Boaz (;

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: בֹּעַז ''Bōʿaz''; ) is a biblical figure appearing in the

Book of Ruth The Book of Ruth (, ''Megillath Ruth'', "the Scroll of Ruth", one of the Five Megillot) is included in the third division, or the Writings ( Ketuvim), of the Hebrew Bible. In most Christian canons it is treated as one of the historical books ...

in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' genealogies of Jesus in the

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

and also the name of a pillar in the portico of the historic Temple in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. The word is found 24 times in the Scriptures, two being in Greek (in the form "Βοόζ (Booz)"). The

root In vascular plants, the roots are the plant organ, organs of a plant that are modified to provide anchorage for the plant and take in water and nutrients into the plant body, which allows plants to grow taller and faster. They are most often bel ...

בעז, just used in the Bible in relation to "Boaz" (see '' The Temple''), perhaps expresses 'quick(ness)'. The etymology of the name has been suggested by many as ''be'oz'', "in the strength of", or ''bo'oz'', "in him (is) strength" from the root 'zz, "to be strong", hence the use of the name "Boaz" for one of the pillars at the portico of the temple (), although Biblical scholar Martin Noth preferred "of sharp mind".

Bible narrative

Hebrew Bible

The son of

Salmon Salmon (; : salmon) are any of several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the genera ''Salmo'' and ''Oncorhynchus'' of the family (biology), family Salmonidae, native ...

,, Boaz was a wealthy landowner of Bethlehem in

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

, and relative of Elimelech, Naomi's late husband."Boaz", ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
/ref> He notices Ruth, the widowed

Moab Moab () was an ancient Levant, Levantine kingdom whose territory is today located in southern Jordan. The land is mountainous and lies alongside much of the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. The existence of the Kingdom of Moab is attested to by ...

ite daughter-in-law of Naomi, a relative of his (see

family tree A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms. Representations of ...

), gleaning grain in his fields. He soon learns of the difficult circumstances her family is in and Ruth's

loyalty Loyalty is a Fixation (psychology), devotion to a country, philosophy, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another human being can be the obj ...

to Naomi. In response, Boaz invites her to eat with him and his workers, as well as deliberately leaving grain for her to claim while keeping a protective eye on her. In the Bible, he functions as the power center for the entire further development. For example he brings about the acceptance of Ruth and the reacceptance of Naomi as well. Ruth approaches Boaz and asks him to exercise his right of kinship and marry her. Boaz accepts, provided that another with a superior claim declines. Since the first son of Ruth and a kinsman of her late husband would be deemed the legal offspring of the decedent and heir to Elimelech, the other kinsman defers to Boaz. In marrying Ruth, Boaz revives Elimelech's lineage, and the patrimony is secured to Naomi's family. Their son was Obed, father of Jesse, and grandfather of

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

. According to Josephus, he lived at the

time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

of Eli.

The Temple

According to the First Book of Kings and the Second Book of Chronicles, "Boaz" was the name of the left one of the two frontal columns of Solomon's Temple, the other being "Jachin" (Hebrew: ). It has variously been supposed to be an acronym a word unto itself, or part of a two-word sentence with the other pillar. Its meaning has been given variously as: the name of an architect or donor (by Wilhelm Gesenius), "sons of Solomon" (by Heinrich Ewald), "in strength" (by Samuel Öttli) "he (God) establisheth in strength" (by Otto Thenius, along with the other pillar), or "Owner/Lord of the strength" (by August Klostermann, along with the other pillar).

New Testament

Boaz is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew as the son of Salmon and Rahab (seemingly Rahab of Jericho) and as an ancestor of Jesus.

Rabbinic Jewish tradition

Conduct

In the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

, some rabbis identify Boaz with the judge Ibzan of Bethlehem. "I.e., Bethlehem in Zebulun"; cf. . However, Boaz "of Ruth" was from Judah, whereas the two chieftains immediately before Ibzan were from Zebulun. A legend is given that he lost all his sixty children during his lifetime because he did not invite Manoah, Samson's father, to any of the marriage festivities at his house. Since Manoah was at that time without children, Boaz thought he did not need to consider on such occasions a childless man who could not pay him back in kind (''

Bava Batra Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; ) is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of property. It is part of Judaism's oral law. Originally it, to ...

'' 91a). The Talmud tells that Boaz was a just, pious, and learned judge. The custom of using the Divine Name in greeting one's fellow-man (Rt-2.4) formulated by him and his '' bet din'' ("court flaw") received the approval of even the heavenly ''bet din'' (''

Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

'' '' Makkot'' 23b; '' Yerushalmi Talmud'' Ber. ix. 14c;

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

'' Ruth Rabbah'' to ii. 4). The midrash ''Ruth Rabbah'' states that being a pious man, Boaz on his first meeting with Ruth perceived her conscientiousness in picking up the grain, as she strictly observed the rules prescribed by the Law. This, as well as her grace and her chaste conduct during work, induced Boaz to inquire about the stranger, although he was not in the habit of inquiring after women (''Ruth Rabba'' to ii. 5; Talmudic tractate ''Shabbat'' 113b). In the conversation that followed between Boaz and Ruth, the pious proselyte said that, being a

ite, she was excluded from association with the community of God (Deuteronomy 23:3). Boaz, however, replied that the prohibition in the Scripture applied only to the men of Moaband not to the women. He furthermore told her that he had heard from the

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

s that she was destined to become the ancestress of kings and prophets; and he blessed her with the words: "May God, who rewards the pious, also reward you." ( Targum ''Ruth'' ii. 10, 11; ''Pesiḳ'', ed. Buber, xvi. 124a) Boaz was especially friendly toward the poor stranger during the meal, when he indicated to her by various symbolic courtesies that she would become the ancestress of the Davidic royal house, including the Messiah (''Ruth R.'' to ii. 14; ''Shab.'' 113b). As toward Ruth, Boaz had also been kind toward his kinsmen, Naomi's sons, on hearing of their death, taking care that they had an honorable burial (''Ruth Rabba'' to 2.20).“Boaz”
by Morris Jastrow, Jr., B. Eerdmans ''et al. Jewish Encyclopedia'', 1906.

Boaz and Ruth

Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld- Ruth im Feld des Boaz

Although Boaz was the prince of the people, he personally supervised the threshing of the grain in his barn, in order to circumvent any immorality or theft, both of which were rife in his days (Tan., Behar, ed. Buber, viii.; ''Ruth Rabba'' to iii. 7). Glad in his heart that the famine was over in Israel, he sought rest after having thanked God and studied for a while in the ''Torah'' (Tan., l.c.; Targum ''Ruth'' iii. 7; and ''Ruth Rabba'' ib.). Aroused out of his first sleep by Ruth, he was greatly frightened, as he thought she was a devil; and he was convinced of the contrary only after touching the hair of her head, since devils were believed to be bald (Tan., l.c.). When he perceived Ruth's pure and holy intentions he not only did not reprove her for her unusual behavior, he blessed her and gave her six measures of barley, indicating thereby that six pious men should spring from her, who would be gifted by God with six excellences (cf. ; ''Sanhedrin'' 93b; ''Numbers Rabba'' xiii. 11; ''Ruth Rabba'' and ''Targum to Ruth'' iii. 15; the names of the six men differ in these passages, but David and the Messiah are always among them). Boaz fulfilled the promises he had given to Ruth, and when his kinsman (the sources differ as to the precise relationship existing between them) would not marry her because he did not know the '' halakah'' which decreed that Moabite women were not excluded from the Israelitic community, Boaz himself married.

References

External links

* ''Jewish Encyclopedia''
“Boaz”
by Morris Jastrow, Jr., B. Eerdmans, Marcus Jastrow & Louis Ginzberg (1906). Now in public domain. {{Authority control Book of Ruth people Tribe of Judah Gospel of Matthew