Bible Strands
Ruth 4:7
Now in former times in Israel, concerning the redemption or exchange of property, to make any matter legally binding a man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party, and this was a confirmation in Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator explains a legal custom at the moment the kinsman-redeemer formally transfers his redemption rights to Boaz.
The words — לְפָנִים (lefanim) translates literally to "before" or "in former times," and לְקַיֵּם (lekayyem) means "to confirm" or "to make binding."
The thread — The sandal-transfer ritual for property redemption appears in Ruth 4:8 and parallels the levirate procedure outlined in Deuteronomy 25:7.
Why it lands — It requires readers to acknowledge that biblical legal transactions depended on observable, culturally recognized acts of transfer rather than written documents.
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
Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony in Israel.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 25:7 But if the man does not want to marry his brother’s widow, she is to go to the elders at the city gate and say, “My husband’s brother refuses to preserve his brother’s name in Israel. He is not willing to perform the duty of a brother-in-law for me.”