Ruth 3:12

12 And now it is true that I am a near kinsman, yet there is a kinsman nearer than I.

Ruth 3:12 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 3:12

And now it is true, that I am thy near kinsman
Her husband and he being brothers' sons, so own cousins:

howbeit, there is a kinsman nearer than I,
who was, the Jews say ^F23, the brother of her husband's father, and so his uncle, which was a nearer relation than an own cousin.

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FOOTNOTES:

F23 Midrash Ruth, ut supra. (31. 4. & 34. 2) Jarchi in loc.

Ruth 3:12 In-Context

10 And he said, "May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter; you have made this last kindness greater than the first, in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.

11 And now, my daughter, do not fear, I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of worth.

12 And now it is true that I am a near kinsman, yet there is a kinsman nearer than I.

13 Remain this night, and in the morning, if he will do the part of the next of kin for you, well; let him do it; but if he is not willing to do the part of the next of kin for you, then, as the LORD lives, I will do the part of the next of kin for you. Lie down until the morning."

14 So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another; and he said, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor."