Ruth 4:18

“Now these are the generations of Pharez, etc.] The son of Judah, by Tamar before mentioned, (<080412>Ruth 4:12 <013829>Genesis 38:29), for the intention of this genealogy is to confirm the truth of Jacob’s prophecy, of Shiloh the Messiah coming from the tribe of Judah, (<014910>Genesis 49:10) and therefore it begins with Pharez, well known to be the son of Judah, and ends with David, whose son the Messiah was to be, as is owned by all Jews and Gentiles that believe the divine revelation: Pharez begat Hezron; who was one of those that went down with Jacob into Egypt, being born in the land of Canaan, (<014712>Genesis 47:12) called Esrom in (<400103>Matthew 1:3 <420333>Luke 3:33).”

“these are the generations of Pharez--that is, his descendants. This appendix shows that the special object contemplated by the inspired author of this little book was to preserve the memory of an interesting domestic episode, and to trace the genealogy of David. There was an interval of three hundred eighty years between Salmon and David. It is evident that whole generations are omitted; the leading personages only are named, and grandfathers are said, in Scripture language, to beget their grandchildren, without specifying the intermediate links. Next: (1 Samuel) Introduction”

“It is probable that there was a family book for the house of Pharez, in which their genealogies were preserved, and important bits of history were recorded; and that the Book of Ruth was compiled from it. (See the note at Genesis 2:4) return to 'Top of Page'”

“4:18-22 The book of Ruth ends with a genealogy of ten generations, from Perez, the son of Judah (Jacob’s son), to David, the grandson of Obed. Besides being one of the world’s great stories, this tale concerns the family history of David, Israel’s greatest king. That Ruth and Boaz were ancestors of Israel’s greatest king is a major reason for the inclusion of this small book in the Old Testament.”

“Pharez: Ch1 2:4-8, Ch1 4:1; Mat 1:3; Luk 3:33, Phares, Esrom Ruth 4:19”

“"These are the generations of Perez," i.e., the families descended from Perez in their genealogical order (toledoth: see at Gen 2:4). The genealogy only goes back as far as Perez, because he was the founder of the family of Judah which was named after him ( Num 26:20), and to which Elimelech and Boaz belonged. Perez, a son of Judah by Tamar ( Gen 38:29), begat Hezrom, who is mentioned in Gen 46:12 among the sons of Judah who emigrated with Jacob into Egypt, although (as we have shown in our comm. on the passage) he was really born in Egypt. Of this son Ram (called Aram in the Sept. Cod. Al., and from that in Mat 1:3) nothing further is known, as he is only mentioned again in Ch1 2:9. His son…”