Ruth 2:5

2:5 Boaz asked ¹  his servant ²  in charge of the harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?” ³ 

Ruth 3:13

3:13 Remain here tonight. Then in the morning, if he agrees to marry you, ⁴  fine, ⁵  let him do so. ⁶  But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you. ⁷  Sleep here until morning.” ⁸ 

Ruth 4:1

Boaz Settles the Matter

4:1 Now Boaz went up ⁹  to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian ¹⁰  whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth! ¹¹  Boaz said, “Come ¹²  here and sit down, ‘John Doe’!” ¹³  So he came ¹⁴  and sat down.

[2:5]  ¹ tn Heb “said to.” Since what follows is a question, “asked” is appropriate in this context.

[2:5]  ² tn Heb “young man.” Cf. NAB “overseer”; NIV, NLT “foreman.”

[2:5]  ³ sn In this patriarchal culture Ruth would “belong” to either her father (if unmarried) or her husband (if married).

[3:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “if he redeems you”; NIV “if he wants to redeem”; NRSV “if he will act as next-of-kin for you.” The verb גֹּאֵל (go’el) here refers generally to fulfilling his responsibilities as a guardian of the family interests. In this case it specifically entails marrying Ruth.

[3:13]  ⁵ tn Or “good” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); TEV “well and good.”

[3:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “let him redeem” (so NIV); NLT “then let him marry you.”

[3:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “but if he does not want to redeem you, then I will redeem you, I, [as] the Lord lives” (NASB similar).

[3:13]  ⁸ sn Sleep here. Perhaps Boaz tells her to remain at the threshing floor because he is afraid she might be hurt wandering back home in the dark. See Song 5:7 and R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 218.

[4:1]  ⁷ tn The disjunctive clause structure (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + verb) here signals the beginning of a new scene.

[4:1]  ⁸ tn Sometimes translated “redeemer.” See the note on the phrase “guardian of the family interests” in 3:9.

[4:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “look, the guardian was passing by of whom Boaz had spoken.”

[4:1]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “turn aside” (so KJV, NASB); NIV, TEV, NLT “Come over here.”

[4:1]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a certain one”; KJV, ASV “such a one.” The expression פְלֹנִי אַלְמֹנִי (pÿloni ’almoni) is not the name of the nearest relative, but an idiom which literally means “such and such” or “a certain one” (BDB 811-12 s.v. פְלֹנִי), which is used when one wishes to be ambiguous (1 Sam 21:3; 2 Kgs 6:8). Certainly Boaz would have known his relative’s name, especially in such a small village, and would have uttered his actual name. However the narrator refuses to record his name in a form of poetic justice because he refused to preserve Mahlon’s “name” (lineage) by marrying his widow (see 4:5, 9-10). This close relative, who is a literary foil for Boaz, refuses to fulfill the role of family guardian. Because he does nothing memorable, he remains anonymous in a chapter otherwise filled with names. His anonymity contrasts sharply with Boaz’s prominence in the story and the fame he attains through the child born to Ruth. Because the actual name of this relative is not recorded, the translation of this expression is difficult since contemporary English style expects either a name or title. This is usually supplied in modern translations: “friend” (NASB, NIV, RSV, NRSV, NLT), “so-and-so” (JPS, NJPS). Perhaps “Mr. So-And-So!” or “Mr. No-Name!” makes the point. For discussion see Adele Berlin, Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative, 99-101; R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 233-35; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 196-97. In the present translation “John Doe” is used since it is a standard designation for someone who is a party to legal proceedings whose true name is unknown.

[4:1]  ¹² tn Heb “and he turned aside” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “And he went over.”