4:1 Now Boaz went up1 to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian2 whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth!3 Boaz said, “Come4 here and sit down, ‘John Doe’!”5 So he came6 and sat down.
tnHeb “a certain one”; KJV, ASV “such a one.” The expression פְלֹנִי אַלְמֹנִי (péloni ’almoni) is not the name of the nearest relative, but an idiom which literally means “such and such” or “a certain one” (BDB 811–12s.v.פְלֹנִי), which is used when one wishes to be ambiguous (1 Sam 21:3; 2 Kgs 6:8). Certainly Boaz would have known his relative’s name, especially in such a small village, and would have uttered his actual name. However the narrator refuses to record his name in a form of poetic justice because he refused to preserve Mahlon’s “name” (lineage) by marrying his widow (see 4:5, 9–10). This close relative, who is a literary foil for Boaz, refuses to fulfill the role of family guardian. Because he does nothing memorable, he remains anonymous in a chapter otherwise filled with names. His anonymity contrasts sharply with Boaz’s prominence in the story and the fame he attains through the child born to Ruth. Because the actual name of this relative is not recorded, the translation of this expression is difficult since contemporary English style expects either a name or title. This is usually supplied in modern translations: “friend” (NASB, NIV, RSV, NRSV, NLT), “so-and-so” (JPS, NJPS). Perhaps “Mr. So-And-So!” or “Mr. No-Name!” makes the point. For discussion see Adele Berlin, Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative, 99–101; R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 233–35; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 196–97. In the present translation “John Doe” is used since it is a standard designation for someone who is a party to legal proceedings whose true name is unknown.
6
tnHeb “and he turned aside” (so KJV, NASB); NRSV “And he went over.”