Ruth 4:4-10 records the public transaction by which Boaz becomes the kinsman-redeemer for the family of Elimelech. A nearer relative has the first right to redeem the family property, but when he learns that redemption also involves Ruth and the preservation of the deceased man's family line, he declines. Boaz willingly accepts the responsibility, purchases the property, and takes Ruth as his wife. In its original setting, the account illustrates Israel's laws and customs concerning family redemption, while also showing the covenant faithfulness, generosity, and willingness of Boaz to act at personal cost.

Christians have traditionally seen Boaz as a type of Christ, our greater Kinsman-Redeemer. The comparison is theological rather than an explicit prediction in Ruth itself. Boaz is related to those he redeems, is able to pay the required price, and willingly acts to restore an endangered inheritance and family line. In the Incarnation Christ truly shares our humanity, and Ephesians 1:3-7 declares that in Him believers have redemption through His blood and the forgiveness of sins according to God's grace. Boaz's act of redemption therefore provides a vivid Old Testament pattern of a redeemer who willingly bears the cost to rescue and restore another. The story has an additional messianic significance because Boaz and Ruth become ancestors of David and, ultimately, of Jesus Himself.