| 1. And Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz had spoken was passing, and he said, "Turn aside, sit down here, So-and-So," and he turned aside and sat down. |
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א. |
| So-and-So: but his name was not written because he did not wish to redeem. |
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| So-and-So: Heb. פְּלֹנִי אַלְמֹנִי, rendered [into Aramaic] in the Prophets (I Sam. 21:3) as “hidden, secret.” פְּנִי covered and concealed, an expression of (Deut. 17:8): “If [a matter] be concealed (יִפָּלֵא) ” ;(Gen. 18: 14) “Is anything concealed (הֲיִפָּלֵא) from the Lord?” אַלְמֹנִי A widow (אַלְמָן), without a name. (Other editions: אַלְמֹנִי. He was widowed of words of Torah, because he should have interpreted: “an Ammonite, but not an Ammonitess; a Moabite, but not a Moabitess.” Yet he said, “lest I mar my heritage.”) |
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| 2. And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here," and they sat down. |
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ב. |
| 3. And he said to the near kinsman, "Naomi, who has returned from the field of Moab, is selling the portion of the field that belonged to our brother, to Elimelech. |
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ג. |
| 4. And I said, 'I will let you know, saying: Buy [it] in the presence of those who sit here and before the elders of my people; if you will redeem, redeem; and if he will not redeem, tell me, and I will know, for there is no one besides you to redeem, and I am after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem." |
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ד. |
| and I will know, for there is no one besides you: who is a kinsman, to redeem. |
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| 5. And Boaz said, "On the day that you buy the field from the hand of Naomi and from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased, you have bought [it], to preserve the name of the deceased on his heritage." |
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ה. |
| and from Ruth the Moabitess: you must buy, and she agrees only if you marry her. |
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| 6. And the near kinsman said, "I cannot redeem [it] for myself, lest I mar my heritage. You redeem my redemption for yourself for I cannot redeem [it]." |
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ו. |
| lest I mar my heritage: my offspring, like (Ps. 127:3): “Behold the heritage of the Lord is sons,” to give my offspring a stigma, as it is said (Deut. 23: 4): “An Ammonite or a Moabite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord,” but he erred by [not interpreting it as] “an Ammonite but not an Ammonitess.” |
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| 7. Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redemption and exchange, to confirm anything, one would remove his shoe and give [it] to his fellow, and this was the attestation in Israel. |
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ז. |
| concerning redemption: This is a sale. |
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| and exchange: This is an exchange. |
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| one would remove his shoe: This is an act of acquisition, as we acquire title with a scarf in lieu of a shoe, and our Rabbis of blessed memory differed on this matter: who gave [the shoe] to whom. Some say that we perform the act of acquisition with the utensil of the acquirer, and Boaz gave [the shoe] to the redeemer, and others say that we perform the act of acquisition with the utensil of the seller, and the redeemer gave [the shoe] to Boaz. |
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| and this was the attestation in Israel: the law of testimony. |
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| 8. And the near kinsman said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself," and he removed his shoe. |
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ח. |
| 9. And Boaz said to the elders and to the entire people, "You are witnesses today that I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's from Naomi. |
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ט. |
| 10. And also, Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's wife, have I acquired for myself for a wife, to preserve the name of the deceased on his heritage, so that the name of the deceased not be obliterated from his brethren and from the gate of his place, you are witnesses today." |
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י. |
| to preserve the name of the deceased on his heritage: Since his wife comes and goes on the estate and brings in and takes out, people say, “This is Mahlon’s wife,” and his name is remembered upon it. |
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| 11. And all the people who were in the gate and the elders replied, "[We are] witnesses! May the Lord make the woman who is entering your house like Rachel and like Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel, and prosper in Ephrathah and be famous in Bethlehem. |
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יא. |
| like Rachel and like Leah: Even though they were of the tribe of Judah and of the descendants of Leah, they admitted that Rachel was the mainstay of the household, and they mentioned Rachel before Leah. |
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| and be famous: lit. and call a name, i.e., may your name become great. |
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| 12. And may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, with the seed that the Lord will give you from this maiden." |
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יב. |
| like the house of Perez: from which you are descended. |
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| 13. And Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he was intimate with her, and the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son. |
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יג. |
| 14. And the women said to Naomi, "Blessed is the Lord, Who did not deprive you of a redeemer today, and may his name be famous in Israel. |
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יד. |
| 15. And may he be to you a restorer of life and to sustain your old age, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, bore him, and she is better to you than seven sons." |
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טו. |
| 16. And Naomi took the child and placed him in her bosom, and she became his nurse. |
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טז. |
| 17. And the women neighbors gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi," and they called his name Obed-he is the father of Jesse, the father of David. |
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יז. |
| 18. And these are the generations of Perez: Perez begot Hezron. |
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יח. |
| And these are the generations of Perez: Since he traced David’s genealogy on Ruth’s name, he returns and traces it on Judah’s name. |
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| 19. And Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab. |
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יט. |
| 20. And Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmah. |
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כ. |
| 21. And Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed. |
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כא. |
| 22. And Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David. |