adverse effect on his own financial affairs. The town gate was the center for social and economic life in ancient Israel. This was where news was first heard, where local and traveling merchants sold their wares in the cool shade of the town walls, where soldiers were stationed, and where legal disputes were handled. 4:7–12 He makes a statement with his sandal. To affirm his unwillingness to redeem Naomi and Ruth and their land, the nearer relative removed his sandal. Boaz then announced, in the