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Ruth 3 Bible study: A near kinsman
Ruth 3 turns on go'el, the near kinsman. Ruth asks Boaz, "spread the corner of your garment over your servant; for you are a near kinsman" (3:9), with kanaf, the word for the LORD's "wings" in 2:12. Boaz answers with the words of her own promise to Naomi (3:5), and Naomi's word for coming home empty (1:21) comes back as "Don’t go empty" (3:17).
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“Now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do to you all that you say; for all the city of my people knows that you are a worthy woman.”
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“Naomi said Boaz would tell Ruth what to do, but it was Ruth who asked Boaz to act.”
Is that in Ruth 3, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
Naomi seeks rest
The chapter opens with Naomi: "My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?" (3:1) (tap rest and well). On the road from Moab she had prayed, "May the LORD grant you that you may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband" (1:9). Now she names a man: "Now isn’t Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens you were?" (3:2) (tap kinsman). "Behold, he will be winnowing barley tonight on the threshing floor" (3:2) (tap threshing floor). She tells Ruth, "wash yourself, anoint yourself, get dressed, and go down to the threshing floor; but don’t make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking" (3:3), and then, "you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lie down. Then he will tell you what to do" (3:4) (tap feet). Ruth answers, "All that you say, I will do" (3:5), and she "did everything that her mother-in-law told her" (3:6).
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Ruth 3
That was a taste
The rest of Ruth 3 is waiting in Favor
- At midnight
- "All that you say"
- Not empty
- "A worthy woman"
- The kinsman's word, and the LORD's
- 9 questions as you read
- 11 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
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The Hebrew word behind it
גָּאַלga'alsay ga-AL
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "redeem, act as kinsman". Strong's: "to redeem (according to the Oriental law of kinship), i.e. to be the next of kin (and as such to buy back a relative's property, marry his widow, etc.)". Ruth says, "you are a near kinsman" (3:9), and Boaz answers, "it is true that I am a near kinsman. However, there is a kinsman nearer than I" (3:12). All three are the verb's participle, go'el, the one who acts as kinsman. In 3:13 the verb comes four more times: "perform for you the part of a kinsman", "do the kinsman’s duty", "do the duty of a kinsman for you", and "I will do the duty of a kinsman for you" (3:13). That is six times in two verses, and 21 times in the book of Ruth. Nearer in 3:12 is qarov, near, the word behind "close relative" in 2:20. Kinsman in 3:2 is a different word again (tap kinsman). The verb is the one in Israel's law about land: "his kinsman who is next to him shall come, and redeem that which his brother has sold" (Leviticus 25:25).
For your group
Ruth 3 Bible study questions
- 1Boaz said Ruth had "shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning" (3:10). Where has kindness been harder for you to keep up than to start?
- 2Boaz told Ruth, "all the city of my people knows that you are a worthy woman" (3:11). What would you want the people who know you best to be able to say about you?
- 3Naomi said, "Wait, my daughter, until you know what will happen" (3:18). What are you waiting on right now, and what helps you wait?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Ruth 3 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home