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A Marriage Blessing for the Children (Ruth 4.11-12)

“May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem; and, through the children that the LORD will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”

The eighth prayer in the book of Ruth is another prayer-blessing, the sixth in a row. This one, however, is not offered by Boaz or Naomi like the others, but by the elders of the city and some citizens.

In ancient towns, wise, elderly men of the village acted the role of city council and court. They would sit at the city gate during the day, making decisions as needed, and passing judgement on disputes. This is the setting for this scene. There is a lot of other cultural background that lies behind the events here. For example, land in Israel remained with the family who owned it originally (or, at least, would eventually revert to them). When a widow or a daughter had no husband and no sons, she needed someone with land to care for her. If she was from a different family line, this could cause difficulties.

Boaz goes to the city gate and intercepts this ‘closer relative’ of Naomi. It in interesting that Boaz does not use the man’s name, but uses a word that literally means ‘a certain one.’ If we translate this to our time, it means something like “John Doe” or “so-and-so.”  “Hey, you, so-and-so, come sit over here for a moment,”⁠[1. Translations that render this word as “friend” miss the purpose and context of the passage.] says Boaz. Surely he knew man’s name. Is he not named because he is not a good man? Is it because refuses to redeem Naomi and Ruth, and the writer thinks him a lesser man than Boaz? The Biblical writers often fail to name characters who they deem unimportant, or who might be a negative example.

Boaz explains the situation of Naomi and Ruth to the elders, Mr. So-and-So, and the witnesses. At first, Mr. So-and-So likes the idea of redemption. He gains the land from Naomi’s family. However, when hears that Boaz is engaged to Ruth, he realizes that the land will be given to Ruth’s children, not his. Moreover, he will have the added burden of taking care of the widow Naomi. None of this benefits him, so he is happy to let Boaz become the redeemer.
The elders confirm the agreement. The elders and the crowd are impressed with the character of Boaz. He has taken on the responsibility of caring for a foreign wife and a widow, who have land that does not belong to his family. Of course, on the positive side, he now has a beautiful young, and their children will inherit the family land. What he has done is quite noble, and the people at the gate offer the prayer of blessing quoted above.

In our world, we might pray for an engaged couple and their relationship. But marriage blessings in the ancient world rarely focused on the spouses themselves—it was more about the children. This recalls the covenant blessing that God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that their descendants would be numerous.⁠[2. See, for example, Gen 30.]

The prayer-blessings begins with blessings on Ruth, then on Boaz, but the rest on their children and the effects they will have on Israel. Some of the historical characters mentioned in the blessing tell us more about the function of this prayer. Rachel was the favorite wife of Jacob, and gave him many children. Leah produced many children as well for Jacob—and was the mother of Judah, and the foremother of the tribe of Judah. The children of both women became the twelve tribes of Israel. High expectations indeed for Ruth—but we will find out why this is so in the next prayer passage. Ephrat was the mother of the clan named after her, Ephrathah, also mentioned in the prayer. Bethlehem was a city in the land of that tribe. Finally, Tamar is mentioned, along with the “house of Perez.” Tamar , as mentioned in the last chapter),⁠3 was the widowed woman who lived in the house of her father-in-law, Judah (the son of Leah), who neglected to find a way for her to have her own heirs. Tamar found a questionable way to secure her future (just like Ruth), forcing Judah to do the right thing. The result was a son named Perez, and his descendants, mentioned in this prayer.

This prayer contains a good bit of subtext of genealogy, history, and some foreshadowing. The blessing is an off-the-cuff well-wishing to an engaged couple. What it does mean will become clear soon in the last section of the book. For now, we note that prayer-blessings do not only have to be about the here-and-now (“happy wedding!”), they can contain a depth of history, culture, and meaning.

Do you know any couples that have been recently engaged or married? Look over the prayer-blessing again, and using the structure and content, ask God to bless the wife, and the husband, but also to bless the future children and their lives. Think about the history of this couple—their families, their goals in life. Is there a way to incorporate the larger picture of their extended family and friends into your prayer-blessing? Once you have finished writing and editing the prayer, consider sharing it (in words or writing), with the couple.

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