In Ruth, who acts as the kinsman redeemer?

• A. Elimelech
• B. Boaz
• C. Obed
• D. Perez

Answer: (B)

The idea being tested is the goel—the near relative whose duty is to redeem a family line by buying back land and marrying the widow to produce offspring for the deceased.

Boaz fits that role in Ruth. He is a relative of Naomi’s husband, Elimelech, and when the closer relative declines his right to redeem, Boaz steps in at the town gate, completes the redemption, and takes Ruth as wife so a son can be raised to continue the family line. This act establishes him as the kinsman redeemer and secures the lineage that leads to Obed, the grandfather of David.

Elimelech isn’t the redeemer; he’s the deceased husband. Obed is the son produced by the redeemer’s actions, not the redeemer himself. Perez appears earlier in the genealogical line and is not who acts as kinsman redeemer in the Ruth story.