SUMMARY
These verses report the marriage of RuthThe great-grandmother of David and BoazHusband of Ruth and great-grandfather of David. and the immediate birth of their child Obed, who will become the grandfather of DavidSecond king of Israel, David united the northern and southern kingdoms.. The women then address NaomiThe mother-in-law of Ruth with a remarkable blessingBlessing is the asking for or the giving of God's favor. Isaac was tricked into blessing Jacob instead of his firstborn Esau. At the Last Supper Jesus offered a blessing over bread and wine. To be blessed is to be favored by God. of the Lord.
ANALYSIS
Several aspects of this passage are worthy of note. First, the Lord actively causes Ruth to conceive a child, the only time in the book that God is said to act directly. Ruth had been married to Mahlon for ten long years in Moab without conceiving a child. As in so many of the matriarchal and patriarchal stories in Genesis (16; 20-21; 25:19-26; 29:31-30:24), the Lord decides when and to whom a child will be born.
Second, the women of Bethlehem recognize that the Lord is to be blessed for this birth. And third, they recognize more than this; they understand that this child will be the “go’el,” the next of kinThe next of kin is a person's closest living relative, and is usually defined as the closest living blood relative. In the book of Ruth, which deals with family relationships, Naomi (after the death of her husband and sons) returns home to live with Boaz,..., the redeemerA redeemer is someone who literally buys back, wins back, or frees from distress. The Hebrew term for redeemer (go'el) means to deliver or rescue. It may be a person or God who performs the act of redemption., thus pointing forward to the birth of a more significant redeemer child in Bethlehem. The women understand that Naomi, who came back bereft from Moab, is now to be restored and nourished by this grandchild. And then, most remarkably, the women say the very opposite of what many would expect they would say about the worth of the child and the worth of Ruth, his mother. Many readers would expect that Ruth, the poor childless Moabite widowA widow is a woman whose spouse has died, often plunging her into poverty and putting her in a vulnerable position in society. Jesus, in his concern for the poor, regards widows with compassion and concern., would be considered worthless until she had a child. We imagine that having a son would make her more worthy. But the women say the reverse. They declare to Naomi that the child is made worthy by the mother. Because Ruth loves Naomi, she is said to be more to Naomi than seven sons! Ruth’s love and loyalty to Naomi is the reality that makes this new child so dear to Naomi.
