Kinsman Redeemer

While trying to update the Reading curriculum for my 5th graders, I’ve been pouring through The Outsider, a narrative retelling of Ruth by author Katy Morgan. Although geared toward young readers, it has been an absolute pleasure to read. It made me realize, though, that we don’t hear much about a core figure in Ruth’s story: the kinsman redeemer. What is a kinsman redeemer, and why does this hold so much significance in the Bible’s overall narrative?

The concept of the kinsman redeemer is brought up throughout the Pentateuch, or the first five books of the Bible. Basically, a person can buy out, or redeem, the debt or property of a close relative. That would make them the kinsman redeemer.

The most well-known application of this was marriage in the ancient middle east. If a married man died, his next closest, most available male relative (such as a brother) would marry his widow and have children with her in order to keep the first man’s line from dying out.

Ruth’s story is the go-to example of the kinsman redeemer in action, but it’s not the first one we read about. That title goes to Judah in the book of Genesis. Judah, one of the twelve patriarchs of Israel, had three sons. His eldest son, Er, married a woman named Tamar. Because he was wicked, God struck Er dead. As per the custom of kinsman redeemer (which must have been practiced long before Israel became a nation), Tamar was given to Er’s brother, Onan. However, because Onan didn’t want to sire a child that wouldn’t be his heir, he purposefully prevented Tamar from getting pregnant. This angered God, who struck him down, too.

Judah told Tamar to return to her father’s house until his third son, Shelah, was old enough to marry her and become the new kinsman redeemer. However, he kept putting this arrangement off because he was afraid Shelah would die, too. This went on until Judah’s wife died. When Tamar heard the news, she disguised herself as a prostitute and tricked Judah into sleeping with her. Judah gave her some of his personal items as a pledge until he could pay her properly, but she promptly disappeared after that.

Later, Judah heard that Tamar was pregnant. He was ready to have her put to death for adultery, but Tamar sent him a message. “The owner of these items is the father.” Lo and behold, it was Judah’s belongings. The egg was on his face, and it burned.

Now, this was not the best look at the kinsman redeemer. Onan tainted the image, and Judah made it worse. However, even this story would be redeemed by one of Judah’s descendants, one from this very adulterous failure: Boaz.

Boaz was a wealthy landowner who took pity on Ruth, the daughter-in-law of his distant relative Naomi. Although she was a poor foreigner, he still treated her with kindness and generosity. Under Naomi’s instructions, Ruth practically proposed to him, asking him to be her kinsman redeemer. Boaz was flattered, and he clearly liked Ruth, but he was also a man of honor. He knew that there was another man who was a closer relative to Naomi than he was.

Instead of trying claim her behind the other man’s back, he went through the proper channels. He discussed the issue with the man in question and had the transfer of kinsman redeemer performed before a group of witnesses. Only then did he pursue Ruth as kinsman redeemer and, soon enough, as husband.

Ruth and Boaz’s story is a romantic one, but why is it included in the Bible? The answer is twofold: not only does the kinsman redeemer mirror Jesus Christ, this particular story led to His arrival on Earth. Ruth and Boaz were the great grandparents of David, Israel’s greatest king, and Jesus was born to two of David’s descendants. As humanity’s kinsman redeemer, he came in to save us from our sinful squalor and bring us into God’s family.

We may not see the marital version of the kinsman redeemer very much these days, but we can still act as redeemers in other areas, such as paying for people’s debts or providing for their needs. We are called to be like Christ, and if He loved us so much that He willingly sacrificed Himself for  us, we can and should be willing to love others in the same way.