![Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld- Ruth im Feld des Boaz](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Julius_Schnorr_von_Carolsfeld-_Ruth_im_Feld_des_Boaz.jpg)
Boaz (;
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: בֹּעַז ''Bōʿaz''; ) is a biblical figure appearing in the
Book of Ruth in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
'' genealogies
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...
of Jesus in the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...
and also the name of a
pillar
A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
in the
portico of the historic
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
in
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. The word is found 24 times in the Scriptures, two being in Greek (in the form "Βοόζ (Booz)").
The
root
In vascular plants, the roots are the organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often below the su ...
בעז, just used in the Bible in relation to "Boaz" (see ''
The Temple''), perhaps expresses 'quick(ness)'. The etymology of the name has been suggested by many as ''be'oz'', "in the strength of", or ''bo'oz'', "in him (is) strength" from the root 'zz, "to be strong", hence the use of the name "Boaz" for one of the pillars at the portico of the temple (), although Biblical scholar
Martin Noth
Martin Noth (3 August 1902 – 30 May 1968) was a German scholar of the Hebrew Bible who specialized in the pre-Exilic history of the Hebrews and promoted the hypothesis that the Israelite tribes in the immediate period after the settlement in Can ...
preferred "of sharp mind".
Bible narrative
Hebrew Bible
The son of
Salmon
Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...
[,] and his wife
Rahab
Rahab (; Arabic: راحاب, a vast space of a land) was, according to the Book of Joshua, a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city by hiding two men who had been sent to scout the city ...
,
Boaz was a wealthy landowner of
Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
in
Judea
Judea or Judaea ( or ; from he, יהודה, Standard ''Yəhūda'', Tiberian ''Yehūḏā''; el, Ἰουδαία, ; la, Iūdaea) is an ancient, historic, Biblical Hebrew, contemporaneous Latin, and the modern-day name of the mountainous sou ...
, and relative of Elimelech,
Naomi
Naomi or Naomie may refer to:
People and biblical figures
* Naomi (given name), a female given name and a list of people with the name
* Naomi (biblical figure), Ruth's mother-in-law in the Old Testament Book of Ruth
* Naomi (Romanian singer) (bor ...
's late husband.
["Boaz", ''Jewish Encyclopedia'']
/ref> He notices Ruth
Ruth (or its variants) may refer to:
Places
France
* Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France
Switzerland
* Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny
United States
* Ruth, Alabama
* Ruth, Ar ...
, the widowed Moabite daughter-in-law of Naomi, a relative of his (see family tree
A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms.
Representations of ...
), gleaning
Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops from farmers' fields after they have been commercially harvested or on fields where it is not economically profitable to harvest. It is a practice described in the Hebrew Bible that became a legall ...
grain in his fields. He soon learns of the difficult circumstances her family is in and Ruth's loyalty to Naomi. In response, Boaz invites her to eat with him and his workers, as well as deliberately leaving grain for her to claim while keeping a protective eye on her.
Ruth approaches Boaz and asks him to exercise his right of kinship and marry her. Boaz accepts, provided that another with a superior claim declines. Since the first son of Ruth and a kinsman of her late husband would be deemed the legal offspring of the decedent and heir to Elimelech, the other kinsman defers to Boaz.
In marrying Ruth, Boaz revives Elimelech's lineage, and the patrimony is secured to Naomi's family.
Their son was Obed, father of Jesse
Jesse may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible.
* Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Jesse (surname), a list of people
Music
* ''Jesse'' ( ...
, and grandfather of David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
.
According to Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...
, he lived at the time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
of Eli
Eli most commonly refers to:
* Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname
* Eli (biblical figure)
Eli or ELI may also refer to:
Film
* ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film
* ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film
Music
* ''Eli'' (Jan ...
.
The Temple
"Boaz" was the name of the left one of the two frontal columns of Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...
, the other being "Jachin". Its meaning is a subject of controversy.
New Testament
Boaz is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...
as the son of Salmon and Rahab
Rahab (; Arabic: راحاب, a vast space of a land) was, according to the Book of Joshua, a woman who lived in Jericho in the Promised Land and assisted the Israelites in capturing the city by hiding two men who had been sent to scout the city ...
(seemingly Rahab of Jericho) and as an ancestor of Jesus.
Rabbinic Jewish tradition
Conduct
In the Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
, some rabbis identify Boaz with the judge Ibzan
Ibzan or Ivtzan ( he, אִבְצָן ''’Īḇṣān''; grc, Ἀβαισσάν; la, Abesan, meaning "illustrious") appears in the Hebrew Bible as the ninth of the Judges of Israel.
Biography
Little is said of Ibzan apart from this:
Many ...
of Bethlehem
Bethlehem (; ar, بيت لحم ; he, בֵּית לֶחֶם '' '') is a city in the central West Bank, Palestine, about south of Jerusalem. Its population is approximately 25,000,Amara, 1999p. 18.Brynen, 2000p. 202. and it is the capital o ...
.[, ''In Rabbinical Literature''.] "I.e., Bethlehem in Zebulun"; cf. . Let it be taken into consideration, however, that Boaz "of Ruth" was from Judah,[ whereas the two chieftains immediately ulterior to Ibzan were from ]Zebulun
Zebulun (; also ''Zebulon'', ''Zabulon'', or ''Zaboules'') was, according to the Books of Genesis and Numbers,Genesis 46:14 the last of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's tenth son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Zebulun. Som ...
.[.] A legend is given that he lost all his sixty children during his lifetime because he did not invite Manoah
Manoah ( ''Mānoaḥ'') is a figure from the Book of Judges 13:1-23 and 14:2-4 of the Hebrew Bible. His name means "rest".
Family
According to the Bible, Manoah was of the tribe of Dan and lived in the city of Zorah. He married one woman, who ...
, Samson
Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
's father, to any of the marriage festivities at his house.[ Since Manoah was at that time without children, Boaz thought he did not need to consider on such occasions a childless man who could not pay him back in kind ('']Bava Batra
Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא בַּתְרָא "The Last Gate") is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of pr ...
'' 91a).[
The ''Talmud'' tells that Boaz was a just, pious, and learned judge. The custom of using the ]Divine Name
The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ' ...
in greeting one's fellow-man (Rt-2.4) formulated by him and his ''bet din
A beit din ( he, בית דין, Bet Din, house of judgment, , Ashkenazic: ''beis din'', plural: batei din) is a rabbinical court of Judaism. In ancient times, it was the building block of the legal system in the Biblical Land of Israel. Today, it ...
'' ("court flaw") received the approval of even the heavenly ''bet din'' (''Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...
'' ''Makkot
Makot (in Hebrew: מכות) (in English: "Lashes") is a tractate of the Mishnah and Talmud. It is the fifth volume of the order of Nezikin. Makkot deals primarily with laws of the Jewish courts ( beis din) and the punishments which they may admini ...
'' 23b; ''Yerushalmi Talmud Yerushalmi literally means "something from Jerusalem, in particular, a person who lives in Jerusalem, a Jerusalemite. It may also refer to:
* Jerusalem Talmud (''Talmud Yerushalmi'', often ''Yerushalmi'' for short)
* Meurav Yerushalmi (Jerusalem ...
'' Ber. ix. 14c; Midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
''Ruth Rabbah
Ruth Rabbah (Hebrew: רות רבה) is an haggadic and homiletic interpretation of the Book of Ruth. Like the midrash on the four other "megillot", it is included in the Midrash Rabbot.
Structure and origin
This midrash is divided into eight chapt ...
'' to ii. 4).[
The midrash ''Ruth Rabbah'' states that being a pious man, Boaz on his first meeting with Ruth perceived her conscientiousness in picking up the grain, as she strictly observed the rules prescribed by the ]Law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
.[ This, as well as her grace and her chaste conduct during work, induced Boaz to inquire about the stranger, although he was not in the habit of inquiring after women (''Ruth Rabba'' to ii. 5; Talmudic tractate ''Shabbat'' 113b).][
In the conversation that followed between Boaz and Ruth, the pious proselyte said that, being a Moabite, she was excluded from association with the community of God (Deuteronomy 23:3). Boaz, however, replied that the prohibition in the Scripture applied only to the men of Moaband not to the women.][ He furthermore told her that he had heard from the ]prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
s that she was destined to become the ancestress of kings and prophets; and he blessed her with the words: "May God, who rewards the pious, also reward you" (Targum
A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...
''Ruth'' ii. 10, 11; ''Pesiḳ'', ed. Buber, xvi. 124a).[ Boaz was especially friendly toward the poor stranger during the meal, when he indicated to her by various symbolic courtesies that she would become the ancestress of the Davidic royal house, including the ]Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
(''Ruth R.'' to ii. 14; ''Shab.'' 113b).[ As toward Ruth, Boaz had also been kind toward his kinsmen, Naomi's sons, on hearing of their death, taking care that they had an honorable burial (''Ruth Rabba'' to 2.20).][
]
Boaz and Ruth
Although Boaz was the prince of the people, he personally supervised the threshing of the grain in his barn, in order to circumvent any immorality or theft, both of which were rife in his days (Tan., Behar, ed. Buber, viii.; ''Ruth Rabba'' to iii. 7).[ Glad in his heart that the famine was over in Israel, he sought rest after having thanked God and studied for a while in the ''Torah'' (Tan., l.c.; Targum ''Ruth'' iii. 7; and ''Ruth Rabba'' ib.).][ Aroused out of his first sleep by Ruth, he was greatly frightened, as he thought she was a devil; and he was convinced of the contrary only after touching the hair of her head, since devils were believed to be bald (Tan., l.c.).][ When he perceived Ruth's pure and holy intentions he not only did not reprove her for her unusual behavior, he blessed her and gave her six measures of barley, indicating thereby that six pious men should spring from her, who would be gifted by God with six excellences (cf. ; ''Sanhedrin'' 93b; ''Numbers Rabba'' xiii. 11; ''Ruth Rabba'' and ''Targum to Ruth'' iii. 15; the names of the six men differ in these passages, but David and the Messiah are always among them).][ Boaz fulfilled the promises he had given to Ruth, and when his kinsman (the sources differ as to the precise relationship existing between them) would not marry her because he did not know the '']halakah
''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...
'' which decreed that Moabite women were not excluded from the Israelitic community, Boaz himself married.
In Israeli history
In the early years of Jewish settlement, the term "a boaz" (plural "boazim"), derived from the Biblical character, was used to refer to a rich private farmer or landowner, such as the ones who flourished during the First Aliya. The term was often used with a pejorative connotation by adherents of Socialist Zionism
Labor Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת סוֹצְיָאלִיסְטִית, ) or socialist Zionism ( he, תְּנוּעָת הָעַבוֹדָה, label=none, translit=Tnuʽat haʽavoda) refers to the left-wing, socialist variation of Zionism. ...
, who were strongly opposed to "the boazim" and counterposed to them the collective Kibbutz and cooperative Moshav forms of agricultural settlement.
This use of "Boaz" became obsolete in later stages of Jewish and Israeli history, and is hardly remembered today. In contemporary Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
, "Boaz" is commonly used as a male first name and carries no special political or social connotations.
In popular culture
In the film ''The Story of Ruth
''The Story of Ruth'' is a 1960 American historical romance film directed by Henry Koster, shot in CinemaScope and DeLuxe Color, and released by 20th Century Fox. The screenplay, written by Norman Corwin, is an adaptation of the biblical Book o ...
'' (1960) Boaz is played by Stuart Whitman
Stuart Maxwell Whitman (February 1, 1928 – March 16, 2020) was an American actor, known for his lengthy career in film and television. Whitman was born in San Francisco and raised in New York until the age of 12, when his family relocated to ...
.
In the series, Testament: The Bible in Animation (1996) he is voiced by Clive Russell
Clive Russell (born 7 December 1945) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline in ''Ripper Street'', Angus O'Connor in ''Happiness'' and Brynden Tully in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''.
He also a ...
.
In the video game ''Red Dead Redemption 2
''Red Dead Redemption 2'' is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the ''Red Dead'' series and a prequel to the 2010 game ''Red Dead Redemption''. The story is set in 1899 and f ...
'' (2018) Boaz is the name of Javier Escuella's horse.
See also
* Goel
''Goel'' (Hebrew: גואל, lit. "redeemer"), in the Hebrew Bible and the rabbinical tradition, is a person who, as the nearest relative of someone, is charged with the duty of restoring that person's rights and avenging wrongs done to him or h ...
References
Further reading
* F. , S. , C. . ''The Brown–Driver–Briggs Hebrew and English lexicon''. Tenth printing. Peabody, MA, USA: Hendrickson, October 2006. . (Each of the authors was Litt Litt is a surname. Notable people with this surname include:
* David Litt (born 1986), American political speechwriter and author
* Robert S. Litt, American intelligence analyst
* Scott Litt (born 1954), American record producer
* Toby Litt
T ...
and , p. iii, .)
*
{{Authority control
Hebrew Bible people
Book of Ruth
Tribe of Judah
Gospel of Matthew