Ruth 4:18 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,

NIV: This, then, is the family line of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,

NASB: Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,

CSB: Now these are the family records of Perez: Perez fathered Hezron,

NLT: This is the genealogical record of their ancestor Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron.

KJV: Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

NKJV: Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron;

The story about Ruth is primarily about God's faithfulness to Naomi, but it ends with God's faithfulness to Israel in providing King David. The last few verses show how Ruth and Naomi fit in the genealogy of David.

This genealogy begins with Perez. Abraham had Isaac; Isaac had Esau and Jacob; Jacob had twelve sons and one daughter. Jacob's fourth son was Judah. Because of the sins of Judah's three older brothers, Jacob prophesied that Judah would reign over the whole family (Genesis 49:3–12).

Judah married a Canaanite woman and had three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah (Genesis 38:1–5). When Er was grown, he married Tamar, who may also have been a Canaanite (Genesis 38:6). Er "was wicked in the sight of the LORD" and God killed him (Genesis 38:7). The custom of the time, later ratified into the Mosaic law (Deuteronomy 25:5–6), was if a married man died with no heir, his next-youngest brother would marry the widow and provide a son in the dead man's name. To that end, Tamar was married to Onan. Onan used Tamar but he refused to give her a son, so God killed him, as well (Genesis 38:8–10).

The loss of his two sons scared Judah. When Shelah came of age, he refused to marry him to Tamar. Tamar had the right to marry Shelah and bear a son for both Er and herself. After Judah's wife died, Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and waited for Judah to pass by. He had no money to pay her, so he gave her his signet, cord, and staff as collateral. When he heard that Tamar was pregnant, he demanded she be executed for adultery. But when she appeared with his identifying possessions, he declared that she had acted more righteously than he had (Genesis 38:11–26).

Several months later, Tamar gave birth to twins: Perez and Zerah (Genesis 38:27–30). Perez fathered Hezron and Hamul (1 Chronicles 2:5). Judah, Shelah, Zerah, Perez, and Perez's sons all traveled from Canaan to Egypt (Genesis 46:12). From here, the line continues to David.

Ruth 4:18–22 gives the genealogy from Judah's son Perez to David. Included are Nahshon, the leader of the tribe of Judah at the time of the exodus (Numbers 2:3), and Boaz, the hero of the story of Ruth. Not listed are a woman of unknown heritage who manipulated a man into fulfilling his responsibilities to her and his family (Tamar; Genesis 38), a Canaanite woman who betrayed her city for Yahweh (Rahab; Joshua 2; 6), and a Moabite woman who sacrificed everything for her Israelite mother-in-law (Ruth). What's not clear is if every generation is listed.

Ruth 4 provides one of the happiest endings of all the books of the Bible. It begins when Boaz holds a meeting with Naomi's next of kin. The unnamed man is willing to buy Naomi's land. Yet he doesn't want the risk of marrying a Moabite woman to give Naomi an heir. Boaz is actively seeking those obligations, so the townspeople praise him and Ruth. Before long, Ruth has a son and presents him to Naomi to continue the family of her late husband. The boy becomes the grandfather of Israel's greatest king, David, and the ancestor of the Messiah, Jesus.

Ruth 4 closes the story of how a Moabite woman came to be part of the genealogy of King David. Naomi, an Israelite from Bethlehem, fled a famine with her husband and two sons. The men died and Naomi returned to Israel with Ruth, her Moabite daughter-in-law. Ruth enlists the help of Boaz, an honored landowner, to buy Naomi's land and give her an heir. After Boaz negotiates with relatives, Ruth and Boaz marry. Naomi holds the boy born in the name of her husband's family. This child becomes the grandfather of David.

Though set in a time of violence and tragedy, the book of Ruth tells one of Scripture’s most uplifting stories. Naomi, an Israelite, leaves her home during a famine. While away, in Moab, her husband and sons die. Naomi convinces one of her Moabite daughters-in-law to leave her and seek a new life. The other, Ruth, refuses, declaring her love and loyalty to Naomi. When the pair return to Israel, they encounter Boaz. This man is both kind and moral; his treatment of Ruth secures Naomi’s future and becomes part of king David’s ancestry.