Boaz בועז
leading man of Bethlehem, redeemer and husband of Ruth
Boaz is called "a man of substance", a kinsman of Elimelech. The Talmud identifies him with Ivtzan, the judge of Bethlehem, making him the leader of his generation.
His first appearance says everything: he comes to the field and greets the reapers with "the Lord be with you". Noticing an unknown woman gleaning, he does not drive her off but tells the workers to drop sheaves on purpose so she will have something to gather, and invites her to eat with them.
At night on the threshing floor, when Ruth asks him to act as redeemer, he answers without ambiguity: "Blessed are you of the Lord, my daughter… fear not, all you say I will do." He goes straight to the city gate, summons the nearer kinsman before ten witnesses and, when he declines, declares publicly that he has acquired Ruth the Moabite as his wife.
The legal point matters most: he upholds the ruling that the ban applies to a Moabite man, not a Moabite woman. Midrash says he died soon after the wedding, having founded the royal line.
On the timeline
Related
Sources
Tanakh
- the Book of Ruth 2–4 — the field, the redemption, and the marriage
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Yevamot 76b–77a — “an Ammonite man but not an Ammonite woman” — the ruling concerning Ruth
- Bava Batra 91a — Boaz is the judge Ivtzan
- Ruth Rabbah — the midrashim on the scroll
Basis: stated in the Tanakh.