Amplified Bible
Ruth 4:2
2Then Boaz took ten men from the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” And they sat down.
Ruth 4:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here. And they sat down.
- New International Version (NIV)Boaz took ten of the elders of the town and said, “Sit here,” and they did so.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, "Sit down here." So they sat down.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.
Context of Ruth 4:2
1Then Boaz went up to the city gate [where business and legal matters were settled] and sat down, and then the close relative (redeemer) of whom Boaz had spoken came by. He said to him, “Come over here, friend, and sit down.” So he came and sat down. Then Boaz took ten men from the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” And they sat down. 3He said to the closest relative (redeemer), “Naomi, who has returned from the country of Moab, must sell the plot of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. 4So I thought to let you hear of it, saying, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, then tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I am [next of kin] after you.’ ” And he said, “I will redeem it.”
Read all of Ruth 4Ruth 4:2 word by word
וַיִּקַּ֞ח עֲשָׂרָ֧ה אֲנָשִׁ֛ים מִזִּקְנֵ֥י הָעִ֖יר וַיֹּ֣אמֶר שְׁבוּ־פֹ֑ה וַיֵּשֵֽׁבוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ruth 4:2
- Exodus 18:21Furthermore, you shall select from all the people competent men who [reverently] fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; you shall place these over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.
- Exodus 21:8If she does not please her master who has chosen her for himself [as a wife], he shall let her be redeemed [by her family]. He does not have the authority to sell her to a foreign people, because he has been unfair to her.
- Deuteronomy 29:10“All of you stand today before the Lord your God—your chiefs, your tribes, your elders and your officers, even all the men of Israel,
- Deuteronomy 31:28Assemble before me all the elders of your tribes and your officers, so that I may speak these words in their hearing and call heaven and earth as witnesses against them.
- 1 Kings 21:8So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and nobles who lived with Naboth in his city.
- Proverbs 31:23Her husband is known in the [city’s] gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
- Lamentations 5:14Elders are gone from the gate; Young men from their music.
- Acts 6:12And they provoked and incited the people, as well as the elders and the scribes, and they came up to Stephen and seized him and brought him before the Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court).
Commentaries on Ruth 4:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2He took ten men - Probably it required this number to constitute a court. How simple and how rational was this proceeding! The man who had a suit went to the city gates. Here he stopped till the person with whom he had the suit came to the gate on his way to his work. He called him by name, and he stopped and sat down. Then ten elders were called, and they came and sat down. When all this was done, the appellant preferred his suit. Then the appellee…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2Every city was governed by elders (see Deuteronomy 19:12; Judges 8:14). For the number “ten,” compare Exodus 18:25. Probably the presence of, at least, ten elders was necessary to make a lawful public assembly, as among modern Jews ten (a minyon) are necessary to constitute a synagogue.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. he took ten men of the elders of the city--as witnesses. In ordinary circumstances, two or three were sufficient to attest a bargain; but in cases of importance, such as matrimony, divorce, conveyancing of property, it was the Jewish practice to have ten (1Ki 21:8).Read the comment
Topics related to Ruth 4:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Ruth 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
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