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The other relevant Hebrew word is goel, meaning 'kinsman redeemer.' To fit all the scripture prophecies foretelling Christ, the redeemer had to be a close relative to the person being redeemed (bought back), which is why Jesus had to be fully man, descended from Adam and Eve. The book of Ruth is a picture of this goel relationship. The main characters in the book are models/types/pictures of the kinsman redeemer arrangement: Naomi (meaning pleasant; also later called herself Maara, meaning bitter) is a model of Israel. Ruth (meaning gift of God) is a model of the gentile church. Boaz (meaning strength is in him) is a model of Christ. The unnamed nearer kinsman is a model of the law, which could not save us. Interestingly, Martin Luther did not know this and saw nothing from God in the book of Ruth. He wanted it removed from the canon of scripture, but God made sure Luther didn't get his way, and preserved His Word.