Ruth 4:12
“And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the LORD shall give thee of this young woman.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →The people bless Boaz's house to be like that of Pharez, born to Tamar and Judah.
What Does Ruth 4:12 Mean?
The blessing continues, asking that Boaz's house become like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring the Lord would give him by Ruth. Pharez was an ancestor of the Bethlehem clan, and his line was large and honored. The people pray that Boaz and Ruth's family would flourish in the same way, fruitful and renowned among the tribe of Judah.
The reference to Pharez and Tamar is quietly significant, for that line, marked by its own unusual story, became the royal lineage of Judah. By invoking it, the townspeople unknowingly point toward the destiny of Ruth's own household. The seed which the LORD shall give, they say, recognizing that children are a gift from God's hand. From this union, blessed by the community and granted by the Lord, would come a family woven into the royal line of Israel. God was building, through a Moabite widow and a faithful redeemer, a house whose greatest Son would bless all nations.
In the Original Language
zera (זֶרַע), 'seed' — offspring or descendants, here a gift the Lord gives; the word carries the whole hope of a continuing line.