The Meaning of Ruth 2:20 Explained

Ruth 2:20

KJV: And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.

YLT: And Naomi saith to her daughter-in-law, 'Blessed is he of Jehovah who hath not forsaken His kindness with the living and with the dead;' and Naomi saith to her, 'The man is a relation of ours; he is of our redeemers.'

Darby: And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Jehovah, who has not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead! And Naomi said to her, The man is near of kin to us, one of those who have the right of our redemption.

ASV: And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Jehovah, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is nigh of kin unto us, one of our near kinsmen.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And Naomi  said  unto her daughter in law,  Blessed  [be] he of the LORD,  who hath not left off  his kindness  to the living  and to the dead.  And Naomi  said  unto her, The man  [is] near of kin  unto us, one of our next kinsmen. 

What does Ruth 2:20 Mean?

Study Notes

kinsmen
Heb. "goel," Redemp. (Kinsman type).
Redeemer
Redemption: Kinsman type, summary. The goel, or Kinsman-Redeemer, is a beautiful type of Christ.
(1) The kinsman redemption was of persons, and an inheritance Leviticus 25:48 ; Leviticus 25:25 ; Galatians 4:5 ; Ephesians 1:7 ; Ephesians 1:11 ; Ephesians 1:14
(2) The Redeemer must be a kinsman Leviticus 25:48 ; Leviticus 25:49 ; Ruth 3:12 ; Ruth 3:13 ; Galatians 4:4 ; Hebrews 2:14 ; Hebrews 2:15 .
(3) The Redeemer must be able to redeem Ruth 4:4-6 ; Jeremiah 50:34 ; John 10:11 ; John 10:18
(4) Redemption is effected by the goel paying the just demand in full Leviticus 25:27 ; 1 Peter 1:18 ; 1 Peter 1:19 ; Galatians 3:13 . (See Scofield " Exodus 14:30 ") See Scofield " Romans 3:24 "
come to Zion
The time when the "Redeemer shall come to Zion" is fixed, relatively, by Romans 11:23-29 as following the completion of the Gentile Church. That is also the order of the great dispensational passage, Acts 15:14-17 .
In both, the return of the Lord to Zion follows the outcalling of the Church.
come to Zion
The time when the "Redeemer shall come to Zion" is fixed, relatively, by Romans 11:23-29 as following the completion of the Gentile Church. That is also the order of the great dispensational passage, Acts 15:14-17 .
In both, the return of the Lord to Zion follows the outcalling of the Church.

Context Summary

Ruth 2:14-23 - Kindness To The Stranger
From the time of the Exodus, kind and thoughtful references are made to the strangers within the gates, Deuteronomy 5:14; Deuteronomy 10:19. These injunctions found beautiful exemplification in Boaz. How careful should be we who live on a higher level, so far as the knowledge of God is concerned, that we exceed the ancient Hebrews in tender regard for the lonely and bereaved! A desolate woman, whose husband had met with an accident, and was without food or fire, said the other day to a visitor whom God had sent on an errand of mercy, "I thought nobody cared." Like Boaz, it is our business to speak kindly to such, though not of our kith and kin, and who can know how far our words may travel!
We have a glimpse into Naomi's soul in Ruth 2:20. It would seem as if she had come to the conclusion that God had forgotten and forsaken her. But when Ruth repeated the words of Boaz, the human love rekindled her faith in God's love. She began to see God's purpose shaping itself. The rainbow shone on the retreating cloud of her tears. What an opportunity is presented, each day we live of bringing the consciousness of God to weary and heavy-laden lives! [source]

Chapter Summary: Ruth 2

1  Ruth gleans in the field of Boaz
4  Boaz takes notice of her
8  and shows her great favor
18  That which she got, she carries to Naomi

What do the individual words in Ruth 2:20 mean?

And said Naomi to her daughter-in-law Blessed [be] he of Yahweh who not has forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead to her Naomi a relation of ours this man one of our kinsman-redeemers is
וַתֹּ֨אמֶר נָעֳמִ֜י לְכַלָּתָ֗הּ בָּר֥וּךְ הוּא֙ לַיהוָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹא־ עָזַ֣ב חַסְדּ֔וֹ אֶת־ הַחַיִּ֖ים וְאֶת־ הַמֵּתִ֑ים לָ֣הּ נָעֳמִ֗י קָר֥וֹב לָ֙נוּ֙ הָאִ֔ישׁ מִֽגֹּאֲלֵ֖נוּ הֽוּא

וַתֹּ֨אמֶר  And  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
נָעֳמִ֜י  Naomi 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: נָעֳמִי  
Sense: wife of Elimelech, mother of Mahlon and Chilion, and mother-in-law of Ruth and Orpah.
לְכַלָּתָ֗הּ  to  her  daughter-in-law 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular construct, third person feminine singular
Root: כַּלָּה  
Sense: bride, daughter-in-law.
בָּר֥וּךְ  Blessed  [be] 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, masculine singular
Root: בָּרַךְ 
Sense: to bless, kneel.
לַיהוָ֔ה  of  Yahweh 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
עָזַ֣ב  has  forsaken 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָזַב 
Sense: to leave, loose, forsake.
חַסְדּ֔וֹ  His  kindness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: חֶסֶד 
Sense: goodness, kindness, faithfulness.
הַחַיִּ֖ים  the  living 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine plural
Root: חַי 
Sense: living, alive.
הַמֵּתִ֑ים  the  dead 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
לָ֣הּ  to  her 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
נָעֳמִ֗י  Naomi 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: נָעֳמִי  
Sense: wife of Elimelech, mother of Mahlon and Chilion, and mother-in-law of Ruth and Orpah.
קָר֥וֹב  a  relation 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: קָרֹוב  
Sense: near.
לָ֙נוּ֙  of  ours 
Parse: Preposition, first person common plural
הָאִ֔ישׁ  this  man 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
מִֽגֹּאֲלֵ֖נוּ  one  of  our  kinsman-redeemers 
Parse: Preposition-m, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular construct, first person common plural
Root: גְּאוּלִים 
Sense: to redeem, act as kinsman-redeemer, avenge, revenge, ransom, do the part of a kinsman.