Bible Strands
Ruth 4:12
And may your house become like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring the LORD will give you by this young woman.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The elders and all the people at the gate speak to Boaz as the redemption transaction concludes, offering a formal blessing before the marriage is finalized.
The words — וִ/יהִ֤י (vi./Hi) renders "may it be" [H1961], and פֶּ֔רֶץ (Pe.retz) names "Perez" [H6557]. The phrase literally constructs a conditional wish: "may your household become like the household of Perez."
The thread — Genesis 38:29 records Tamar naming Perez after he emerged first from her womb, and 1 Chronicles 2:4 confirms Tamar bore Perez to Judah. 1 Samuel 2:20 parallels the blessing structure, where Eli prays that God will give children to Elkanah’s wife through the same woman.
Why it lands — The text links Boaz’s prospective line to a known instance of divine intervention through an outsider, grounding the hope for offspring in God’s action rather than human lineage. It requires the reader to recognize that future restoration is tied to specific, recorded acts of providence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And let thy house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this young woman.
Cross-references
- Genesis 38:29 But when he pulled his hand back and his brother came out, she said, “You have broken out first!” So he was named Perez.
- 1 Samuel 2:20 And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the LORD.” Then they would go home.
- 1 Chronicles 2:4 Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, bore to him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.
- Genesis 46:12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
- Matthew 1:3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
- Numbers 26:20 These were the descendants of Judah by their clans: The Shelanite clan from Shelah, the Perezite clan from Perez, and the Zerahite clan from Zerah.
- Ruth 4:18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,