Then Boaz said, “On the day you buy the field from Naomi, you will acquire[a] Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the deceased man, to perpetuate the man’s name on his property.”[b](A)

The redeemer replied, “I can’t redeem it myself, or I will ruin my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption, because I can’t redeem it.”

At an earlier period in Israel, a man removed his sandal(B) and gave it to the other party in order to make any matter legally binding concerning the right of redemption or the exchange of property. This was the method of legally binding a transaction in Israel.

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Footnotes

  1. 4:5 Lit Naomi and from
  2. 4:5 Alt Hb tradition reads Naomi, I will have already acquired from Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead man, the privilege of raising up the name of the dead man on his property

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