Ruth 4:1
“Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there: and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by; unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down here. And he turned aside, and sat down.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Boaz goes to the city gate, and the nearer kinsman conveniently passes by and sits down with him.
What Does Ruth 4:1 Mean?
True to his word, Boaz goes up to the city gate, the place where legal and public business was settled in Israel, and sits down. And behold, at just that moment the nearer kinsman he spoke of comes by. Boaz calls him over, inviting him to turn aside and sit. The matter that will decide Ruth's future is about to be handled openly, before witnesses, in the proper place.
Once again the timing is striking, the very man needed arrives just as Boaz takes his seat. To Boaz it may have seemed providential good fortune; to the reader it is the hand of God arranging events down to the hour. Boaz does not act in secret or by shortcut; he brings the question into the light of the city gate, where justice is done rightly. There is integrity in settling important matters openly and lawfully. And there is comfort in seeing how God orders the smallest circumstances, the right person passing by at the right moment, to bring His purposes of redemption to pass.
In the Original Language
sha'ar (שַׁעַר), 'gate' — the city gate, where elders gathered to witness legal transactions and render judgments; the place of public justice.