SEV Biblia, Chapter 4:17
Y las vecinas le pusieron nombre diciendo: a Noemí ha nacido un hijo; y le llamaron Obed. Este es padre de Isaí, padre de David.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Ruth 4:17
Verse 17. The neighbours gave it a name] That is, they recommended a name suitable to the circumstances of the case; and the parents and grandmother adopted it. They called his name Obed] dbw[ obed, serving, from db[ abad, he served. Why was this name given? Because he was to be the nourisher of her old age, Ruth iv. 15. And so he must be by lying in her bosom, even if services in future life were wholly left out of the question. These neighbours of Naomi were skillful people. See on ver. 16. Other meanings, of which I am not ignorant, have been derived from these words; those who prefer them have my consent.
He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.] And for the sake of this conclusion, to ascertain the line of David, and in the counsel of God to fix and ascertain the line of the Messiah was this instructive little book written.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 17. And the women her neighbours gave it a name , etc.] Josephus says Naomi gave it, by the advice of her neighbours; very probably on the eighth day when he was circumcised, and the neighbours were invited on that occasion, at which time it seems it was usual to give names to children, (see Luke 1:59). The Romans gave names to females on the eighth day, to the males on the ninth; hence the goddess Nundina had her name f81 ; the Greeks generally on the tenth, sometimes on the seventh f82 : it was commonly the province of the father to give the name, and sometimes his neighbours and nearest friends were called, and in their presence the name was given, and by any of them he should choose in his stead f83 : saying, there is a son born to Naomi ; to her family, and even to herself, being born of her who had been wife to her eldest son; and this was to her as instead of him, and was as he to her; so Aben Ezra compares this with ( Exodus 2:10) and moreover, this child was born, as the neighbours presaged, for the great comfort and advantage of Naomi, to be her supporter and nourisher in her old age, ( Ruth 4:15) and they called his name Obed ; which signifies “serving”, as Josephus f84 rightly observes, though he does not always give the true sense of Hebrew words: this name was given, not in remembrance of the service his mother was obliged to, before marriage with Boaz; but rather on the account of the service that he would be of to Naomi, as they hoped and believed; though the reason of it, as given by the Targum, is not to be overlooked, which interprets it, “who served the Lord of the world with a perfect heart;” and so they might have some respect to his being hereafter a servant of the Lord: he is the father of Jesse, and the father of David : so Jesse is called the Bethlehemite, ( 1 Samuel 16:1), being of the city of Bethlehem, of which city Boaz was when his son Obed was born, who was the father of Jesse; of whom was David king of Israel, and from whom sprung the Messiah, for whose sake this book was written, that his genealogy might clearly appear; and of which use it is made by the Evangelists Matthew; and Luke.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 13-22 - Ruth bore a son, through whom thousands and myriads were born to God and in being the lineal ancestor of Christ, she was instrumental in the happiness of all that shall be saved by him; even of us Gentiles, a well as those of Jewish descent. She was a witness for God to the Gentile world, that he had not utterly forsaken them, but that in du time they should become one with his chosen people, and partake of his salvation. Prayer to God attended the marriage, and praise to his attended the birth of the child. What a pity it is that pious languag should not be more used among Christians, or that it should be let fal into formality! Here is the descent of David from Ruth. And the perio came when Bethlehem-Judah displayed greater wonders than those in the history of Ruth, when the outcast babe of another forlorn female of the same race appeared, controlling the counsels of the Roman master of the world, and drawing princes and wise men from the east, with treasure of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh to his feet. His name shall endur for ever, and all nations shall call Him blessed. In that Seed shal all the nations of the earth be blessed __________________________________________________________________
Original Hebrew
ותקראנה 7121 לו השׁכנות 7934 שׁם 8034 לאמר 559 ילד 3205 בן 1121 לנעמי 5281 ותקראנה 7121 שׁמו 8034 עובד 5744 הוא 1931 אבי 1 ישׁי 3448 אבי 1 דוד׃ 1732
