already made in the Bible text Thus far you have concentrated on observing the facts of the narrative This is the basis for moving on to interpretation and application In the remainder of your study you will want to see especially the Messianic character of the book IV MAIN PURPOSES Four of the book’s main purposes are cited below Genealogy The book introduces a few of the ancestors of David, the royal lineage of Christ the Messiah Prominent is the inclusion of a non-Israelite person (Moabitess Ruth) in this line Typology The kinsman-redeemer (Boaz) is the prominent Messianic type Ruth, then, is the type of the Church, the Bride of Christ Some Bible students view Naomi as a prominent type of Israel.5 Other types may be seen in the book Theology Underlying the entire book is its revelation of the character and ways of God: His providence, sovereignty, grace, holiness, and His invitation of salvation to all peoples History As noted earlier, the book describes a few intimate experiences of a godly family of Bethlehem during the period of the judges V PROMINENT SUBJECTS A MAIN CHARACTERS The main characters of the story are: Naomi (“pleasant one”6)—a Jewess of Bethlehem, wife of Elimelech, and mother of two sons, Mahlon and Chilion Orpah (“neck”)—wife and widow of Chilion Ruth (“friendship”)—widow of Mahlon, who later married Boaz Boaz (“in him is strength”)—a wealthy Bethlehemite, distant relative of Mahlon, who married Ruth B KINSMAN-REDEEMER Two key words of the story are “kinsman” and “redeem,” which have given Boaz the classic title, “kinsman-redeemer.” Kinsman This word (Heb., gô-ēl) appears thirteen times in Ruth It basically means “one who redeems,” and in the setting of Ruth refers to the near male relative of a deceased man who had the right and duty to buy back (i.e., redeem) land which had been sold to another family, thus preventing the alienation of the land and the extinction of the family If the nearest kinsman could not ful ll such a redemption, the next of kin had the opportunity The sequence of the story is described below: When Naomi returned from Moab, she sold her deceased husband’s property, probably under pressure of poverty A Macdonald writes: “Either Elimelech sold the land before he went to Moab and the year of jubilee came in the interval so that the land reverted to Naomi—see Lev 25:8 —or the land was for the last ten years left in the care of a friend.”7 It was necessary for a go-ēl to redeem the land in order to keep it in the family name By buying it back, however, “the gô-ēl would not come into possession of the land himself, but would hold it in trust for his son by Ruth, who would inherit the name and patrimony of Mahlon (her rst husband).”8 In this connection it should be noted that it was Naomi who had prior claim upon the gô-ēl but she surrendered it ... relative of a deceased man who had the right and duty to buy back (i.e., redeem) land which had been sold to another family, thus preventing the alienation of the land and the extinction of the family... pressure of poverty A Macdonald writes: “Either Elimelech sold the land before he went to Moab and the year of jubilee came in the interval so that the land reverted to Naomi—see Lev 25:8 —or the. ..prominent type of Israel.5 Other types may be seen in the book Theology Underlying the entire book is its revelation of the character and ways of God: His providence, sovereignty,