What Does Ruth 2:20 Mean in the King James?
And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The faithful love Naomi recognizes reaches the living and the dead, then takes the shape of a kinsman who can carry the family bond forward.
THE MEANING
Faithful love remains in view across the line between the living and the dead. Naomi recognizes it in the kindness before her, then names the man as one of their kinsmen who can act on that bond.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The dead are beyond the reach of the love that binds the living.
THE ROOT
חֶסֶד
chesed
GROWS FROM
ח־ס־ד
Faithful, steadfast love expressed through loyalty and care.
“Kindness” can sound like a passing gesture; chesed carries durable, relational love. Here it reaches both the living and the dead, and the next sentence gives that love a shape in kinship.
ALSO GROWS
chasad: To act with kindness or loyal care.
חָסַד
This verb shows chesed as something enacted, like the care Naomi recognizes in the verse.
chasid: A faithful or devoted person.
חָסִיד
This branch describes a person by the loyal care that marks them.
גֹּאֵל
go’el
GROWS FROM
ג־א־ל
To redeem, reclaim, or restore what is at risk within the family.
“Kinsman” can sound like a family label; go’el also names a role that acts to reclaim or restore. The verse places that action-bearing kinship beside chesed, showing how faithful love can take practical form.
ALSO GROWS
ga’al: To redeem or reclaim.
גָּאַל
The verb reveals the action held within the kinship role named here.
ge’ullah: Redemption or the right of redemption.
גְּאֻלָּה
This related word shows that go’el belongs to a wider language of reclaiming and restoring what is at risk.
THE PATTERN
Faithful love keeps reaching across loss through concrete care that preserves people and their bonds.
And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return each to her mother’s house: the LORD deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me.O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;THE THREAD
And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed be the LORD, which hath not left thee this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel.Ruth 2:20 names the man as one of Naomi’s go’elim, her kinsmen who can redeem. Ruth 4:14 repeats the same root when the women bless the LORD for the go’el in Naomi’s life, showing the kinship bond named here reaching into her family’s future.
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