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Passage Research

Ruth 4 — Sermon Preparation

Below is a research summary for Ruth 4, drawn from openly licensed scholarly databases — original-language morphology, classic sermons from the church fathers through the Puritans, and ancient geography data.

22
verses
335 / 128
Hebrew words / lemmas
5
classic sermon excerpts
2
preachers & commentators

Ruth 4 in the Hebrew

Distinctive vocabulary of this chapter, based on original-language morphology.

Hebrew Transliteration Strong's Count Glosses
גָּאַל gâʼal H1350 13 redeem, be the next of kin
יָלַד yâlad H3205 13 bear young, beget
בֹּעַז Bôʻaz H1162 8 Boaz
נׇעֳמִי Noʻŏmîy H5281 6 Noömi
קָנָה qânâh H7069 6 erect, create
שֵׁם shêm H8034 7 appellation, honor
אִשָּׁה ʼishshâh H802 6 woman

How preachers through history handled this text

5 public-domain excerpts on Ruth 4, from the church fathers to the Puritans.

Matthew Henry 4 John Wesley 1

“Ruth bore a son, through whom thousands and myriads were born to God; and in being the lineal ancestor of Christ, she was instrumental in the happiness of all that shall be saved by him; even of us Gentiles, as well as those of Jewish descent. She was a witness for God to the Gentile world, that he had not utterly forsaken them, but that in due time they should become one with his chosen people, and partake of his salvation. Prayer to God attended the marriage, and praise to him attended the birth of the child. …”

— Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise), on Ruth 4:13–30 (Public Domain)

Places in the text

Based on ancient-geography data

  • Bethlehem 1 — Ruth 4:11
  • Ephrathah — Ruth 4:11
  • Moab 1 — Ruth 4:3

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