Boaz

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Boaz: more..

Greek

Strongs #1003: boov Booz

1003 Booz bo-oz'

Hebrew

Strongs #01162: zeb Bo`az

1162 Bo`az bo'-az

alacrity. (1.) The husband of Ruth, a wealthy Bethlehemite. By the "levirate law" the duty devolved on him of marrying Ruth the Moabitess (Ruth 4:1-13). He was a kinsman of Mahlon, her first husband.

(2.) The name given (for what reason is unknown) to one of the two (the other was called Jachin) brazen pillars which Solomon erected in the court of the temple (1 Kings 7:21; 2 Chr. 3:17). These pillars were broken up and carried to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.

1. A wealthy Bethlehemite kinsman to Elimelech the husband of Naomi. He married Ruth, and redeemed the estates of her deceased husband Mahlon. (Ruth 4:1) Boaz is mentioned in the genealogy of Christ, (Matthew 1:5) (B.C. 1250, but there is great difficulty in assigning his date.)
2. The name of one of Solomon?s brazen pillars erected in the temple porch. [JACHIN] It stood on the left, and was eighteen cubits high. (1 Kings 7:15; 21; 2 Chronicles 3:15; Jeremiah 52:21)

(1) A resident of Bethlehem and kinsman of Elimelech, Naomi's husband. In Ruth 2:1 he is described as a gibbor chayil, a phrase which can mean either "a mighty man of valor" or else "a man of position and wealth." The latter is probably the sense in which the phrase is applied to Boaz (compare 1 Sam 9:1). He had fields outside the town, and to them Ruth went to glean. Boaz noticed her and extended special kindness and protection to her, bidding her remain with his female workers, and charging the men not to illtreat her, and also giving her of the reapers' food at mealtime. Boaz awoke one night and found Ruth lying at his feet. He praised her virtue, and promised to take charge of her if her dead husband's next-of-kin failed to do so. He laid her case before the next-of-kin, and finally redeemed the family property himself and bought as well the right to take Ruth in marriage. The son of Boaz and Ruth was Obed, father of Jesse, and grandfather of David. 1 Ch 2:11,12 makes Boaz a descendant of Hezron, and so probably a chief of the Hezronite clan in Bethlehem. Jewish tradition identifies Boaz with Ibzan (Jdg 12:8-10).

Boaz "is set before us as a model of piety, generosity and chastity" (H. P. Smith, Old Testament History, 398). He found virtue and rewarded it. HPM, sections 501-8, gives a picture of the life of "a well-to-do landed proprietor of central Palestine," much of which could aptly be taken as a description of Boaz.

(2) The name of one of the two bronze pillars erected in front of Solomon's temple, the other being Jachin (1 Ki 7:21; 2 Ch 3:17).

See JACHIN AND BOAZ; TEMPLE.

David Francis Roberts

Boaz was a godly man who was eager to reward Ruth when he learnt of her kindness to her widowed mother-in-law (Ruth 2:11-12). He protected her from the local youths (Ruth 2:8-9,22), supplied her with food and drink during her day’s work (Ruth 2:9,14), rewarded her gleaning (Ruth 2:16-20) and gave her extra supplies of grain (Ruth 3:15). He showed no racial prejudice against her in spite of the traditional hostility between Israel and Moab (Ruth 2:6,10).

When Ruth asked Boaz to keep alive the name of her late husband by fulfilling the duties of a close relative, Boaz responded generously. He was open and honourable in all his dealings with her, whether concerning marriage or property (Ruth 3:11-13; 4:1-6). He married Ruth, and the child born to them was an ancestor of King David and of Jesus the Messiah (Ruth 4:18-22; Matt 1:1,5).