Ruth 4:7-10

4:7 (Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel: ¹  A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party. ²  This was a legally binding act ³  in Israel.) 4:8 So the guardian said to Boaz, “You may acquire it,” and he removed his sandal. ⁴  4:9 Then Boaz said to the leaders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have acquired from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 4:10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property ⁵  so the name of the deceased might not disappear ⁶  from among his relatives and from his village. ⁷  You are witnesses today.”

Ruth 4:2

4:2 Boaz chose ten of the village leaders ⁸  and said, “Sit down here!” So they sat down.

Ruth 1:1

A Family Tragedy: Famine and Death

1:1 During the time of the judges ⁹  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ¹⁰  So a man from Bethlehem ¹¹  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ¹²  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ¹³ 

Jeremiah 32:10-11

32:10 I signed the deed of purchase, ¹⁴  sealed it, and had some men serve as witnesses to the purchase. ¹⁵  I weighed out the silver for him on a scale. 32:11 There were two copies of the deed of purchase. One was sealed and contained the order of transfer and the conditions of purchase. ¹⁶  The other was left unsealed.

¹ tn Heb “and this formerly in Israel concerning redemption and concerning a transfer to ratify every matter.”

² tn Heb “a man removed his sandal and gave [it] to his companion”; NASB “gave it to another”; NIV, NRSV, CEV “to the other.”

³ tn Heb “the legal witness”; KJV “a testimony”; ASV, NASB “the manner (form NAB) of attestation.”

⁴ tc The LXX adds “and gave it to him” (cf. TEV, CEV), which presupposes the reading ויתן לו. This seems to be a clarifying addition (see v. 7), but it is possible the scribe’s eye jumped from the final vav (ו) on נַעֲלוֹ (na’alo, “his sandal”) to the final vav (ו) on לוֹ (lo, “to him”), accidentally omitting the intervening letters.

⁵ tn Heb “in order to raise up the name of the deceased over his inheritance” (NASB similar).

⁶ tn Heb “be cut off” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “may not perish.”

⁷ tn Heb “and from the gate of his place” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “from the court of his birth place”; NIV “from the town records.”

⁸ tn Heb “and he took ten men from the elders of the town.”

⁹ tn Heb “in the days of the judging of the judges.” The LXX simply reads “when the judges judged,” and Syriac has “in the days of the judges.” Cf. NASB “in the days when the judges governed (ruled NRSV).”

¹⁰ tn Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

¹¹ sn The name Bethlehem (בֵּית לֶחֶם, bet lekhem) is from “house, place” (בֵּית) and “bread, food” (לֶחֶם), so the name literally means “House of Bread” or “Place of Food.” Perhaps there is irony here: One would not expect a severe famine in such a location. This would not necessarily indicate that Bethlehem was under divine discipline, but merely that the famine was very severe, explaining the reason for the family’s departure.

¹² tn Or “to live temporarily.” The verb גּוּר (gur, “sojourn”) may refer to (1) temporary dwelling in a location (Deut 18:6; Judg 17:7) or (2) permanent dwelling in a location (Judg 5:17; Ps 33:8). When used of a foreign land, it can refer to (1) temporary dwelling as a visiting foreigner (Gen 12:10; 20:1; 21:34; 2 Kgs 8:1-2; Jer 44:14) or (2) permanent dwelling as a resident foreigner (Gen 47:4; Exod 6:4; Num 15:14; Deut 26:5; 2 Sam 4:3; Jer 49:18,33; 50:40; Ezek 47:22-23). Although Naomi eventually returned to Judah, there is some ambiguity whether or not Elimelech intended the move to make them permanent resident foreigners. Cf. NASB “to sojourn” and NIV “to live for a while,” both of which imply the move was temporary, while “to live” (NCV, NRSV, NLT) is more neutral about the permanence of the relocation.

¹³ tn Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”

¹⁴ tn The words “of purchase” are not in the text but are implicit. The qualification is spelled out explicitly in vv. 11, 12, 13. These words are supplied in the translation for clarity. An alternative translation would be “I put the deed in writing.” However, since the same idiom כָּתַב בְּסֵפֶר (catav bÿsefer) is used later in v. 12 with respect to the witnesses, it is likely that it merely refers to signing the document.

¹⁵ tn The words “to the purchase” are not in the text but are implicit in the idiom “I had some witnesses serve as witness.” The words are supplied in the translation for clarity.

¹⁶ tn There is some uncertainty about the precise meaning of the phrases translated “the order of transfer and the regulations.” The translation follows the interpretation suggested by J. Bright, Jeremiah (AB), 237; J. A. Thompson, Jeremiah (NICOT), 586, n. 5; and presumably BDB 349 s.v. חֹק 7, which defines the use of חֹק (khoq) here as “conditions of the deed of purchase.”