Biblion Bible Commentary
Read the introduction to Ruth · About this commentary
A Kinsman Nearer Than I
Ruth 3:10-13
10 He said, “You are blessed by Yahweh, my daughter. You have shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, because you didn’t follow young men, whether poor or rich. · WEB
Boaz calls her proposal kindness, agrees to everything — and then names the obstacle he could have concealed.
You are blessed by Yahweh, my daughter. The first word out of him is a blessing, which settles what kind of scene this is. There is no reproach in it anywhere.
You have shown more hesed H2617 in the latter end than at the beginning. This is the book's third and final use of the word, and it is Boaz naming it in Ruth. The first hesed was hers toward the dead and toward Naomi; this one is greater, and he says why — because you didn't follow young men, whether poor or rich. She sought a redeemer for a dead man's name rather than a husband for herself.
Then: don't be afraid, I will do all that you say. He agrees before raising any difficulty, which is the measure of the man.
And verse 12 raises it anyway. There is a kinsman nearer than I. Nothing compelled Boaz to mention him. At midnight, with an agreement already given, he volunteers the one fact that could take everything from him — and then binds himself either way, as Yahweh lives, to see the duty done by whoever owns it. He tells her to stay till morning, which protects her from walking home in the dark.
settled What this mark means