Ruth 4:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,

NIV: Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon,

NASB: and Amminadab fathered Nahshon, and Nahshon fathered Salmon,

CSB: Amminadab fathered Nahshon, Nahshon fathered Salmon,

NLT: Amminadab was the father of Nahshon. Nahshon was the father of Salmon.

KJV: And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,

NKJV: Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon;

This genealogy of David is likely condensed. The time between Perez's father Judah to Nashon was over 400 years—from the time of Jacob's labor for Laban until the exodus (Exodus 12:40). Nahshon knew Moses (Exodus 6:23), whom historians think was born around 1526 BC. Historians think David was born shortly after 1040 BC. That's a lot of time for so few generations.

We don't know much about Amminadab except that Aaron married his daughter (Exodus 6:23); he would have been born in Egypt and lived most if not all of his life there. Nahshon was the chief of Judah during the exodus which made him the third most powerful Israelite after Moses and Aaron (Numbers 1:7; 2:3; 7:12).

Matthew 1:5 says that Salmon—"Sala" in Luke 3:32—married Rahab. Because Matthew lists Tamar and Ruth, two other foreign women in Jesus' line, this is likely Rahab the prostitute who helped the Israelites take Jericho (Joshua 2; 6).

Some scholars think there are missing generations between Salmon and Boaz, but unlike the list in Ruth 4:19, there are no other accounts with additional names. The line is possible if all the men from Salmon to Jesse were about 100 years old when they had their sons. It is certainly plausible, and even likely, there are missing men throughout the list. Israelites tended to reserve the fifth and seventh of a list for honor. The fifth here is Nahshon—a leader of his people. The seventh is Boaz (Ruth 4:21).

That there are ten names total is even more significant and gives further evidence the record is selective. "A list of ten generations is used to indicate a transition from one major era to another," According to Zvi Ron.Genesis gives ten generations from Adam to Noah (Genesis 5), then another ten between Noah and Abraham. In this case, the transition is from the time the Israelites went to Egypt until the time of the Davidic monarchy. Scholars say Samuel wrote Ruth; if so, he is documenting the legitimacy of David's monarchy over that of Saul.

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.