Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



"When brothers dwell together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not become the wife of a {man of another family}; her brother-in-law {shall have sex with her}, and he shall take her {to himself} as wife, and he shall perform his duty as brother-in-law [with respect to] her. And then the firstborn that she bears {shall represent his dead brother}, so that his name is not blotted out from Israel. But if the man [does] not want to take his sister-in-law, then his sister-in-law shall go up to the gate, to the elders, and she shall say, 'My brother-in-law refused {to perpetuate his brother's name} in Israel, [for] he is not willing {to marry me}.' read more.
Then the elders of his town shall summon him and speak to him, and [if] he persists and says, '{I do not desire to} marry her' [then] his sister-in-law shall go near him before the eyes of the elders, and she shall pull off his sandal from his foot, and she shall spit in his face, and she shall {declare} and she shall say, 'This is how it is done to the man who does not build the house of his brother.' And his {family} shall be called in Israel, 'The house where the sandal was pulled off.'

And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him. Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to the wife of your brother and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother." But Onan knew that the offspring would not be for him, so whenever he went in to the wife of his brother he would waste [it] on the ground so as not to give offspring to his brother. read more.
And what he did was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so he killed him also. Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Stay a widow in your father's house until Shelah my son grows up," for {he feared he would also die} like his brother. So Tamar went and stayed in the house of her father.

This [is] the word that Yahweh commanded the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, '{Let them marry} {whomever they like}; only {they must marry} from within the clan of the tribe of their father. Thus an inheritance of the {Israelites} will not go around from tribe to tribe. Rather, the inheritance of each tribe of his father will remain with the {Israelites}. Every daughter who possesses an inheritance from the tribes of the {Israelites} will {marry} one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that the {Israelites} will possess the inheritance of his ancestors. read more.
Therefore an inheritance will not go around from [one] tribe to another tribe because the tribes of the {Israelites} will each hold to their [own] inheritance.'"

Now Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek for you security that [things] may be good for you? So then, [is] not Boaz our kinsman whose maidservants you were with? Look, he [is] winnowing the barley at the threshing floor tonight. Wash, anoint yourself, put your clothing on, and go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he finishes eating and drinking. read more.
And when he lies, take notice of the place where he lies. And you shall go and {uncover} his feet and lie [down], and he shall tell you what to do." And she said to her, "I will do all that you say." And she went down to the threshing floor and did all that her mother-in-law had instructed her. And Boaz ate and drank [until] his heart was {merry} [and then] he came to lie at the end of the grain heap. And she came in quietly and {uncovered} his feet and lay down. And it happened in the middle of the night the man was startled and he reached out and behold, a woman [was] lying at his feet.

(Now this {was the custom in former times} in Israel concerning the kinsman-redemption and transfer of property: to confirm the matter, a man removed his sandal and gave [it] to his fellow countryman. This [was] the manner of attesting in Israel.) So the redeemer said to Boaz, "Acquire [it] for yourself," and he removed his sandal. And Boaz said to the elders and all of the people, "You [are] witnesses today that I have acquired all that [was] for Elimelech and that [was] for Kilion and Mahlon from the hand of Naomi. read more.
And also Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, I have acquired as a wife, to raise up the name of the dead over his inheritance, so that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his relatives and from the gate of his [birth] place. You [are] witnesses today." And all of the people who [were] at the gate and the elders said, "[We are] witnesses. May Yahweh make the woman coming into your house as Rachel and as Leah, who {together} built the house of Israel. May you have strength in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem. And may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah from the offspring that Yahweh will give to you from this young woman." So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. And he went [in] to her, and Yahweh {enabled her to conceive}, and she bore a son. And the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be Yahweh who today {did not leave you without a redeemer}! And may his name be renowned in Israel! He shall be for you a restorer of life and a sustainer in your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who [is] better for you than seven sons, has borne him." And Naomi took the child and she put him on her bosom and became his nurse. And the women of the neighborhood gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi." And they called his name Obed. He [was] the father of Jesse, the father of David.


Now Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek for you security that [things] may be good for you? So then, [is] not Boaz our kinsman whose maidservants you were with? Look, he [is] winnowing the barley at the threshing floor tonight. Wash, anoint yourself, put your clothing on, and go down to the threshing floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he finishes eating and drinking. read more.
And when he lies, take notice of the place where he lies. And you shall go and {uncover} his feet and lie [down], and he shall tell you what to do." And she said to her, "I will do all that you say." And she went down to the threshing floor and did all that her mother-in-law had instructed her. And Boaz ate and drank [until] his heart was {merry} [and then] he came to lie at the end of the grain heap. And she came in quietly and {uncovered} his feet and lay down. And it happened in the middle of the night the man was startled and he reached out and behold, a woman [was] lying at his feet. And he said, "Who [are] you?" And she said, "I [am] Ruth, your servant. Spread {your garment} over your servant because you [are] a redeemer."


Now Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek for you security that [things] may be good for you?