Was Naomi Obed’s grandmother or even related to him in any way?<\/p>\n\t
Obed was the son born to Boaz and Ruth. Ruth was Naomi’s widowed daughter-in-law. She had married Naomi’s son who had died. Boaz married Ruth in part because he was a near kinsman to Ruth’s husband. In particular, he was the second nearest kinsman (Ruth 3:12).<\/p>\n
Many assume that Boaz was one of Elimelech’s nephews, meaning that Salmon was Elimelech’s brother (Ruth 4:18-22). However, there is no way to prove this. So if you are looking for blood relations, they are not close.<\/p>\n
However, in society one can function as a relative. Ruth’s oath basically made her more than a daughter-in-law to Naomi (Ruth 1:16-17). Naomi refers to Ruth as her daughter (Ruth 2:22; 3:1, 18). Even the neighbors realized their close relationship. “And may he be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him<\/em>” (Ruth 4:15). And Naomi helped to raise Obed (Ruth 4:17). So while not a blood-relation, Naomi still functioned in every way as Obed’s grandmother.<\/p>\n We do the same today. If a woman becomes a stepmother or a man a stepfather, we still refer to them as a mother or father and later in life as a grandmother or grandfather. When children are adopted, they still refer to the ones who raised them as their father and mother. So what is spoken of in Ruth is not unusual.<\/p>\n Most importantly, however, is to go back to the reason why Ruth and Boaz married. Ruth was the widow of a man who died before they had any children. Since their marriage was to raise up an heir for Ruth’s dead husband, that first child would be considered the child of her husband and, thus, his heir. “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel<\/em>” (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). Thus, from an Israelite’s point of view, the child was the dead man’s and thus would be Naomi’s grandchild.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Was Naomi Obed’s grandmother or even related to him in any way? Answer: Obed was the son born to Boaz and Ruth. Ruth was Naomi’s widowed daughter-in-law. She had married Naomi’s son who had died. Boaz married Ruth in part because he was a near kinsman to Ruth’s husband. In particular, he was the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[556,245],"class_list":["post-21764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-genealogy","tag-ruth"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32597,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-did-ruth-convert-to-judaism\/","url_meta":{"origin":21764,"position":0},"title":"When did Ruth convert to Judaism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 19, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Was Ruth converted to Judaism in the Book of Ruth? If yes, when did it happen? By the time she marries Mahlon, or by the time she follows Naomi to Bethlehem, or by the time she marries Boaz or none of the above? Answer: Ruth's decision to follow the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":35643,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-raised-obed\/","url_meta":{"origin":21764,"position":1},"title":"Who raised Obed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 2, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just finished Ruth. In Ruth 4:16, it states,\u00a0\"Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse\".\u00a0 There is a footnote in the NASB that says the term, \"laid in her lap\" is an example of taking \"as her own\". So, did Naomi\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":58880,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-life-defined-by-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":21764,"position":2},"title":"A Life Defined by Love","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: I Corinthians 16:13-14 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The story of Ruth is a popular love story from the Bible \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It isn\u2019t how most people see as a typical love story. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0She doesn\u2019t go out searching for love but she eventually finds it anyway \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Rather, we see the story\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9343,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-ruth-uncover-boazs-feet\/","url_meta":{"origin":21764,"position":3},"title":"Why did Ruth uncover Boaz’s feet?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why did Ruth uncover Boaz's feet? Answer: In the story of Ruth, Ruth worked in the fields as a charity case to supply food for her mother-in-law and herself. Ruth didn't realize it, but the field she selected was owned by a relative of her deceased father-in-law. Boaz spoke\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1034,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-lessons-can-we-learn-from-boaz\/","url_meta":{"origin":21764,"position":4},"title":"What lessons can we learn from Boaz?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 16, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The relationship between Boaz and his workers was enviable. Is it possible today? Why or why not? Answer: The story of Boaz is found in the book of Ruth. While you appear to think highly of Boaz's relationship with his servants, there is actually little material to draw upon.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33928,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/ruth-a-woman-of-virtue\/","url_meta":{"origin":21764,"position":5},"title":"Ruth – A Woman of Virtue","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ross Ward Text: Ruth 3:11 Defining Virtuous Brown Driver & Briggs - strength, might, efficiency, wealth, army Strong's - probably a force; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength Army 56x Man of valor 37x Host 29x Forces 14x Valiant 13x Strength 12x Riches 11x Wealth 10x Power 9x Substance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}