Rethinking Redemption With a Kinsman Redeemer in the Bible

It’s common to hear Christians say that Jesus redeems humanity from sin and death and also that God redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt long ago. The Bible also talks about land being redeemed and people buying freedom with “redemption payments.” It’s the same root word, but the ideas seem different. So what exactly does redemption mean in the Bible?

It’s a complex concept that’s impossible to tackle all at once. And we probably cannot land on one “exact” definition that covers every nuance. Instead, over time, we can deepen understanding by learning about and meditating on the different biblical descriptions.

Here, we’ll see one picture of redemption shining through the book of Ruth, which takes place during the dark days of Israel’s judges. As we explore Ruth and Naomi’s story, it shows us a key aspect of what it means for Jesus to redeem humanity.

Opening with two widows facing property loss and starvation, the book of Ruth tells a story about desperate human need and the redemption needed to reclaim a family’s land and lineage that would otherwise be lost. The Hebrew word ga’al, one of Scripture’s key words translated as “redeem” in English, repeats throughout the story, and another repeated word stemming from it, go’el, means “kinsman redeemer.”

In the Bible, a kinsman redeemer is a close family relative who restores people or property back to their original family after they’ve been sold due to extreme poverty. In the book of Ruth, Naomi’s relative Boaz becomes that desperately needed go’el, reclaiming her family land while also restoring her life and lineage.

Naomi’s Desperate Need for Help

The book of Ruth opens with a string of sorrows that leaves Naomi widowed, empty, and aching for redemption. A famine in Bethlehem drives her, Elimelech, and their two sons to flee to Moab in search of food, but hope fades quickly. Elimelech dies, and then Naomi’s sons both get married but also die without leaving any heirs.

Just five verses into the story, Naomi’s home, her resources, and her family line are all wrecked, gone. When Naomi hears that the famine has ended, she returns to Bethlehem. But she can’t grow or buy food there. Her family land was sold off before she and Elimelech fled to Moab, and now, as a penniless widow with no sons, she has no power or resources to reclaim her property.

There are no government services that help desperate people. Economic security in Naomi’s ancient context was grounded in working the land God gave to each tribe and family in Israel, which was passed down from generation to generation. For Naomi, the loss of her land and death of her family meant the death of her future. Naomi must have felt overwhelming heartache and helplessness.

Scholars often compare Naomi with Job,(1), the Hebrew Bible’s icon of human suffering. But while Job cries out to God in his anguish, Naomi hardly speaks. When she does, she says God’s hand has “turned against” her (Ruth 1:13).

The name Naomi means “pleasant,” but she’s not feeling pleasant. Biblical scholar Yael Ziegler suggests that Naomi might be returning to Bethlehem “not to live, but to die.”(2) Upon arrival, Naomi wants the women of the town to call her Mara, which means “bitter.”

Naomi describes herself as “full” when leaving Bethlehem, but now, thanks to God, she is returning “empty.” The biblical authors have created an ultra-thick irony here. As Naomi says this, she is standing right next to her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth, who has already committed her entire life to Naomi. Just before, Ruth promised to worship Yahweh alongside her, live wherever she lives, and die where she dies (Ruth 1:16-17). Ruth is a generous blessing. But severe pain and despair can blind anyone, and Naomi cannot see the life Ruth is already filling her with.

Despite Ruth’s pledge of loyalty to Naomi, Naomi’s only hope for a future is for someone to restore her family land back to her. God gave Israel instructions for this exact scenario, a way to redeem land that would otherwise be lost. God said that a close relative, called a “kinsman redeemer” (Hebrew: go‘el) should step in and buy back the land, returning it to the family (Lev. 25:25-28).

Boaz Offers a Glimmer of Hope

So that she and Naomi can survive, Ruth goes out to gather grain left in the fields during the barley harvest. Long before, God had instructed farmers not to harvest everything from their fields or vineyards, intentionally leaving nutritious crops standing so that the poor and the foreigner could also harvest needed food (Lev. 19:9-10). When Ruth goes out to gather, she “just so happens” (Ruth 2:3) to stumble upon a field belonging to Boaz, Elimelech’s wealthy relative (Ruth 2:1).

Boaz is kind, generous, and wise enough to recognize Ruth’s good character (Ruth 2:5-13). He’s compelled to lavish her with even more grain than God’s gleaning laws required (Ruth 2:16).

“This man is a close relative to us,” says Naomi when Ruth returns. “He’s one of our kinsman redeemers (go’el)!” (Ruth 2:20b, BibleProject Translation). Naomi is hopeful, but the harvest season is slipping by. Day after day, Ruth keeps gleaning in his field, but Boaz doesn’t step up to act as a go’el. And then, the harvest ends and nothing happens.

Ruth “Asks” Boaz To Marry Her

Boaz noticed Ruth when he heard glowing reports about her and witnessed her diligent commitment in action, but he doesn’t embrace his role as Naomi’s kinsman redeemer. When the grain Ruth collected runs out, she and Naomi will be back to “empty.”

In their ancient context, Ruth and Naomi have no good options for long-term survival. Women without male providers often ended up begging, enslaved, or oppressed in prostitution. The only safety net available to Ruth and Naomi is to find a kinsman redeemer willing to act. Naomi knows she can rely on Ruth, who has consistently proven herself to be trustworthy and loyal, so she proposes a plan for Ruth to get Boaz’ attention.

Naomi instructs Ruth to approach Boaz in the dead of night on a threshing floor, where he should be sleeping, and tells her to do whatever Boaz asks (Ruth 3:4). Naomi’s goal remains vague, but she may be expecting that Boaz will sleep with Ruth and then take on the responsibility of caring for both women, especially if the encounter leads to a pregnancy. Boaz has shown himself to be kind and generous, so Naomi is trusting that he will do right by them.

But this plan is perilous. Ruth was already an easy target for violent harm and sexual abuse when she was gleaning in the fields, as Boaz acknowledged when he told Ruth to stay with the young women and instructed his workers not to touch her (Ruth 2:8-9). Her status as a Moabite makes her even more vulnerable. And remember, this is all happening when the judges ruled and Israel was spiraling into a deadly free-for-all (see Ruth 1:1; Judg. 19-21).

It’s risky for Ruth to even walk out to the threshing floor alone at night. And if she becomes pregnant and Boaz refuses to take responsibility for her, she could end up much worse off than before, bearing the public shame heaped on unwed mothers. But Ruth doesn’t flinch. She agrees to do everything Naomi says, entrusting herself to Boaz’ good character (Ruth 3:5).

On the threshing floor, Boaz stirs in his sleep and wakes to find someone lying at his feet. It’s too dark to see who it is, so he asks, “Who are you?” “I’m Ruth, your maidservant,” she says. And then, summoning all her courage, she speaks boldly from the darkness: “Spread your cloak over your maidservant because you are a kinsman redeemer (go’el)” (Ruth 3:9, BibleProject Translation). Rather than following Naomi’s instructions and passively waiting for Boaz to act, Ruth reminds him of his duty to their family, essentially asking him to marry her.

Boaz Becomes a Kinsman Redeemer

Ruth stuns Boaz. He knows she could have pursued a younger man to reduce her chances of being widowed again. But with loyal love for Naomi, Ruth approaches Boaz, knowing that he can restore Naomi’s property. Also, if one of Naomi’s relatives marries Ruth, their first child will be legally considered as her grandson (see Deut. 25:5-6). So Boaz also has the ability to carry on Naomi’s family line.

Boaz agrees to do what Ruth asks, but first, he must offer the right of refusal to one of Naomi’s closer relatives (Ruth 3:10-13). The ensuing meeting demonstrates his integrity and wisdom. When the closer relative refuses to step in, Boaz acts as Naomi’s go‘el, purchasing back her land and also marrying Ruth. Naomi’s land and family line are restored (Ruth 4:1-10).

Those women of Bethlehem who first heard Naomi saying she was empty and calling herself “bitter” (see Ruth 1:19-21) now look to Ruth and praise her, telling Naomi that Ruth means more to her “than seven sons” (Ruth 4:15). Boaz is Naomi’s redeemer, but he may never have acted if Ruth hadn’t prompted him. And without Ruth’s hard work gleaning in the field, Naomi might have already died.

From Boaz and Ruth to Jesus

The women of Bethlehem name Ruth’s child Obed (Ruth 4:17), and the story ends with a genealogy that connects Obed to King David. Centuries later, Matthew’s gospel extends this same genealogy to Jesus of Nazareth (Matt. 1:1-17). So Ruth and Boaz restore the family line that leads to Jesus.

And the small town of Bethlehem, where their story takes place, is also where Jesus is born. Bethlehem means “house of bread” in Hebrew, an image conveying nourishment for life. Out of all the possible towns and cities, Bethlehem is the place where new life comes both to Naomi, through the loyal love of Ruth and Boaz, and to all humanity, through the birth of Jesus. Even more, the faithful actions of Ruth and Jesus, like seeds, were planted deep and have been producing fruitful redemption ever since.

Jesus “slipped into our world through the backroads and outlying districts of one of the least important places on earth,” Dallas Willard says, and he “has allowed his program for human history to unfold ever so slowly through the centuries.”(3)

Through Ruth’s willingness to give of herself for Naomi’s well-being and Boaz’ choice to act as her go’el, these two characters work together to bring about Naomi’s redemption, restoring her family’s land and lineage. Likewise, Jesus’ willingness to give his life for the well-being of others and his choice to act as humanity’s redeemer restores our family line back to God, returning each of us to our true home.

1. See William A. Tooman, (Re)reading Ruth (Eugene: Cascade, 2022), pp. 51-53; André LaCocque, Ruth, A Continental Commentary (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2004), pp. 49-50.
2. Yael Ziegler, Ruth: From Alienation to Monarchy (Jerusalem: Koren Publishers, 2015), p. 181.
3. Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God (New York: HarperCollins, 1998), p. 13.