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Ruth 4 · a question people ask

Why did the nearer kinsman say, "I can’t redeem it"?

In the text

The chapter gives only his own words. While Boaz spoke of the land alone, the man said, "I will redeem it" (4:4). Then Boaz said he must buy it "also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance" (4:5). The man answered, "I can’t redeem it for myself, lest I endanger my own inheritance" (4:6). What came between his two answers is 4:5: Ruth, and the name of the dead on his inheritance. The book doesn't explain how that would endanger his inheritance, and it passes no judgment on him. It goes straight on to the sandal (4:7-8).

From Favor's study of Ruth 4

Ruth 4: The name of the dead

At the gate a man the book never names says, "I can’t redeem it" (4:6), and Boaz takes Ruth "to raise up the name of the dead" (4:10). The women name the child Obed, and the book that began in famine ends on one name: David (4:22).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions