A Marriage Blessing From Ruth (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.
Background
The eighth prayer in the book of Ruth is another prayer-blessing—the sixth in a row. This one is not offered by Boaz or Naomi, but by the elders of the city and some citizens.
Ancient towns had a council of wise, elderly men who acted as city council and court. They sat at the city gate during the day, allowing all to come before them, making decisions and passing judgment on disputes. This is the setting for this scene. There are other bits of cultural background that help us make sense of the events. For example, land in Israel remained with the family who owned it first; even if it had to be mortgaged or sold in trying times, it still belonged to the heirs and was to be returned at the Jubilee which occurred every fifty years.1 When a widow or a daughter had no husband or sons, she needed someone with land to provide for her. If she was from a different family line, this could cause difficulties among heirs of the two clans. Boaz discovers that there is a closer relative, who could have a claim to Naomi and any heirs and land of the family. This creates a problem for Boaz.
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