Ruth 4:17

_AND THE WOMEN HER NEIGHBOURS GAVE IT A NAME, SAYING, THERE IS A SON BORN TO NAOMI; AND THEY CALLED HIS NAME OBED: HE IS THE FATHER OF JESSE, THE FATHER OF DAVID._ Obed - means 'servant.'...

13-22 Ruth bore a son, through whom thousands and myriads were born to God; and in being the lineal ancestor of Christ, she was instrumental in the happiness of all that shall be saved by him; even of us Gentiles, as well as those of Jewish descent. She was a witness for God to the Gentile world, that he had not utterly forsaken them, but that in due time they should become one with his chosen people, and partake of his salvation. Prayer to God attended the marriage, and praise to him attended the birth of the child. What a pity it is that pious language should not be more used among Christians, or that it should be let fall into formality! Here is the descent of David from Ruth. And the period came when Bethlehem-Judah displayed greater wonders than those in the history of Ruth, when the outcast babe of another forlorn female of the same race appeared, controlling the counsels of the R...

Verse Ruth 4:17. _THE NEIGHBOURS GAVE IT A NAME_] That is, they recommended a name suitable to the circumstances of the case; and the parents and grandmother adopted it. _THEY CALLED HIS NAME OBED_] עובד _obed, serving_, from עבד _abad, he served_. Why was this name given? Because he was to be the nourisher of her old age, Ruth 4:15. And so he must be by _lying in her bosom_, even if _services_ in future life were wholly left out of the question. These neighbours of Naomi were skilful people. See on Ruth 4:16. Other meanings, of which I am not ignorant, have been derived from these words; those who prefer them have my consent. He is the father of Jesse, the father of Da

OBED - i. e. serving, with allusion to the service of love and duty which he would render to his grandmother Naomi....

EXPOSITION RUTH 4:1 AND BOAZ WENT UP, TO THE GATE, AND SAT THERE. He "went up," for the city stood, as it still stands, on a ridge (see on Ruth 1:1; Ruth 3:6). "And sat there," on one of the stones, or stone benches, that were set for the accommodation of the townsfolk. The gateway in the East often corresponded, as a place of meeting, to the forum, or the market-place, in the West. Boaz had reason to believe that his kinsman would be either passing out to his fields, or passing in from his threshing-floor, through the one gate of the city. AND LO, THE KINSMAN OF WHOM BOAZ HAD SPOKEN WAS PASSING; AND HE SAID, HO, SUCH A ONE I TURN HITHER AND SIT HERE. And he turned and sat down. Boaz

AND THE WOMEN HER NEIGHBOURS GAVE IT A NAME,.... Josephus says q Naomi gave it, by the advice of her neighbours; very probably on the eighth day when he was circumcised, and the neighbours were invited on that occasion, at which time it seems it was usual to give names to children, see Luke 1:59. The Romans gave names to females on the eighth day, to the males on the ninth; hence the goddess Nundina had her name r; the Greeks generally on the tenth, sometimes on the seventh s: it was commonly the province of the father to give the name, and sometimes his neighbours and nearest friends were called, and in their presence the name was given, and by any of them he should choose in his stead t: SAYING, THERE IS A SON BORN TO NAOMI; to her family, and even to herself, being born of her who had been wife to her eldest son; and this was to her as instead of him, and was as he to her; so

CHAPTER 4 THE REDEMPTION AND MARRIAGE _ 1. The other kinsman (Ruth 4:1)_ 2. His refusal (Ruth 4:6) 3. Boaz's redemption (Ruth 4:9) 4. The marriage (Ruth 4:11) 5. Naomi's happiness (Ruth 4:14) 6. The ancestry of David (Ruth 4:18) And now the other redeemer, who cannot redeem, appears. Boaz sits in the gate and hails the one whom he knew as he passeth by. He calls him not by name but said, “Ho, such a one! turn aside, and sit down here.” If Boaz had not called

RUTH 4. RUTH'S MARRIAGE. Ruth 4:1. Instead of such an one! Boaz called the person's actual name, which the narrator either does not know or does not see any need for bringing into the story. Ruth 4:2. The elders of the city are called in as witnesses of an important transaction affecting the rights of a family. For selleth we ought to read hath sold. The point is that the property had passed out of the family's hands and required to be redeemed. Ruth 4:5. Here the meaning is entirely missed in our translation. Read, Thou buyest Ruth also (_cf._ Ruth 4:10). Marriage by purchase was the ancient Semitic practice, but no more is meant here than t

_the women her neighbours_. Cf. Ruth 4:14 and Ruth 1:19. In St Luke 1:58 f., the neighbours and kinsfolk propose to name the child. _There is a son born to Naomi_ The child is popularly considered to belong to Naomi's family. Cf. Genesis 30:3, where the son of Bilhah, born on the knees of Rachel, is regarded as Rachel's child. _Obed_ An abbreviated form of Obad-iah -servant of Jah," or of Abdi-el -servant of El." _the father of Jesse, the father of David_ The ancestry of Jesse is not given in 1 Sam. The name (_Ishai_) is perhaps a shortened form of _Abishai_. The story of Ruth thus shews how a Moabite women obtained an hon

THE WOMEN HER NEIGHBOURS GAVE IT A NAME— They advised Naomi to give the child such a name as was suitable to their foregoing discourse, and to the case of Naomi. See Luke 1:59. _Obed_ signifies a _servant,_ as Josephus interprets it: the Chaldee paraphrases the name, "Obed, who served the Lord of the world with a perfect heart." The sacred historian adds, _he is the father of Jesse, the father of David;_ and in these words points out to us what appears to have been the principal design of this book, which was, to inform us of the origin of the family of David, and consequently that of the Messiah; and on this account it is that the genealogy is annexed, Ruth 4:18, &c. We refer to the chronologists for the dates and ages of the persons mentioned in this genealogy, and in particular to Archbishop Usher's