PERSON · PATRIARCH

Boaz

Boaz fulfilled the role of kinsman-redeemer (go'el) for Naomi and Ruth, redeeming the land of Elimelech and perpetuating the family line of the deceased (Ruth 4:9–10). Through this union with Ruth the Moabitess, he became an ancestor of King David (Ruth 4:17–22) and is listed in the Matthean and Lukan genealogies of Jesus (Matthew 1:5; Luke 3:32).

Ruth 2:1

The Story

There is a harvest scene tucked into the book of Ruth that most readers pass through quickly on their way to the romance, and that is a mistake. It is in the harvest that Boaz first appears — walking out to his fields in Bethlehem, greeting his workers with a blessing, and noticing a foreign woman gleaning along the edges of the grain. That moment, ordinary as it seems, is the hinge on which a dynasty turns.

Scripture introduces him with a single, weighted phrase: a mighty man of wealth, a man of standing, from the family of Elimelech.

¹And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.
Ruth 2:1·KJV

The book of Ruth is spare in its descriptions, and so that introduction carries freight. Boaz is not a peripheral figure charmed into a role he stumbles upon. He is a man of consequence in Bethlehem, a landowner, a kinsman of the dead man whose widow has just returned from Moab. Whatever happens next, he has the standing to make it matter.

What he chooses to do with that standing is the story.

Life & Legacy

Death

Scripture

Scripture does not record the circumstances or timing of Boaz's death.

Scripture does not record

Legacy

Scripture

Boaz fathered Obed, who fathered Jesse, who fathered David (Ruth 4:21–22), placing Boaz in the direct ancestral line of David and, according to the New Testament genealogies, of Jesus (Matthew 1:5–6; Luke 3:32).

Ruth 4:21–22; Matthew 1:5–6; Luke 3:32

Character

Scripture

Boaz is described as a man of standing (Ruth 2:1) who showed generosity to Ruth by permitting her to glean in his fields, instructing his workers not to rebuke her, and providing her with extra grain and food (Ruth 2:8–16). He acknowledged her loyalty to Naomi and acted as her kinsman-redeemer by publicly redeeming Elimelech's land and taking Ruth as his wife in accordance with Israelite custom (Ruth 4:9–10).

Ruth 2:1–16; Ruth 4:9–10

Significance

Scripture

Ruth 4:9–10; Ruth 4:17–22; Matthew 1:5; Luke 3:32

DeathScripture

Scripture does not record the circumstances or timing of Boaz's death.

Scripture does not record

LegacyScripture

Ruth 4:21–22; Matthew 1:5–6; Luke 3:32

CharacterScripture

Ruth 2:1–16; Ruth 4:9–10

SignificanceScripture

Ruth 4:9–10; Ruth 4:17–22; Matthew 1:5; Luke 3:32

Roles

Patriarch

In Scripture

Ruth 2:1key

¹And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.

KJV

Ruth 2:4–23key

⁴And, behold, Boaz came from Beth–lehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee. ⁵Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? ⁶And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab: ⁷And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house. ⁸Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: ⁹Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. … (14 more)

KJV

Ruth 3:1–18key

¹Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? ²And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. ³Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. ⁴And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. ⁵And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. ⁶And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her. … (12 more)

KJV

Ruth 4:1–22key

¹Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down. ²And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down. ³And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which was our brother Elimelech’s: ⁴And I thought to advertise thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it: but if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know: for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after thee. And he said, I will redeem it. ⁵Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. ⁶And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it. … (16 more)

KJV

Matthew 1:5

⁵And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;

KJV

Luke 3:32

³²Which was the son of Jesse, which was the son of Obed, which was the son of Booz, which was the son of Salmon, which was the son of Naasson,

KJV

Artist's impression