SECTION XXXIII

 

Ruth 4:3-4

 

Text:

 

 

v7c„7¹8v hÜ!n^g¶b v±7r0f7n L3k×#nh1k%t3k bh„1j7t0k r‚#A4t vÜ3s7¼8v «,8e0k3j kÜ2t`8k «r#nt`«œ•u   d

:c7t¨n v‚2s}¼!n

«k*tºd!¯‘o!t ˜h!Œ*g h±™b0eÐz s£d±£bºu ©oh1c}Aœ8v s£d‚£b v™b0e¸ r`¡nt2k ±Šºbºz7t v‡3kºd#t h!¯}r®*n7t h«Ðb4t•u   s

Šh×#r4j*t h„1f`b7tºu k¨Ütºd1k «Š},7kz ih‹2t h±1ƒ [«v7g0s2tºu] «7g0s2tºu h¡1¦ v7sh±Ð8v k®*tºdÐh t«µ‘o!tºu kÜ7tº

:k7tºd#t h‚1f`b7t r#nt`„œ•u

 

 

Targum:

 

TANAKH

Translation

SEPTUAGINT

Translation

r#nt`«œ•u

and he said

 

 

kÜ2t`8k

to the redeemer

 

 

«,8e0k3j

piece of

 

 

vÜ3s7¼8v

the land

 

 

r‚#A4t

that

 

 

bh„1j7t0k

to our brother

 

 

L3k×#nh1k%t3k

to Elimelech

 

 

v±7r0f7n

she sells

 

 

hÜ!n^g¶b

Naomi

 

 

v7c„7¹8v

who she returned

 

 

v‚2s}¼!n

from fields of

 

 

:c7t¨n

Moav

 

 

h«Ðb4t•u

and I

 

 

h!¯}r®*n7t

I thought

 

 

v‡3kºd#t

I should inform

 

 

±Šºbºz7t

your ear

 

 

r`¡nt2k

to say

 

 

v™b0e¸

buy

 

 

s£d‚£b

before

 

 

« ©oh1c}Aœ8v

the ones sitting

 

 

s£d±£bºu

and before

 

 

h±™b0eÐz

the elders of

 

 

˜h!Œ*g

my people

 

 

‘o!t     

if

 

 

k*tºd!¯

you will redeem

 

 

kÜ7tº

redeem

 

 

‘o!tºu

and if

 

 

t«µ

not

 

 

k®*tºdÐh

he will redeem

 

 

v7sh±Ð8v

tell

 

 

h¡1¦

to me

 

 

7g0s2tºu

so I will know

 

 

[«v7g0s2tºu]

 

 

 

h±1ƒ

for

 

 

ih‹2t

no one

 

 

Š},7kz

except you

 

 

k¨Ütºd1k

to redeem

 

 

h„1f`b7tºu

and I am

 

 

Šh×#r4j*t

after you

 

 

r#nt`„œ•u

and he said

 

 

h‚1f`b7t

I am

 

 

:k7tºd#t

I will redeem

 

 

 

Peshitta

 

4:3 And he said to the near kinsman, Naomi is selling to me the parcel of land which belonged to our brother Elimeleck

 

4:4 And f thought to let you know, and say to you, Buy it in the presence of those who are seated, for I am ready to speak and to purchase it in the presence of the elders of my peo­ple who are seated. And now, if you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know that you will not redeem it; then I will redeem it. And he said, I will redeem it.

 

 

Stone’s Translation

 

4:3 Then he said to the redeemer, “The parcel of land which belonged to our brother, Elimelech, is being offered for sale by Naomi who has returned from the fields of Moab.

 

4:4 I resolved that I should inform you to this effect: Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you are willing to redeem, redeem! But if it will not be redeemed, tell me, that I may know; for there is no one else to redeem it but you, and 1 am after you. “And he said, “I am willing to redeem.”

 

KJV

 

4:3 And 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:

 

4:4 And 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].  

 

Septuagint

Ruth 4:3 kai; ei\pen Boo" tw'/ ajgcistei' th;n merivda tou' ajgrou' h{ ejstin tou' ajdelfou' hJmw'n tou' Abimelec h}

devdotai Nwemin th'/ ejpistrefouvsh/ ejx ajgrou' Mwab

Ruth 4:4

kajgw; ei\pa ajpokaluvyw to; ou\" sou levgwn kth'sai ejnantivon tw'n kaqhmevnwn kai; ejnantivon tw'n

presbutevrwn tou' laou' mou eij ajgcisteuvei" ajgcivsteue eij de; mh; ajgcisteuvei" ajnavggeilovn moi kai;

gnwvsomai o{ti oujk e[stin pavrex sou' tou' ajgcisteu'sai kajgwv eijmi meta; sev oJ de; ei\pen ejgwv eijmi

ajgcisteuvsw

 

Ruth 4:3-4 And Boöz said to the kinsman, “Concerning the part of the field which belongs to our brother Elimelech, which has been given to Noemin, who has returned from the land of Moab, 4 as I said, I will reveal it to your ear” saying, “Acquire it before those who sit, and before the elders of my people. If you are next of kin, take the privilege of a kinsman; but if you will not take the privilege of a kinsman, then tell me, that I may know; for there is no one but you to take the privilege of a kinsman, and I am next after you.” Then he said, “I am next of kin; I will take the privilege of a kinsman.” 

 

 

Peshat Level:

 

Targum

3- Then he said to the redeemer: "Naomi, who has returned from the field of Moav, is selling the land inherited by our brother, Elimelech.

4- "So I thought I would tell you about it saying, 'Buy it in the presence of those sitting at the gate, the Beth Din of the Sanhedrin, and in the presence of the elders of my people.' If you are willing to redeem it, do so; but if you are unwilling, tell me, so that I may know, inasmuch as there is no one who is entitled to redeem before you, and who is as close a relative as you are, as far as buying is concerned. Let me know, then, that I may be the redeemer after you." "I will redeem it," said he.

 

Rashi

 

4:4  That I may know for there is no one besides you  (I.e., as) close (as you) to redeem.

 

 

Gemarah Level:

 

Talmud Babli

Baba Bathra 91a  R. Hanan b. Raba said in the name of Rab: Elimelech and Salmon and such a one and the father of Naomi all were the sons of Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. What does he come to teach us [by this statement]? — That even the merit of one's ancestors is of no avail when one leaves the land [of Palestine] for a foreign country.

 

 

Midrash Level:

 

Midrash Rabbah

 

Ruth VII:9 AND HE SAID UNTO THE NEAR KINSMAN: NAOMI... SELLETH THE PARCEL OF LAND, WHICH WAS OUR BROTHER ELIMELECH'S; AND I THOUGHT TO DISCLOSE IT UNTO THEE, SAYING:... IF THOU WILT REDEEM IT, REDEEM IT (ib. 3 f.)--this he said to the kinsman BUT IF IT WILL NOT BE REDEEMED--this he said to the Beth din. THEN TELL ME THAT I MAY KNOW. that you should not say ‘I have a wife and children, but I will take her into my house, on condition that I need not marry her.’ When the kinsman heard this, he said, ' Certainly! I WILL REDEEM IT,’ whereupon Boaz said, Ruth is lost to me.

 

 

Zohar Level:

 

 

Other Commentaries:

 

Me’am Lo’ez

 

4:3 Then he said to the redeemer, “The portion of field that was our brother Elimelech’s has Naomi sold, who returned from the Fields of Moab.”

 

Boaz urged the redeemer to fulfill his obligation of redeeming the field, in accordance with the Torah law: “If your brother becomes impo­verished and sells of his possessions, the redeemer who is close to him will come and redeem that which his brother has sold” (Leviticus 25:25).

 

“Now the righteous Naomi (she whose deeds are pleasing),” said Boaz, “is selling Elimelech’s field, not out of disregard for her husband’s inheritance but because she has returned from Moab impoverished and needs to sustain herself. Purchase therefore the field of our brother Elimelech, who was a great man, so that his name will not be forgotten and his ancestral inheritance will not fall into a stranger’s hands.

 

“This field is part of a larger one left by their father to be divided among Elimelech, Tov, and Salmon; and it is unfitting for a stranger to intrude.”

 

Since a field may not be redeemed until two years after it is sold, Naomi must have sold hers while she was still in Moab. Or else, the sale took place after her return three months earlier, but since the seller was not the owner but his widow [who only “owned” the field in the sense that she had the right to collect her marriage settlement from it], the field could be redeemed immediately.

 

That is, according to Torah law the two-year moratorium protects the rights of the buyer only if the field is sold directly by the owner, not if sold by court order for sustenance, as in Naomi’s case.

 

4:4 “And I thought I would disclose it to you, saying: ‘Buy it before those sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem, redeem And if he will not redeem, tell me, that I may know. For there is none to redeem besides you, and I after you.”

 

And he said, “I will redeem.”

 

When the people saw the elders sitting in the gate, they, too, assem­bled and were “sitting there.” And before the large gathering, Boaz declared that he had made no attempt to acquire the field for himself, but as soon as he became aware of the situation, his first action was to “dis­close it to you.” He thought it within the redeemer’s right to buy the field; moreover, since Ruth was so evidently a woman of valor, he had no reason to think the other would refuse on account of her.

 

Boaz thus made it clear that he himself was impartial in this matter, and the redeemer’s choice was in no way compromised by the present facts.

 

Boaz began by telling the redeemer to “buy” the field; but that was only “before the elders,” i.e., in keeping with the accepted norm that a buyer will try to lower the price by disparaging the merchandise. On the other hand, a redeemer who cherishes his ancestral inheritance will will­ingly pay more than its value. And therefore Boaz added that he was really asking him to “redeem” the field and pay the higher price.

 

The verse switches from the second person (tigal, ktd,) to the third (yigal, ktdh) That is, “If you will redeem, redeem”’ was said by Boaz; and “If he will not redeem, tell me, that I may know,” was said by one of the elders, or else by Boaz addressing the elders.

 

According to a different interpretation, ktdh, yagal, here does not mean “he will redeem,” but is the redeemer’s name. Boaz said to the redeemer: “If [it is] not [to be] Yigal, let me know!”

 

Or else, Boaz uses the third person in addressing the redeemer in order not to embarrass him. When speaking of fulfilling a mitzvah and redeeming the field, Boaz addressed him directly: “If you will redeem, redeem”’ But when it came to refusing, he said tactfully in the third per­son “If he will not redeem. ...

 

He insisted upon a definite answer, so if the redeemer would not redeem, Boaz would.

 

Abraham Ibn Ezra

 

 

Malbim

 

3. He then said to the redeemer, "The section of the field that belonged to our brother, Elimelech -Naomi, who returned from the field of Moab, has offered [it] for sale." It cannot be that Naomi had already sold the field to someone else and that the question was, would Tov redeem the field from the purchaser, for a field of inheritance cannot be redeemed in less than two years from the date of purchase (Vayikra 25:14-16, see Arachin 29b). Furthermore, Boaz says later (verse 5), "On the day you acquire the field from Naomi... " As such, it should be understood that it was being offered for sale by Naomi and that it had already been publicly declared for sale; that is, it was as if she had already sold it to its potential buyer. [Or, it could possibly mean that Naomi wanted to sell the field but Boaz told her: Now, I said [to Naomi] I shall make you [Tov] aware, as follows: Make an act of acquisition... (verse 4).

 

According to this version, it can be explained as follows: Boaz said but if [he] is not [willing to] redeem [it]; the verse is written in the third person. It is as if Boaz were relating to Naomi the details and conditions of a possible transaction. "And I said to her that I resolved to inform you and that I would tell you before the elders of my people to buy the field -if you choose to redeem, redeem!" All of this I promised her that I would tell you, and I said to her, "And if the redeemer will not redeem..." The rest of the phrase was not completed, as it was self-understood.] The description of the section of the field implied only part of the field and not all of it (the explanation of Ibn Ezra that Elimelech did not have a whole field is difficult to defend) because after the death of her husband and two sons, Naomi took part of the field as part of her wedding contract. Boaz initially informed Tov of Naomi's parcel which she wanted to sell, namely, half of the field which she had received from Elimelech.

 

4. I said [to Naomi] I shall make you [Tov] aware, as follows. Because I do not want the inheritance of our "brother" to fall into the hands of "strangers," and you are the primary candidate for the redemption, I said [to Naomi] I shall make you [Tov] aware, as follows: Make an act of acquisition in front of those seated [here]...for there is no one [closer] than you to act as redeemer, and I am after you." He replied, "I shall redeem. " Because Boaz only discussed Naomi's parcel of land, Tov wanted to redeem that portion.

 

Alshich