5Then Boaz said, “The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.”
The Hebrew that is transliterated as “Ruth” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “respect” referring to the respect that she shows for the mother-in-law as shown in Ruth 1:16. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The Hebrew that is transliterated as “Naomi” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign for “changed identity” referring to the many life changes that Naomi goes through in the book of Ruth. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Boaz” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that combines the letter Z and “sandal” referring to Ruth 4:7 and 4:8. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
A literal translation of Boaz’ proposition, ” . . . you are also buying Ruth,” is in fact a misrepresentation of both Hebrew and Tonga social culture. In neither societies was a wife, or a widow, “bought,” for the “marriage present” (Hebrew mohar [Gn 34:12]; Chitonga — lobold) was in effect a gift of compensation, presented from the family/clan of the bridegroom to the family of the bride which served to seal the marriage and bind the two families together. In this particular situation, i.e., levirate succession, not even the lobola was involved; the man was simply making a public agreement to marry Ruth.
It is difficult to convey the full meaning of the original expression: “in order to restore the name of the dead to his inheritance.”
This is due to the different perspectives between the biblical and the Bantu cultures with regard to the land. The importance of preserving the “name” of the deceased through offspring begotten on his behalf is present in both, but in an African context this practice was more intimately connected with their religious beliefs; i.e., a dead man’s children had the obligation of preserving his presence in the community of the “living dead” (spirits) by “remembering” him in sacrifices and prayers. But that this child (or children) would then inherit his property so as to “keep it in the family” is a foreign notion and would thus require some additional explanation.
The hyperbole in these words of praise to Naomi sounds to be rather overdone in a Bantu context. No mother would be expected to value a daughter-in-law more than her own children, particularly in a matrilineal situation (as most of the tribes are in Central Africa), where a man’s offspring are reckoned as part of his wife’s family line and not his own. In effect, he begets children on behalf of another clan group; in other words, a daughter-in-law would be bearing for the lineage of another woman. This would not, however, lessen the joy that a woman would have at becoming a grandmother for the first time. In an African society, the relations between grandparents and grandchildren are especially close (paradoxically, they interact with each other as “age-mates”), and the former often do “take care of” (v. 16, Good News Bible) the latter in a village setting.
Following are a number of back-translations of Ruth 4:1-6:
Noongar: “So Boaz went to the gate of Bethlehem and sat there. When the other right-way man was passing by, the one whom Boaz told Ruth, Boaz said to him, ‘Come here, brother, sit here.’ So this man came and sat. Then Boaz called ten men of Bethlehem, saying, ‘Sit here.’ So they sat. Then Boaz said to this other right-way man, ‘Naomi has returned from Moab. She wants to sell the land of our brother Elimelech. I know I must tell you, ‘Take this land yourself, in front of the men sitting here and in front of our elders’. If you want this land, buy it for yourself. But if you don’t want this land, tell me so I know. No man can take this land, only you, and I am after you.’ So the man said, ‘I will take this land.’ So Boaz said, ‘The day you take this land, you also take Ruth of Moab, widow of the dead man, so the name of the dead sits with his land.’ Quickly, the other right-way man said, ‘I cannot take this land for myself, because after I must divide all my land with Ruth. You buy this land for yourself, because I can’t!’” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)
Eastern Bru: “Boaz went to the place where discussions were held near the gate of the town. In that place he met his kinsman who was of Ruth’s clan but closer than he. He called his kinsman and said: ‘Older brother! Sit here a while. I want to discuss something with you for a bit.’ So they sat together.And Boaz asked ten leaders of the town to come and hear what the two of them were discussing. So the ten leaders came and sat there also. Boaz told his kinsman: ‘Naomi has left the country of Moab already. Now she is wanting to sell a piece of ground belonging to Elimelec, our older brother. So I want to discuss this with you now. If you want to buy this land, then you say so in front of these leaders and other people from the town so they can hear. If you want to buy the land, then you buy it, because you are of Naomi’s clan closer than I am. But if you do not want it, then tell me, so that I will know clearly, because only the two of us can buy this land.’ Then the kinsman said to Boaz: ‘Surely I will buy the land.’Then Boaz said: ‘But if you want do buy this land of Naomi’s, you must also take Ruth to be your wife. Ruth is a Moabite, the wife of our kinsman who has died. So you must take the place of our kinsman and raise up children who can carry on his name and take over his inheritance.’Then the kinsman of Boaz answered: ‘If it is like that, I don’t want to buy the land, because I am afraid I would have to divide my inheritance with her children also. So you can take my place and buy the land, because I do not want to take that woman.’” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “Now, Boaz went to the town’s gate and sat there. When the much closer relative of Elimelec that Boaz had-mentioned/had-referred-to passed-by, Boaz said to him, ‘Come-over-here for-a-while friend and sit-down.’ So the man came-over and sat-down. Then Boaz caused-to-gather the ten rulers of the town and had- them -sit there. And when they had-sat-down, Boaz said to his relative, ‘Noemi has- now -come-back from Moab, and she wants to sell the land of our(incl) relative Elimelec. I thought I should-tell this-(matter) to you(sg). So, if you(sg) want, buy it in the presence of the rulers of my fellow-countrymen and of others who-are-sitting here. But if you(sg) do- not -want, just say so, so-that I will-know. The truth is, you(sg) are the first-one that has the responsibility to buy it, and I am just next (in-line).’ The man said, ‘Okay, I will-buy it.’ But Boaz said, ‘On the day you(sg) buy the land from Noemi, you(sg) must also marry the Moabnon widow Ruth, so-that if you(pl) have now a child, the land will-remain in the family of our(incl) dead relative.’ When the man heard it, he said, ‘If that-is-the-case I will- no-longer -buy the land because I might have-problem with my own land because including our(excl) child to-be with Ruth (will)- now -have a share with my land. You(sg) just buy (it) because I can- not -do it.’” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “Meanwhile, Boaz went up to the town gate and sat there. That was the place where people met together to decide important matters. When the man that Boaz had mentioned came there, the close relative of Ruth and Naomi’s dead husbands who had a responsibility to take care of Naomi and Ruth, Boaz said to him, ‘My friend, come over here and sit down.’ So the man went and sat down. Boaz then gathered ten of the elders of the town and asked them to sit down there also. After they sat down, he said to the man who had the responsibility to take care of Naomi, ‘Naomi has returned from Moab region. She wants to sell the field that belonged to our relative Elimelech. I thought that I should tell you about that, and suggest that you buy it, while these elders who are sitting here are listening. If you are willing to buy the property, do that. But if you do not want to buy it, tell me, so that I will know. I am suggesting this to you because you are the one who has the first right to buy it, and I am the one who has the second/next right to buy it.’ The man replied, ‘I will buy it!’ Then Boaz told him, ‘When you buy the land from Naomi, you will also be taking Ruth, the woman who is from Moab, to be your wife, in order that she may give birth to a son who will inherit the property of her dead husband.’ Then the close relative of Ruth’s dead husband said, ‘If that is so, I do not want to buy the field, because then my own children would not inherit the property; Ruth’s children would inherit it. You buy the property!’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
A particle such as Very well to introduce the direct discourse in verse 5 is particularly important, not only to mark the sequence of events, but to show at this point an abrupt shift in the argumentation. In some languages it might be appropriate to have a particle before Boaz said, which would suggest something like “then to everyone’s surprise” or “but then.” This may be very useful in marking the complete change in Boaz’s presentation of the issue.
Then you are also buying Ruth, the Moabite widow is in Hebrew literally “you are also acquiring (from) Ruth the Moabitess, With qere one should read qanitah, and with the Old Latin, Syriac, and Vulgate one should read weʾet instead of meʾet, a scribal error probably due to dittography. the dead man’s (wife).” Some English translations prefer to retain the verb “buying,” so that they render “you are also buying Ruth” (Revised Standard Version, Moffatt, and Smith-Goodspeed). It is the same Hebrew verb used in the expression buy the field, but this Hebrew verb does not mean specifically “buy” in both contexts, for in Hebrew societies one did not “buy” a wife. The appropriate meaning of this verb in the second context is “to acquire.” In fact, it could be argued that the diagnostic component of “commercial operation” is absent from the Hebrew root in all its occurrences in chapter 4, because the owner is and remains Elimelech’s clan, to which Boaz also belongs. In that case one should also speak of “acquiring the field.” Cf. Theo R. Schneider, “Translating Ruth 4.1-10 among the Tsonga people,” The Bible Translator 33 (1982):301-309.
Essentially the nearest relative had two distinct responsibilities: one was to preserve the estate of Elimelech (this would be done by buying the field in order to keep it in the family), and the other was to acquire the widow of Elimelech’s son Mahlon. L. Köhler (“Ruth,” Schweizerische Theologische Zeitschrift 37, 1920) wants to omit the whole phrase “and from Ruth the Moabitess,” arguing that the dead man concerned is Elimelech, and the widow who has to be married is Naomi. In this he is followed by Haller. Already Volz (TLZ 26, 1901, cols. 348-349) was of the opinion that in the original form of the story Naomi married Boaz. However, this view is unacceptable. Even Joüon (op. cit., page 10) may not be right in stating that Ruth replaced Naomi legally. Finally, the nearest relative to Elimelech was also the nearest relative to Mahlon, and the levirate marriage could only make sense in relation to the younger of the two widows.
For the Hebrew phrase “the dead man’s (wife)” the focus is upon the wife, and therefore “widow” is an appropriate translation, leaving “the dead man’s” as implicit information.
When the Hebrew text says “you are also acquiring Ruth,” this is equivalent to saying “you must marry Ruth.” This aspect of the obligation is expressed in Good News Translation simply as then you are also buying Ruth, the Moabite widow.
So that the field will stay in the dead man’s family is in Hebrew literally “in order to raise the name of the dead to his inheritance.” Basically there are two ideas combined in this Hebrew expression. (1) The aim of the levirate marriage was “to raise a child (son) for the dead.” In this way a man was given a kind of continuing life through his sons. (2) The name of the dead is restored to his inheritance through the fact that the property becomes the property of the child of the widow who is married, rather than becoming the personal asset of the one who acquires the property on behalf of the dead husband. In other words, the property would belong not to the closest relative, but to the son of the widow. Furthermore, the son would be regarded as the son of the widow’s deceased husband rather than as the son of the person who had redeemed the property and married the widow. By fulfilling the responsibility of the closest kin, a person would in essence be diminishing his own property right and estate, and thus depriving his other children of a portion of their inheritance.
In order to make all of these aspects quite explicit, one could translate this passage as “you must also marry Ruth, the Moabite widow, and you must raise a child (a son) by her so that the field will stay in the dead man’s family.”
Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Ruth. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
Then Boaz said: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Then introduces a significant and unexpected addition to what Boaz told the other relative.
On the day you buy the land from Naomi: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates literally as On the day means “when” or “whenever.” At the same time that the man bought the land from Naomi, he would also acquire Ruth (4:5b).
Here are some other ways to translate this verse part:
Boaz continued: “On the day you take over the field from Naomi (Revised English Bible) -or-
Then Boaz explained, “When you buy the land from Naomi (New Century Version)
4:5b
and also from Ruth the Moabitess, you must also acquire: There is a textual problem with this part of the verse. Scholars suggest two ways to understand the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as from Ruth :
(1) It should say “Ruth.” The word “Ruth” is the object of the verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as you…acquire. When the man acquired the land, he would also acquire Ruth. For example:
you also acquire Ruth the Moabitess (New Jerusalem Bible) -or-
you will also assume responsibility for the Moabite Ruth (God’s Word) -or-
you must also marry Ruth the Moabite (New Century Version)
(2) It should say “from Ruth.” Ruth as well as Naomi was the seller of the land. For example:
On the day you buy the land from Naomi and from Ruth, you acquire (New International Version (1984))
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1) along with a majority of versions.
the widow of the deceased: The Hebrew phrase the Berean Standard Bible translates as the widow of the deceased is literally “the wife of the dead man.” It refers here to Ruth. The dead man is Mahlon, Elimelech’s son.
Here is another way to translate this phrase:
the dead man’s wife (New Century Version)
4:5c
in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance: The custom of marrying a dead relative’s widow was intended to provide an heir for the dead man. The first male child born to the widow and the redeemer would be considered the heir of the man who had died. The land and the family name of the one who had died would belong to this son. In this case, people would consider Elimelech and Mahlon to be the ancestors of the first son born to Ruth and the redeemer.
the deceased: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the deceased is singular and primarily refers to Mahlon.
Here is one way to clarify that the name of the dead will be maintained:
This keeps the inheritance in the dead man’s name. (God’s Word)
his inheritance: The Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as inheritance refers here to the land that a man left to his son as an inheritance.
Here are some other ways to translate this verse part:
to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance (New Revised Standard Version) -or-
so that the field will stay in the dead man’s family (Good News Translation)
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