룻기 4:5 해설: Tze'enah Ure'enah, Rashi & Ibn Ezra

“And Boaz said” [4:5]. Boaz said on the day that he bought the field from Naomi and from Ruth the Moabite, the wife of the deceased. You buy this to establish the name of the deceased on his inheritance. The man who was called Tov said: I couldn’t redeem since I have a wife and many children. Perhaps I will destroy my own estate. You redeem in my place since I cannot redeem. I will destroy my family because she is a Moabite. Our sages say: the redeemer understood that he wanted to buy the field and wanted to keep Ruth in his house and would give her food and drink, but did not want to marry her. Boaz said, you must also marry her. The redeemer responded: I couldn’t do this because of my children and because of my family. That is why Scripture says “acquire” is written with a “yud.” That is to say, Boaz said, if you don’t want to do it because she is a Moabite, then I will acquire her and that is why acquire is written with the “yud.” This means, in my opinion I have acquired her.⁷¹Ruth Rabbah, 7.9.

And from Rus the Mo’avitess. You must buy [the inheritance], and she is not willing [to sell] unless you marry her.

"You have acquired the wife of the deceased." The reason for this phrase is 'you will acquire,' with a past tense verb used for future action. For the woman has a ketubah (marriage contract), and also, a mother inherits what remains. It is written 'I have acquired,' meaning 'thus I will acquire.'