Ruth 4:7 explains an old legal custom in Israel: when people agreed to redeem property or exchange rights, a man removed his sandal and handed it to his neighbor, and that act made the transaction official. The verse is a narrator’s note written by the author of the book of Ruth, who pauses the story to tell readers how the handover of a shoe confirmed the deal between Boaz and the nearer relative. The verse is addressed to the book’s original readers, who would have understood the custom without explanation.
Now this was the custom in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning exchanging, to confirm all things: a man took off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor; and this was the way of formalizing transactions in Israel.
Ruth 4:7 (WEB)
What Ruth 4:7 Means
The phrase “the custom in former time in Israel” tells you the narrator is describing a practice that was already old in his day. “Redeeming” refers to buying back family land so it stayed within the clan, and “exchanging” refers to the transfer of rights that came with that land. The phrase “to confirm all things” means the shoe made the agreement binding and public.
The image of a man taking off his shoe and giving it to his neighbor is the heart of the verse. Shoes were personal and tied to walking the land, so passing one over was a visible sign that a claim had moved from one person to another. The verse does not promise anything to the reader directly. It simply records how an ancient community marked a legal change, and it shows that such changes were meant to be clear and witnessed.
The Context of Ruth 4:7
The book of Ruth is traditionally attributed to an unnamed author and is set in the period of the judges. It follows Ruth, a Moabite widow who returns to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi and eventually marries Boaz, a relative with the right to act as redeemer. Scholars differ on the exact date of composition, but most place the final text after the period described, and the original audience would have been Israelites who knew these customs well.
Verses 4 through 10 show Boaz offering the redemption to a closer relative first, who then declines because it would endanger his own inheritance. Only after that refusal does the narrator explain the shoe custom in verse 7, which is why it reads as the official seal on Boaz’s claim. Verse 8 then describes the ceremony, and verses 9 and 10 record Boaz calling the elders and people to witness it, showing that the handover was meant to be public.
Key Phrases in Ruth 4:7
Ruth 4:10
Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, I have purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers, and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.”
(WEB)
This verse continues Boaz’s declaration before the witnesses, naming the purpose of the redemption as raising up the name of the dead on his inheritance. It shows the reason behind the legal act described in verse 7 and reminds you that the transaction was about family continuity as much as property.
Deuteronomy 25:9
Then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face. She shall answer and say, “So shall it be done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.”
(WEB)
Deuteronomy describes a related practice in which a man’s sandal is removed in a dispute over levirate duty. Reading it alongside Ruth 4:7 helps you see that the shoe ceremony belonged to a broader Israelite legal tradition concerning family obligations and public accountability.
A Short Prayer From Ruth 4:7
Lord, you care about clear and faithful commitments, and you see every promise we make to one another. Help me to honor my word and to make my agreements plain, so that the people who rely on me can trust what I have said. Where I have been vague or careless, show me what to set right. Keep me faithful in the small visible acts that show I mean what I say. Amen.
