Ruth 4:5 records Boaz telling the nearer relative that buying Naomi’s field also means taking on Ruth the Moabite, widow of Naomi’s dead son, so that the dead man’s name continues on the land he left behind. Boaz speaks this at the city gate to the closest kinsman who has the first right to redeem the property, and he is making sure that person understands the full cost of the deal before he commits.
Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance.”
Ruth 4:5 (WEB)
What Ruth 4:5 Means
Boaz begins with “On the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi,” which names the transaction on the table: a family piece of land that has come back into the hands of Naomi after she returned from Moab with Ruth. The kinsman is being asked to act as a redeemer, buying back what would otherwise pass out of the family.
The clause “you must buy it also from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead” is the surprise. Anyone who takes the field must also take on the responsibility of Ruth, whose husband Mahlon has died. The phrase “to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance” explains the purpose: a child born to Ruth would carry Mahlon’s name and inherit the land in his line. The verse does not promise the kinsman anything beyond the obligation Boaz is describing, and it does not reveal how the matter will end. The next verses show the kinsman backing out.
The Context of Ruth 4:5
The book of Ruth is traditionally attributed to Samuel, though its author is unnamed and the date is debated, with many scholars placing its final form in or after the monarchy period. It was written for an Israelite audience and tells a family story in the time of the judges, a setting marked by instability in which the protective customs of family and land mattered greatly. Ruth 4:2-8 frames the moment as a formal legal transaction held before ten elders, and verse 7 notes that a sandal exchange confirmed such deals.
Verses 3 and 4 show the kinsman first agreeing to redeem the land, then verse 5 raises the added condition that changes his mind in verse 6. Read in that sequence, Boaz is not hiding the cost; he is laying it out in public so the kinsman’s choice is fully informed. That honesty is part of why the scene reads as a fair and open negotiation rather than a trick.
Key Phrases in Ruth 4:5
Ruth 4:14
The women said to Naomi, “Blessed be the LORD, who has not left you today without a near kinsman. Let his name be famous in Israel.
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This verse brings the story to its conclusion, with the women of Bethlehem blessing God for not leaving the family without a redeemer. It shows the outcome Boaz’s action made possible and gives the reader a sense of the community’s response.
Deuteronomy 25:5-6
5 If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies, and has no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married outside to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, and take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 It shall be that the firstborn whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name not be blotted out of Israel.
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These verses lay out the Israelite law of levirate marriage, the custom Boaz is applying in Ruth’s case. Reading the original command helps explain why the kinsman’s obligation existed and why the dead man’s name needed protecting.
A Short Prayer From Ruth 4:5
Lord, you see the people who have lost what they once had and who wait for someone to stand up for them. Give me the honesty to name the full cost of what I take on and the courage to keep my word when it becomes costly. Help me to protect the names and futures of those who cannot protect themselves, and to act with the same openness Boaz showed at the city gate. Keep my heart faithful to those you have placed in my care, and let my decisions honor you. Amen.
