People & groups
Kinsman-redeemer
A close relative who buys back family land or redeems a relative who has been sold.
Also called · Guardian-redeemer · Family redeemer · Near kinsman
What it means
Leviticus 25 describes a close relative buying back land that a family member sold because of poverty. Redeeming it means paying to recover it.
The same chapter describes a poor Israelite selling himself to a wealthy foreign resident. A brother or another close relative may pay to redeem him. If he gains the means, he may also pay for his own freedom.
In Ruth 3, Boaz says there is a relative closer than himself whose decision must come first. The procedure involving land and marriage in Ruth should not be treated as the duty of every relative in every case.
How it appears in the Bible
In Ruth 4, Boaz gathers ten elders at the city gate and speaks with the nearer relative. When that man declines because of the risk to his own inheritance, Boaz declares before witnesses that he has bought the property from Naomi and has acquired Ruth as his wife to preserve the dead man’s name on his inheritance. The relative removes his sandal as part of transferring the right.
Translation note
The selected English text calls Boaz a near kinsman. The context explains what the relative can do; the phrase does not by itself mean the same land, freedom, or marriage duty in every passage.