Ruth 3:13

Rth 3:13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, [that] if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, [as] the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning.

Ver. 13. Tarry this night.] He saith not, Come up hither, for I mind to marry thee: but tarry till morning, lest thou suffer as a night walker, &c. Let none presume to leap into the married estate, or to abuse themselves unchastely before marriage; but deliberate, and be sure to come clear to it, if thou expect comfort.

If he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman.] Let "no man go beyond, or defraud his brother in any matter, because that the Lord is the avenger of all such," {1Th 4:6} and no man would himself be deceived or wronged.

As the Lord liveth.] This was an oath. {Jer 4:2} A private oath may be taken, but sparingly and warily, not but upon a necessity, for the satisfaction of the other party, {Mat 5:37} and in matters of great importance. Thus Jacob sware to Laban, the spies to Rahab, Jonathan to David, &c. But let such oaths be rare, reverent, well advised, &c.

Lie down until the morning.] She was risen up, it seemeth, to be gone; but he thought it not fit: and found in himself strength, by God’s grace, to resist a temptation; though it be true that

“ Nox et amor vinumque nihil moderabile suadent:

Illa pudore vacat, liber amorque metu. ” - Ovid.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

If he will take thee to be his wife by the title of affinity, according to God’s law, Deut. 25:5.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 13. As the Lord liveth] Thus he bound himself by an oath to take her to wife if the other should refuse.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(13) Until the morning.—You have made clear the object of your plea, and I fully assent to it; but do not run the risk of going now, in the dead of night, back to your home.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

13. Tarry this night] as a precaution against chance perils; see Son_5:7.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Tarry this day,.... Or lodge here tonight, where she was; this he said not from any design upon her, but for her own safety and honour, that she might not be exposed to danger or disgrace, by returning home at such an unseasonable time of night. The first letter in the word for "tarry" is larger than usual in the Hebrew text; which may be done to raise the attention of the reader, to observe it as a thing very singular, that a widow should lodge with a man without any diminution of her chastity; so Buxtorf (x) says, that hereby attention is noted, even the honesty of Boaz ordering Ruth to lodge without a man, and wait until a nearer kinsman, according to the law, should come, and promising that on failure thereof he would be the lawful redeemer; but Dr. Lightfoot (y) observes, that as there is a special mark over a word in the story of Lot's eldest daughter lying with her father, Gen 19:34 and a special mark on this word here, in the story of Ruth going to Boaz his bed, seems to relate one to the other, and both together to point at the great providence of God in bringing light out of darkness, Ruth, a mother of Christ, out of the incest of Lot:

and it shall be, in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well, let him do the kinsman's part; by marrying Ruth, and redeeming her husband's estate, which if he did, it would be all very well, and right according to law; and it would be very well for Ruth, as Aben Ezra and Abendana interpret it; seeing, as they observe, that kinsman was a very respectable man, a man of great esteem and worth, a man of wealth and authority, and she would be well matched to him. Some think, as the same writers observe, that the word "Tob", translated "well", is the name of the kinsman, the same with Tobias; so R. Joshuah says (z), that Salmon (who was the father of Boaz), and Elimelech (the father of Ruth's husband), and Tob (this near kinsman), were brethren:

but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth: that is, he swore he would marry her, and redeem the inheritance, if the other would not; for the phrase, "as the Lord liveth", is the form of an oath, it is swearing by the living God; so the Targum,"I say with an oath before the Lord, that as I have spoken unto thee, so will I do:"

lie down until the morning; and take some sleep and rest, and be at ease in mind, depending upon the performance of what I have promised.

(x) Tiberias, c. 14. p. 38. (y) Works, vol. 1. p. 48. (z) In Midrash Ruth, ut supra. (fol. 31. 4. & 34. 2.)

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Well. Hebrew tob. (Haydock) --- Hence the Jews would translate, "If Tob will redeem thee, let him." They say that Tob was the paternal uncle of Mahalon: but it is not probable that his proper name should be only here mentioned, and not [in] chap. iv. The Septuagint and Chaldean are conformable to the Vulgate and the opinion of the Jews is abandoned by most interpreters; (Calmet) and by the Protestant, "well, let him do the kinsman’s part." (Haydock) --- Liveth. Chaldean, "Bound by an oath, before the Lord, I say that I will fulfil my promise unto thee."

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

If he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, i.e. take thee to wife, to raise up seed to his brother, as he ought to do.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

13. Tarry this night — For it would have been dangerous for her to return alone to the city in the darkness of midnight; but in the early morning, before one can readily recognise another, women may be seen in the East going forth on some errand or work.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Abide here tonight; and it shall come to pass in the morning, if he will act to thee the part of a kinsman, well; he shall act the kinsman"s part: and if it please him not to act to thee the kinsman"s part, then sure as Yahveh is alive, I will act to thee the kinsman"s part. Lie still till the morning. Love is quick-witted. Boaz"s plan of operations would formulate itself on the spur of the moment; but the remainder of the night would doubtless be spent in maturing the details of procedure. The aim would be to secure, as far as honor would permit, the much-wished-for prize. There would be, moreover, we need not doubt, much conversation between them, and mutual consultation, and arrangement. A large letter, a majuscula, occurs in the first word of the verse yniyli which the smaller Masora ascribes to the Oriental or

Babylonian textualists. It had, no doubt, been at first either a merely accidental, or a finically capricious, enlargement; but, being found, mysteries had to be ex-cogitated to account for it; all mere rubbish. "Tonight" is a perfect translation of hlyLh, for the to is simply the common definite article in one of its peculiar forms, perhaps peculiarly crushed and defaced. (see note on Rth_3:2)

Boaz"s mind still runs on the lines of a kinsman"s duty. There was hence something that might be thrust in between the desires of his heart and the object toward whom they trembled.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Perform, &c. - Take thee to wife, to raise up seed to his brother. Bishop Hall sums up the matter thus. "Boaz, instead of touching her as a wanton, blesseth her as a father, encourages her as a friend, promises her as a kinsman, rewards her as a patron, and sends her away laden with hopes and gifts, no less chast, but more happy than she came. O admirable temperance, worthy the progenitor of him, in whose lips and heart there was no guile!"

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

Stay over tonight stay over without a husband.

as the Lord lives She said to him, “You are dismissing me with words.” He jumped up and swore to her that he would not dismiss her with words. Some of our Rabbis said: He swore to his evil inclination, for his evil inclination was contending with him, “You are single, and she is single; be intimate with her”; so he swore that he would be intimate with her only in marriage.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

"אם יגאלך טוב (if he will perform to thee the part of a kinsman, well):" Some say that "טוב" (Tov) was the name of the kinsman. However, if this were so, why does the text in the scroll later say, "Turn aside, sit down here, Ploni Almoni" (a certain someone)? Rather, its meaning is, if the kinsman will redeem you, it is good for you that he should redeem, because he is an important person.

Ibn Ezra on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Yalkut, Sifsei Chachomim Chumash, Metsudah Publications, 2009” (CC BY 4.0); and “Commentary of Ibn Ezra on Isaiah - trans. by M. Friedlander, 1873” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.