks to Ruth’s devotion everything was now different. She belonged to a family once more. She was loved and she had a recognized place. The babe in a sense symbolized it all, and Naomi gave herself over to caring for him. For the symbolism, cf. Numbers 11:12. It indicates that Naomi recognized the child as in some sense hers (cf. verse 17 where the neighbours say this in so many words).
17. The women of the village did not cease their interest when they pronounced their blessing on Naomi (Ruth 4:14f.). They took an interest in how the baby should be named, and, indeed, actually gave it a name (AV, RV). They first pronounced, There is a son born to Naomi (AV, RV), and in the way families were reckoned this was indeed the case. The child was in effect the son of Mahlon, and thus, though Ruth was not her daughter, Ruth’s boy counted as Naomi’s descendant. Knox’s translation understands the situation otherwise: Noemi took the child to her bosom, and still it must be she that nursed him, she that carried him, till the neighbours, congratulating her, said It is Noemi that has a son. But this is reading something into the Hebrew. AV and RV give the sense of it better. It is possible also that the expression should be understood along the lines that Boaz was primarily gō’ēl to Elimelech (4:3, 9). He should accordingly have married Naomi to raise up a child to Elimelech. However, since she was too old Ruth was a substitute and the child in a sense was Naomi’s. Gerleman understands Naomi to have adopted the child and he compares the way the children of Bilhah and Zilpah were ‘adopted’ by Rachel and Leah. This, however, does seem to be reading something into the narrative, which is more naturally explained along the lines we have suggested. Moreover, Naomi is specifically said to be the child’s nurse (4:16) which would be a very strange way of describing her relationship to a child she had adopted. Rudolph aptly comments that Naomi’s is an act of love, not of law. L. P. Smith in IB thinks that 4:16 ‘is usually interpreted as formal adoption’ but adds, ‘there is no clear biblical evidence on such a ceremony’.
The women gave him the name Obed. It is curious that these women from outside the family should be able to intervene in this fashion. It may be that their kindly interest so impressed Boaz and Ruth that they accepted their suggestion. Or local custom may have given the women a more prominent place than we would have expected. But it is a most unusual procedure. Joüon amends the text to read, ‘The neighbours said, “There is a son born to Naomi!” and she gave him the name of Obed.’ An interesting support is the statement by Josephus that Naomi named the child (Ant. v. 9.4). But as his account contains inaccuracies, too much reliance cannot be placed upon it. Rudolph is another who thinks the text requires emendation, though he is not sure how. But it is better to stick to the Hebrew text. Obed means ‘Servant’. The name is not found very frequently in the Old Testament, and we do not know anything about anyone who bore it, since it occurs only in lists of names and genealogies. From the frequency with which the cognate word ‘ebed is found one might have expected Obed more often. Perhaps it was avoided on account of its servile implications. If so, this makes it all the stranger that the women should use it here. Perhaps they imply that the babe will serve Naomi in whom they clearly have a special interest. The verse concludes with a little note connecting Obed with David. The child who was born as the result of the marriage which took place after such curious happenings as those narrated in this book was the grandfather of Israel’s greatest king.