Ruth 4:18-22

The Ancestry of David Ruth 4:18-22

18 Now these are the generations of Pharez; Pharez begat Hezron,
19 And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab,
20 And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,
21 And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,
22 And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

12.

At what period was this? Ruth 4:20-22

Obed was David's grandfather. If David were born when Jesse was fifty years old and Jesse was born when his father was at a similar age, we would expect this marriage and birth to have occurred at least a century before the time of David. David came to the attention of Israel when he slew Goliath. Later, he became king at the age of thirty. We are fairly certain of his era as beginning around 1010 B.C., thus the events recorded in the book of Ruth must have transpired sometime during the middle of the twelfth century before Christ.

13.

When was the Book of Ruth written, and for what purpose? Ruth 4:22

It was written before Solomon but after David was a popular hero. If Solomon had been born when Ruth was written, it is natural to expect his name would appear in the genealogy. Since his name is not there, we assume the book was written prior to the time of his birth. Samuel did not live to see David on the throne. His death is recorded in 1 Samuel 25:1, therefore we place the date of writing as somewhere near 1015 B.C. This would have been after David came to national prominence by killing Goliath (1 Samuel 17). He was also a man of war who went in and came out from among the Israelites with great dignity. They sang songs celebrating his prominence; and during this time after his anointing by Samuel (1 Samuel 16) and before he became king (2 Samuel 2), the book must have been written.

14.

What is the significance of the closing verses? Ruth 4:18-22

The genealogy closes with David, an evident proof that the book was intended to give a family picture from the life of the pious ancestors of this great and godly king of Israel. For us the history which points to David acquires a still higher signification from the fact that all members of the genealogy of David whose names occur here are also found in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. The passage is given by Matthew word for word in the genealogy of Christ (Matthew 1:5-6 a). In view of this, we see this history looks not so much to David as to Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed by all as the Savior and Redeemer of the human race. We learn with what wonderful compassion the Lord raises up the lowly and despised to the greatest glory and majesty,

15.

What state of society under the judges does the book indicate?

Many of the people were faithful to the Law, They were without central government. Matters such as the redeeming of land by the marrying of widows were handled by the council of men who met in the city gate. All in all, it was a time of peace and prosperity except for the terrible famine which must have been brought on the people by the invasion of the Midianites. They were an agricultural people and took pleasure in the common things of life. Women rejoiced when a healthy child was born to one of their number, and the leaders of the community prayed for rich blessings to be upon husbands and wives whose marriages were consummated in their presence. Certainly, mankind has known cruder eras, and Israel's crying for a king must have been more from selfishness than from actual need.