Ruth 4:9-12
You Are Witnesses Today
Read the passage
9At this, Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I am buying from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon.
10Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to raise up the name of the deceased through his inheritance, so that his name will not disappear from among his brothers or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”
11“We are witnesses,” said the elders and all the people at the gate. “May the LORD make the woman entering your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you be prosperous in Ephrathah and famous in Bethlehem.
12And may your house become like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring the LORD will give you by this young woman.”
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Boaz announces before the elders and the people that he has acquired all the property belonging to Elimelech, Chilion, and Mahlon from Naomi. He also declares that Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon's widow, will be his wife. He states his purpose: the deceased man's name is to be preserved through his inheritance and remain among his people.
He calls those present to be witnesses, and they agree. Their answer goes beyond confirming the transaction. They pray for the household being formed.
They ask the LORD to make Ruth like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. The foreign widow is welcomed with a blessing that names Israel's mothers. They also pray that Boaz will prosper in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem.
Finally, they ask that his family become like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring the LORD gives him by Ruth. Their hope rests on God's gift of life. A legal agreement at the gate has become an occasion for the community to ask the LORD's blessing on a marriage and its future.
How We Know
Genesis 38:29 records the birth of Perez to Tamar. Ruth's closing genealogy traces Boaz's family from Perez, so the blessing invokes a house to which Boaz already belongs. The people pray for that family to flourish through the household he and Ruth are forming.
Questions
1 What does Boaz ask the people to witness?
AnswerHis acquisition of the family property and his marriage to Ruth, with the stated purpose of preserving the deceased man’s name through his inheritance.
2 Which women do they name in their blessing for Ruth?
AnswerRachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. They ask the LORD to bless Ruth’s place in the family being formed.
3 What do they ask for Boaz’s household?
AnswerThey pray for prosperity and a good name, and for his house to become like the house of Perez through the offspring the LORD gives.
4 How can prayer be part of welcoming a household into our community?
AnswerWe can ask God for their good, learn what support they need, and include them in ordinary life. Our actions can show the care we express in prayer.
What This Means for Us
A new household needs more than our interest in how things will turn out. Pray for the people in it and offer friendship they can rely on. The witnesses at Bethlehem ask the LORD to bless a woman who came from another country. We can also welcome newcomers without treating their background as a barrier to our care.
Prayer
Father, bless the households around us. Help us welcome newcomers with friendship and prayer, and teach us to seek their good as people You have placed within our reach. Amen.