legal, he says to him:

`Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of

land, which was our brother Elimelech's: and I thought to advertise thee,

saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people.

If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then

tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and

I am after thee.  And he said, I will redeem it.  Then said Boaz, What day

thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth

the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon

his inheritance' (4:3-5).

While the nearer kinsman was quite willing to redeem the parcel of land,

he was not willing to marry the Moabitess and he therefore relinquishes his

right.  Boaz and the other kinsman then follow a custom that was even then

ancient in Israel, whenever redeeming and changing were to be confirmed:

`A man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a

testimony in Israel' (Ruth 4:7).

To place one's shoe upon anything was a symbol of possession.  To take off

one's shoe and pass it to another was a symbol of transference.  The spreading

of the skirt already alluded to was another symbol of transferred authority.

Even to this day, it is the custom to associate old boots with weddings, and

although this is now simply a piece of harmless fun, the custom has its origin

in these distant times.

It would seem that the nearer kinsman who failed probably sets forth the

failure of man to redeem either himself or his brother, and that the

transference to Boaz is an indication that Christ alone is strong enough to

undertake the task.

We next read that Boaz calls upon the Elders and the people to witness

that he has bought all that was Elimelech's, Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand

of Naomi, and further, that he has purchased Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of

Mahlon, to be his wife, and that he intends to play the Kinsman-Redeemer's part

and to `raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the

dead be not cut off'.  In reply, the people not only declare themselves

witnesses, but also express their pleasure by adding words of blessing.  There

is pointed meaning in the reference they make to `Pharez whom Tamar bare unto

Judah', for in Genesis 38 we have the story of one who, by refusing to do the

kinsman's part, not only involved himself in death, but his brother's widow in

immorality.  Boaz, it is implied, represents the reverse of all this.

We now reach the conclusion of the book:

A

B

a

The women.

b  Blessed be the Lord ... a kinsman to thee.

c  Name famous in Israel.

d  Nourisher.

d  Nurse.

a  The women.