This is Post 6 in a 9-Part Series on Immigration
It is interesting to me that all of the Israelites were supposed to be following the Old Testament laws and treating foreigners with kindness and generosity, but Boaz clearly stood out. It would seem that many of them may have "talked the talk", but Boaz actually "walked the walk", and he did so not reluctantly, but generously and graciously. After 2 full seasons, Boaz had proven to be a man of his word, and Naomi asks Ruth to take a very big - but calculated - risk.
As I mentioned previously, there were also property and inheritance laws at that time, and while they may seem oppressive by today's standards, they were actually quite "progressive" for that time period.
When the Israelites had conquered The Promised Land, they had divided up the property into 12 territories, 1 for each of the 12 tribes. In order to keep the land within each tribe ("extended family"), it was passed on through the sons because daughters typically went to live with their husbands once they married. As a result, the laws at the time prohibited women from owning property.
But in Numbers 27:1-11 something extraordinary happens! The 5 daughters of Zelophehad "... stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the tribal leaders, and the entire community at the entrance of the Tabernacle" to petition for fair treatment under the law!
"'Our father died in the wilderness ... But he had no sons. Why should the name of our father disappear from his clan just because he had no sons? Give us property along with the rest of our relatives.'"
"So Moses brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord replied to Moses, 'The claim of the daughters of Zelophehad is legitimate. You must give them a grant of land along with their father's relatives. Assign them the property that would have been given to their father."
At this time in history, women typically could not own property, so this was a huge - and very "progressive" - change from the norm! ***
But a short time later, their uncles petitioned Moses. They were concerned that if their nieces inherited the family property and then married men outside of their tribe, the property that was supposed to stay within the tribe would no longer belong to the tribe. So Moses consulted the Lord again and another law was passed: "The daughters throughout the tribes of Israel who are in line to inherit property must marry within their tribe, so that all the Israelites will keep their ancestral property." (Numbers 36) In other words, in order for a woman to inherit property, she had to marry within her own tribe.
Naomi and Elimelech owned property in Bethlehem, and with no surviving male heirs, Naomi had inherited it. But she couldn't afford to maintain it, and selling it outside of the family would be the end of their lineage. In order to keep the property in the family and keep the family name alive, Naomi or Ruth would have to marry someone within the tribe of Judah known as a "kinsman redeemer".
A kinsman redeemer was "a male relative who ... had the privilege or responsibility to act for a relative who was in trouble, danger, or need of vindication." (Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology) In this particular situation, taking on the responsibility of acting as a kinsman redeemer would be very costly. Someone would have to pay Naomi full price to purchase her land, and would have to take Ruth as his wife even though any children they had together would be considered the children of her deceased husband (in order to keep the family name and keep the property within the family). The amount paid to Naomi for the property, the value of the property itself, as well as the cost of providing for a family that was legally not his own and would inherit all of it apart from him would be considerable, and would "water down" any inheritance for his own next of kin.
As I said, at this point in the story, Naomi decides to take a very calculated risk. She is "gambling" on Boaz' character and integrity, and she asks Ruth to put herself in a very vulnerable position by paying a late-night visit to Boaz at the threshing floor.
Literally, the threshing floor was where landowners would take their crops after the harvest to separate the wheat or the barley from the chaff. Figuratively, the threshing floor symbolized a refining, separating the good from the bad.
Because it was a place to reap the wages of the harvest, people who were gathered there were typically in very good spirits with plenty of money to spend, so it had a reputation for being a place of eating, drinking, and celebrating. As such, Naomi knew it would be an opportune time for Ruth to ask Boaz to be their kinsman redeemer. Unfortunately, because spirits were high and the alcohol and the money were abundant, the threshing floor also had a reputation for prostitution. And this was the gamble Naomi was asking Ruth to take: would Boaz prove to be a gentleman - even in the most tempting of situations? Or would he take advantage of the opportunity - and take advantage of Ruth? And, furthermore, would he rise to the occasion and accept Ruth's proposal of marriage, or would he decide the responsibility and the associated cost would be too great?
Naomi tells Ruth to get cleaned up; " ... take a bath, and put on perfume, and dress in your nicest clothes." (Ruth 3:3) I think there is a tendency when reading through a contemporary lens to conclude that Naomi is setting Ruth up to seduce Boaz, but there are several other details in Scripture that would call that into question. In my opinion, Boaz had never seen Ruth in any other capacity other than hard at work in his fields - sweaty, stinky, and dressed for work. In contrast, I think Naomi wanted Boaz to see Ruth in a different "light" and to open his eyes to a side of Ruth that he had probably never seen before.
Everything Naomi tells Ruth to do is calculated and intentional; she tells Ruth to make sure she isn't seen there until well into the night because, most likely, she doesn't want Boaz (or the other men!) to get the wrong impression and think that Ruth is there to prostitute herself for money. Instead, Ruth waits until Boaz is asleep and she lays down at his feet (a position of submission and vulnerability, which demonstrated that she was there to propose as opposed to seduce), and she takes the blanket off of his feet so that his feet will eventually get cold and wake him up (the threshing floor was typically high on a hill and would have been cold and windy). And when he finally wakes up a while later, she proposes marriage, making it clear to him that she is asking him to be her kinsman redeemer.
This is the critical point at which the nature of their relationship changes. Everything in Scripture would indicate that, up until this point, their relationship had been nothing but respectful, appropriate ... and platonic! Boaz knew there was another male relative in the line of succession that would have had the privilege (and responsibility!) of being Ruth's kinsman redeemer, and a man of his character and integrity would not have crossed that line. He, Naomi, and Ruth all knew there were other men Ruth could have married. But Ruth had chosen him; she was basically saying, "Hey, I wanna take this relationship in another direction!" ... And Boaz was thrilled to say the least! Naomi's "gamble" had paid off! Boaz proved to be a gentleman through and through, even being careful to protect Ruth's reputation early the next morning before he could finalize things.
Boaz follows the laws by making things right by the first in line to be the kinsman redeemer, and then he purchases Naomi's property, marries Ruth, and they have a son named Obed (much to Naomi's delight!).
If you recall, throughout this series God had promised blessings for those who followed His "immigration laws" and treated foreigners with kindness and generosity (as well as curses for those who did not). ... And true to His Word, God kept His Promise!
Naomi would have received a significant sum of money for her property and was most likely able to continue living there. In addition, she now had a grandchild by Boaz and Ruth who would carry on the family name, care for her in her old age, and would one day inherit all of her money and property.
Ruth was no longer scraping by and working hard for "hand outs". She was now a very wealthy woman with a husband who would stop at nothing to love her and care for her, a family who thought the world of her, a reputation that preceded her, and an eternal legacy that followed her.
And Boaz had the woman of his dreams, as well as a legacy that lived on for centuries, and, indeed, changed the course of history. You see, their son, Obed eventually became the grandfather of King David. And Jesus - the son of God - came through the lineage of David. And while Ruth's late husband, Mahlon, may have legally been Obed's father, all of Scripture recognizes Boaz as the father of Obed.
I guess you could say they "all lived happily ever after".
© I Lift My Voice, 2025
*** Incidentally, women in the United States did not receive the right to inherit property upon the death of their husbands until roughly 1900. ... "Progress" frequently seems to be "one step forward, two steps back". ***
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