Why boaz married ruth

Destitute, empty-handed and alone the unseen Sovereign Hand of a faithful Father guided their footsteps.

She searched for a way to support them both. Mosaic law provided for those less fortunate by insuring some of the crops were left from the harvest Leviticus The edges of the fields provided food to be gathered by those in need. Ruth found a field where she could work picking up grain the harvesters left behind. She began early in the day and labored through the day, taking only a short break.

Boaz, a man of wealth and influence in the community, owned the field. When he went there that day, a young woman, dusty and hot, bent over gathering sheaves of leftover grain. When Boaz met Ruth, her story already predisposed him to kindness and affectionate regard. He offered her protection, water, and extra grain. He invited her to share his meal and cautioned his workers to treat her well. Perhaps his heart moved with compassion because he himself was the product of a story of redemption, Boaz was a descendent of the Canaanite, Rahab who once hid Joshua and the spies, rescuing her and her family from destruction.

Both came into Judaism from the outside. As described in Leviticus 25 , the kinsman-redeemer possessed the requirements for redemption of the land for Naomi. The position was one of relational-rescuer, someone able to restore what had been lost. Now the question lay with Boaz. Would he be willing to act as kinsman-redeemer and did he have the financial means to do so?

Even before Ruth met Boaz, her story of devotion honored God. Living in a pagan country away from her beloved Bethlehem, Naomi lost first her husband Elimelech and then both her sons Mahlon and Chilion. Few fates could be worse for a woman at that time than to be left without a husband or sons. It signified the loss of income, position, and support. Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. Although Naomi convinced Orpah, to return to her village, Ruth could not be dissuaded.

Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Her declaration promised faithfulness not only to the mother of her deceased husband but to another people and to the One True God. Such profound loyalty eventually brought Ruth to be named in the genealogy of Jesus Christ.

The Hebrew word, hesed , brings abundant reward into their romance. Translated into English as love, mercy, faithfulness, loyalty, goodness, and lovingkindness hesed is an attribute of God shown in action throughout the book of Ruth.

One question though — did Naomi in fact own any land her husband had owned? Were women allowed to own land, or did it automatically revert to the next male relative? But in cases that did have to do with inheritance, women in ancient Israel inherited land from the older generation if there were no surviving male heirs. This situation first arose in the wilderness with the five daughters of a man named Zelophehad , who died leaving no male heirs. This is an argument in favor of the idea that he did have a previous wife.

So more children would have been desirable to care for Ruth, as well, as she got older. Thanks for clearing over Boaz and Ruth. I should stick to what the Bible says not to what other people may say. Be blessed. Did Boaz die immediately Ruth took in of Obed or after Ruth put to bed As the bible made us to know that he died after the marriage?

There is no indication in the Bible that Boaz died shortly after marrying Ruth. The Bible gives us no details about his death. The book of Ruth does tell us that Naomi and her two sons lived in Moab for ten years after they both married Moabite women, so Ruth would have been in her mids when she returned to Israel with Naomi. Men in Old Testament times were typically older than their wives because they needed to become self-supporting small farmers before they got married, in order to provide for their families.

In this culture women married when they were in their mid teens. She would have met and married Boaz within one year of their return. But it never mentioned if Boaz was married. I assumed he was. Because back then being having a family, a wives and children were very important as well as present culture of Israel. It never mentioned because it was not important any more. The numbers 80 and 40 in rabbinic tradition may have some symbolic significance. Which do we believe, the Bible or the tradition?

Ruth was not referred to as the first wife. Boaz was born to Rahab. He had to have been well older than Ruth as many years passed between the time Rahab was a young woman in Jericho, and Naomi a young woman in Israel. Naomi was a young woman in the time of the Judges. So the mother of the bride, and the mother of the groom are not contemporaries. You are commenting using your WordPress. You are commenting using your Google account. You are commenting using your Twitter account.

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Notify me of new comments via email. Notify me of new posts via email. Ruth Rabbah also mentions Ibzan but does not identify him with Boaz. The Book of Ruth does not mention that Boaz had a wife and children. It is highly unlikely that an important established man such as Boaz would have remained a bachelor until he married Ruth; consequently, the death of his first wife and children supports the Ibzan-Boaz identification.

According to the midrash, Ruth was forty years old and not a young woman when Boaz married her, a fact that stresses the urgency of her desire to marry and bear children Ruth Rabbah ; BT Sabbath Shabbat b.

After Boaz and Ruth make their first acquaintance, Naomi advises Ruth to wait for him at night in the threshing floor. In the midrashic account, Ruth has reservations about such an act, but is nevertheless prepared to heed her mother-in-law, even if such behavior seems strange to her Ruth Rabbah ; Ruth Zuta The scene in the threshing floor is described at length by the Rabbis.

Boaz is startled at first and fears that this might be an apparition Ruth Rabbah Aware that Ruth not only took a chance in the threshing floor but also greatly endangered herself, the midrash expresses this in different exegeses.

Thus, e. Ruth Zuta presents this scene in even stronger fashion: Ruth fears that Boaz will kill her Ruth Zuta In Ruth Zuta Boaz dies on his wedding night. This surprising tradition possibly results from the desire to absolve their marriage of any hint of personal benefit for the couple. The sole purpose of this matrimonial bond is to attain redemption for Naomi by the birth of a son. Boaz lives only until he fulfills his role, and no longer.

This creates a new situation: the reestablishment of the relationship between Ruth and Naomi. Once again, both are now alone, as widows. This time, however, they have a son, with Ruth as his mother and Naomi as the foster mother.

The very birth of the child is nothing less than miraculous. The view that Boaz died that night also explains why Naomi was the foster mother of the child born to Boaz and the now widowed Ruth.

All the women were talking and gleaning [bending over to gather the grain], while she sat and gleaned. All the women raised the hems of their garments, while she [made sure that hers] remained down.

All the women sported with the reapers, while this one concealed herself Ruth Rabbah loc. As Ruth sat to glean with the reapers, she turned her face away, and not even a single one of her fingers could be seen, for when she saw a standing stalk, she would stand and take it, and when she saw a fallen stalk, she would sit and gather it Ruth Zuta The Scroll of Esther is read on Purim from a parchment scroll.

Megillah 15a: she, too, converted, was married to an important person and was blessed with important offspring; see Ruth Rabbah Rabbah The Bible itself paints this scene in a favorable light and does not criticize Ruth. Other orientations, however, are also at play in the midrashic literature. In one single instance Ruth Rabbah also relates to problematic behavior by Ruth.