Judges, Ruth: Revised Edition (The NIV Application Commentary)

by K. Lawson Younger

A GUARDIAN-REDEEMER (NIV 2011) (go’el) was the adult male blood relative who served as an advocate for any vulnerable and/or unfortunate clan member in order to correct any disruption to clan wholeness, well-being, or shalom (shalom)—especially through the redemption or restoration of property, persons, or lineage.52 The term “guardian” in the translation of go’el as “guardian-redeemer” is misleading. First, the word go’el has nothing to do with the notion of guarding or guardianship. Second, a guardian might be male or female; in this case, it is only a male function. Certainly, the notion of being a redeemer is not limited to either gender, but historically a go’el was only a male. Third, a guardian might not be a blood relative, but this was specifically and only a blood relative. It was a lineage matter. Thus, it moved down the lineage from the nearest adult male relative, to the next nearest adult male relative, and so on. Thus, the NIV 1984 translation as “kinsman-redeemer” is more accurate. The “clan” (mishpahah) or “linear descent group”53 seems to have been the focus of the law of the go’el (Lev 25:48–49).54 Apparently, this “clan ‘wholeness’ encompassed both living and deceased members of the clan” or kinship group.55 Since there is no similar institution in modern Western societies, there is no word in English remotely equivalent. Moreover, while similar social functionaries are attested in other tribal cultures, the terminology associated with the go’el is almo...