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Now Naomi was not thinking so much of the land she had lost, as for the happiness
and future security of her daughter-in-law, who had done, and was doing so much for her.
She recognized the splendid match that Ruth would make if Boaz would marry her.
Now things were really moving.
Boaz was anxious to get the matter settled
immediately.
"And he said unto the kinsman, 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" (4: 3-4).
The present tense in verse 3 suggests that the sale is taking place at that time, that
Naomi was selling the land perhaps in order to obtain money to live on. It seems more
logical to suggest that Elimelech had disposed of his land before he took his family away
to Moab during the famine. Over ten years had gone by before Naomi came back. Had it
not been sold imagine the condition of it, if it had been left neglected all that time. Boaz
is saying "the portion of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech and was sold, it
must now be redeemed because Naomi had returned to Bethlehem". The word
`advertise' in verse 4 rings strangely in our ears, the literal translation reads "I will reveal
in your ear". The word is stronger than merely `to tell', "bring to your notice" perhaps.
The elder brother was the next of kin, the kinsman-redeemer, and as such he was the
one who had the right to redeem the inheritance. Therefore he had to be given the
opportunity. He immediately agrees to do so. It would be a first-class investment. He
had plenty of men to clear the land and prune the vines and olives. Nothing would suit
him better.
"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: 5).
Here was the problem. When the person who had bought the land from Elimelech had
been paid off, it would be necessary to meet Naomi's daughter-in-law's claim on the
inheritance. She as the widow of Elimelech's son Mahlon must be married so that a son
might be born to carry on the dead man's name in Israel.
"And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance:
redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it" (4: 6).
What did he mean "lest I mar my inheritance"? In the three other occurrences where
this word is used, the sense is "to corrupt". Josephus explains by saying that he already
had a wife and feared the discord that may arise should he take a woman of Moab into his
household. On the other hand the redemption of the land would involve withdrawing
money from the kinsman's own estate, but the possession thus acquired would not belong
to him or his present family, but to Ruth's son, should she have one. In the eyes of the
law the son of Mahlon would inherit the land. It would therefore be like mortgaging