Boaz

One of the pillars in the porch of Solomon’s temple, (1 Kings 7: 21.) It was on the left hand, as Jachin, the other pillar corresponding to it, was placed on the right. The names of both were significant. Jachin means, he that strengthens and makes steadfast. Boaz means, in it is strength and firmness. No doubt, they both were figurative of Him who condescends to call himself the Door; in whom, and by whom, unless an entrance be made into the temple, the same is "a thief and a robber." (John x. 1.9.)

We are told these pillars were eighteen cubits high each of them, and twelve in circumference, 1 Kings 7: 15. And from their magnificence, they formed no unapt resemblance of Him "who is the pillar and ground of the truth." (1 Tim. 3: 15.)

Boaz, 1

Bo´az, a wealthy Bethlehemite, and near kinsman of the first husband of Ruth, whom he eventually espoused under the obligations of the Levirate law, which he willingly incurred. The conduct of Boaz—his fine spirit, just feeling, piety, and amenity of manners—appears to great advantage in the book of Ruth, and forms an interesting portraiture of the condition and deportment of what was in his time the upper class of Israelites. By his marriage with Ruth he became the father of Obed, from whom came Jesse, the father of David. He was thus one of the direct ancestors of Christ, and as such his name occurs in Mat 1:5 [RUTH; GENEALOGY].

Boaz, 2

Boaz, the name given to one of the two brazen pillars which Solomon erected in the court of the Temple [JACHIN AND BOAZ].

Rth 2:1, a wealthy Bethlehemite, a descendant of Judah, through whom is traced the regular succession of Jewish kings, Mat 1:5 . His conduct in the case of Ruth proves him to have been a man of fine spirit and of strict integrity. He admitted the claim which Ruth had upon him as a near kinsman: under the obligations of the Levitical law, he married the poor gleaner, and thus became one of the ancestors of David, and also of David’s Son and Lord. He was the father of Obed, Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse of David. The whole narrative is a beautiful picture of the simplicity of the age, when artificial courtesies had not usurped the place of natural and sincere expressions of love.\par Boaz was also the name of one of the two brazen pillars which Solomon erected in the porch of the temple, the other being called JACHIN. These columns were about thirty-five feet high, 1Ki 7:15,16,21 .\par

Bo’az. (fleetness).

1. A wealthy Bethlehemite, kinsman to Elimelech, the husband of Naomi. He married Ruth, and redeemed the estates of her deceased husband, Mahlon. Rth 4:1. Boaz is mentioned in the genealogy of Christ, Mat 1:5. (B.C. 1250, but there is great difficulty in assigning his date).

2. The name of one of Solomon’s brazen pillars, erected in the Temple porch. See Jachin. It stood on the left, and was eighteen cubits high. 1Ki 7:15; 21; 2Ch 3:15; Jer 52:21.

Explained in margin 1Ki 7:15-21, "in it (is) strength." Others, fleetness.

1. Of Bethlehem: Elimelech’s (Naomi’s husband’s) kinsman. When the next of kin to Ruth, Naomi’s daughter-in-law, declined to do the part of redeemer (god) (See BLOOD) of the inheritance of her deceased husband Mahlon (compare Deu 25:5-10), Boaz did so by marrying her, though much her senior (Rth 3:10). Their son Obed was grandfather of David. There being no objection to an Israelite’s marriage with a Moabitess marks an early date (contrast Ezra 9).

David’s descent from Ruth the Moabitess accounts for the intimacy of David with the king of Moab, so that it was with him he left his father and mother in his flight from Saul (1Sa 22:3-5); an undesigned coincidence between the books of Samuel and Ruth, a mark of genuineness (compare Psa 27:10). In the genealogy (Rth 4:18-22) several, at least three, generations must be inserted, as the list there only allows ten generations for 850 years, and only four for the 450 years between Salmon and David.

2. The name of one of the two brass pillars in Solomon’s temple porch, on the left, as Jachin was on the right. The difference of the height as given in 1Ki 7:15; 1Ki 7:21; 2Ch 3:15, arises from the height in one place including, in the other place excluding, the ornament which united the shaft to the chapiter (compare Jer 52:17-21). The pillars, which were hollow, were broken up and carried to Babylon at the fall of Jerusalem before Nebuchadnezzar.

is mentioned in the genealogy, Mat 1:5 ("Booz"), as the son of Salmon by Rahab, but there is some difficulty in assigning his date. The genealogy in Ruth (Rth 4:18-22) only allows ten generations for the 833 years from Judah to David, and only four for the 535 years between Salmon and David, if (as is almost certain from Matthew and from Jewish tradition) the Rahab mentioned is Rahab the harlot. If Boaz be identical with the judge Ibzan (q.v.), as is stated with little shadow of probability by the Jerusalem Talmud and various rabbins, several generations must be inserted. Dr. Kennicott, from the difference in form between Salmah and Salmon (Rth 4:20-21), supposes that by mistake two different men were identified (Dssert. i, 543); but we seem to want at least three generations, and this supposition gives us only one. Hence, even if we interpolate two generations before Boaz and one after Obed, still we must suppose each was the youngest son of his father, and that they did not marry till an advanced age (Dr. Mill, On the Genealogies; Lord Hervey, Id. p. 262, etc.; Browne, Ordo Seclorum, p. 263). SEE GENEALOGY; SEE DAVID.

2. (Sept. Βολώζ, and in the latter passage translates Ι᾿σχύς, strength). The name given to the left-hand one of the two brazen pillars which Solomon erected in the court of the Temple (1Ki 7:21; 2Ch 3:17); so called, either from the architect or (if it were a votive offering) from the donor. It was hollow, and surmounted by a chapiter five cubits high, ornamented with net-work and 100 pomegranates. The apparent discrepancies in stating the height of it arise from the- including or excluding of the ornament which united the shaft to the chapiter, etc. SEE JACHIN.

Boaz (bô’az), or Booz (bô’oz), lovely. 1. Was a descendant of Judah, Rth 2:1, and through him is traced the regular succession of Jewish kings and of Christ. Mat 1:5. Boaz was a man of wealth and of great respectability. He married Ruth and begat Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David. 2. One of the brazen pillars erected by Solomon before the portico of the temple. Its companion was Jachin. They were named for their givers or makers, or else had a symbolical meaning. 1Ki 7:21; 2Ch 3:17; Jer 52:21.

[Bo’az]

This and JACHIN were the names given to two pillars in the porch of the temple built by Solomon. They are minutely described in 1Ki 7:15-22; 2Ch 3:15-17. It will be observed that in Kings and Jer 52:21 the height of each pillar is 18 cubits, but in Chronicles their length is said to be 35 cubits. The explanation of this difference is that in Kings the height of each is given, and in Chronicles the length of the pillars , the two together; so that the 17-1/2 cubits, with perhaps a socket, would be the same as the 18 cubits in Kings. JACHIN signifies ’He will establish,’ and BOAZ, ’in Him [is] strength’ - implying that the kingdom will be established in strength and in peace, under the administration of Christ: thus the names are typical of the millennium. There appears to be an allusion to these pillars in Rev 3:12, the overcomer being made a ’pillar’ in the temple of God.

BOAZ.—The husband of Ruth, named in the genealogies of our Lord (Mat 1:5, Luk 3:32).

By: Morris Jastrow, Jr., B. Eerdmans, Marcus Jastrow, Louis Ginzberg

—Biblical Data:

One of the relatives of Elimelech, husband of Naomi; a wealthy Judean, living at Bethlehem in Judah (Ruth ii. 1). He was one of the kinsmen of Ruth; as such he had the privilege of redeeming the family estate sold by Naomi after Elimelech's death. Therefore when Ruth appealed to his kinship, he redeemed the property (Ruth iii. 9, iv. 3). In consequence of this he had to marry Ruth, in order "to raise up the name of the dead" (Ruth iv. 5, 10). Their son Obed was, according to tradition, the grandfather of David (Ruth iv. 22).

J. Jr. B. E.His Conduct Approved. —In Rabbinical Literature:

Boaz is identified by some rabbis with the judge Ibzan of Bethlehem (Judges xii. 8). It is further said that he lost all his sixty children during his lifetime because he did not invite Manoah, Samson's father, to any of the marriage festivities in his house. For, since Manoah was at that time without children, Boaz thought that he need not consider on such occasions a childless man who could not pay him back in kind (B. B. 91a). According to Josephus, "Ant." v. 9, § 1, Boaz lived at the time of Eli. Boaz was a just, pious, and learned judge, and the custom of using the Divine Name in greeting one's fellow-man (Ruth ii. 4) formulated by him and his bet din received the approval of even the heavenly bet din (Mak. 23b; Yer. Ber. ix. 14c; Ruth R. to ii. 4).

Being a pious man, Boaz on his first meeting with Ruth perceived her conscientiousness in picking up the grain, as she strictly observed the rules prescribed by the Law (compare Gleaning of the Fields). This, as well as her grace and her chaste conduct during work, induced Boaz to inquire about the stranger, although he was not in the habit of inquiring after women (Ruth R. to ii. 5; Shab. 113b). In the conversation that followed between Boaz and Ruth, the pious proselyte said that, being a Moabite, she was excluded from association with the community of God (Deut. xxiii. 4). Boaz, however, replied that the prohibition in Scripture applied only to the men of Moab, and not to the women. He furthermore told her that he had heard from the Prophets that she was destined to become the ancestress of kings and prophets; and he blessed her with the words: "May God, who rewards the pious, also reward you" (Targ. Ruth ii. 10, 11; Pesiḳ, ed. Buber, xvi. 124a). Boaz was especially friendly toward the poor stranger during the meal, when he indicated to her by various symbolic courtesies that she would become the ancestress of the Davidic royal house, including the Messiah (Ruth R. to ii. 14; Shab. 113b). As toward Ruth, Boaz had also been kind toward his kinsmen, Naomi's sons, on hearing of their death, taking care that they had an honorable burial (Ruth R. to ii. 20).

Boaz and Ruth.

Although Boaz was the prince of the people, he himself supervised the threshing of the grain in his barn, in order to circumvent any immorality or theft, both of which were rife in his days (Tan., Behar, ed. Buber, viii.; Ruth R. to iii. 7). Glad in his heart that the famine was over in Israel, he sought rest after having thanked God and studied for a while in the Torah (Tan., l.c.; Targ. Ruth iii. 7; and Ruth R. ib.). Aroused out of his first sleep by Ruth, he was greatly frightened, as he thought that she was a devil; and he was convinced of the contrary only after touching the hair of her head, since devils are bald (Tan., l.c.). When he perceived the pure and holy intentions of Ruth he not only did not reprove her for her unusual behavior, but he blessed her, and gave her six measures of barley, indicating thereby that six pious men should spring from her, who would be gifted by God with six excellences (compare Isa. xi. 2; Sanh. 93b; Num. R. xiii. 11; Ruth R. and Targ. to Ruth iii. 15; the names of the six men differ in these passages, but David and the Messiah are always among them). Boaz fulfilled the promises he had given to Ruth, and when his kinsman (the sources differ as to the precise relationship existing between them) would not marry her because he did not know the Halakah which decreed that Moabite women were not excluded from the Israelitic community, Boaz himself married her (Ruth R. to iv. 1). Boaz was eighty and Ruth forty years old (idem to iii. 10), but their marriage did not remain childless, though Boaz died the day after his wedding (Midrash Zuṭṭa, ed. Buber, 55, below).

Bibliography:

D. Hartmann, Das Buch Ruth in der Midrasch-Litteratur, 1901.

—Critical View:

The historical value of the genealogy (Ruth iv. 18-22) is denied by Wellhausen, Cornill, and modern critics generally. They suppose it to be the product of a tendency that existed at one period in post-exilic times, of finding a foreign origin for the most renowned families. But others are of the opinion that David's flight into Moab (I Sam. xxii. 3) is a circumstance that lends historical plausibility to the Moabitic origin of Ruth (so Kuenen, "Historisch-Critisch Onderzoek," etc., i., § 36. g.; Nowack, "Ruth," p. 184.

BOAZ.—A Bethlehemite of wealth, the son of Salmon; grandfather of Jesse, and thus ancestor of David (Rth 4:21-22, 1Ch 2:11, Mat 1:5-6, Luk 3:32). He became the second husband of the widowed Ruth, whom he married (according to ancient Hebrew custom) as next-of-kin, when her ‘near kinsman’ refused to undertake this duty (Rth 4:1-10). See Ruth.

W. O. E. Oesterley.

BOAZ, the name of one of the two bronze pillars which stood in front of Solomon’s Temple. The other was named Jachin (1Ki 7:21, 2Ch 3:17). See Jachin and Boaz, Temple.

bō´az (בּעז, bō‛az; Βόοζ, Bóoz; “quickness” (?) Ruth 2 through 4; 1Ch 2:11, 1Ch 2:12; Mat 1:5; Luk 3:32):

(1) A resident of Bethlehem and kinsman of Elimelech, Naomi’s husband. In Rth 2:1 he is described as a gibbōr ḥayil, a phrase which can mean either “a mighty man of valor” or else “a man of position and wealth.” The latter is probably the sense in which the phrase is applied to Boaz (compare 1Sa 9:1). He had fields outside the town, and to them Ruth went to glean. Boaz noticed her and extended special kindness and protection to her, bidding her remain with his female workers, and charging the men not to illtreat her, and also giving her of the reapers’ food at mealtime. Boaz awoke one night and found Ruth lying at his feet. He praised her virtue, and promised to take charge of her if her dead husband’s next-of-kin failed to do so. He laid her case before the next-of-kin, and finally redeemed the family property himself and bought as well the right to take Ruth in marriage. The son of Boaz and Ruth was Obed, father of Jesse, and grandfather of David. 1Ch 2:11, 1Ch 2:12 makes Boaz a descendant of Hezron, and so probably a chief of the Hezronite clan in Bethlehem. Jewish tradition identifies Boaz with Ibzan (Jdg 12:8-10).

Boaz “is set before us as a model of piety, generosity and chastity” (H. P. Smith, Old Testament History, 398). He found virtue and rewarded it. HPM, sections 501-8, gives a picture of the life of “a well-to-do landed proprietor of central Palestine,” much of which could aptly be taken as a description of Boaz.

(2) The name of one of the two bronze pillars erected in front of Solomon’s temple, the other being Jachin (1Ki 7:21; 2Ch 3:17). See JACHIN AND BOAZ; TEMPLE.

Rth 2:1 (c) This is a type of the Lord JESUS who owns the field and who marries those who were formerly foreigners and strangers, but who put their trust in Him and become His bride, the church.

If the Rahab whom the Israelites saved at the time of Jericho’s destruction is the same Rahab whose name appears in the genealogy of Jesus, then Boaz was descended from her (Jos 6:17; Rth 4:18-22; Mat 1:1; Mat 1:5). He features in the book of Ruth as the man who helped the young Moabite widow Ruth and later married her (see RUTH).

Boaz was a godly man who was eager to reward Ruth when he learnt of her kindness to her widowed mother-in-law (Rth 2:11-12). He protected her from the local youths (Rth 2:8-9; Rth 2:22), supplied her with food and drink during her day’s work (Rth 2:9; Rth 2:14), rewarded her gleaning (Rth 2:16-20) and gave her extra supplies of grain (Rth 3:15). He showed no racial prejudice against her in spite of the traditional hostility between Israel and Moab (Rth 2:6; Rth 2:10).

When Ruth asked Boaz to keep alive the name of her late husband by fulfilling the duties of a close relative, Boaz responded generously. He was open and honourable in all his dealings with her, whether concerning marriage or property (Rth 3:11-13; Rth 4:1-6). He married Ruth, and the child born to them was an ancestor of King David and of Jesus the Messiah (Rth 4:18-22; Mat 1:1; Mat 1:5).