Obed was the son born to Boaz and Ruth, and the women said he would be a restorer for Naomi. The text identifies Obed as the father of Jesse, the father of David. This connection is stated in Ruth 4:13–17.
Ruth and Boaz marry, and Ruth gives birth to a son because Yahweh enables conception (Ruth 4:13–17). The local women respond by blessing Yahweh on Naomi’s behalf, saying she is not left without a “near kinsman” and praying for renown in Israel. This scene is the narrative payoff after the earlier losses of Naomi’s family, Ruth’s loyalty, and Boaz’s commitment to act as family redeemer within Bethlehem’s customs.
This closing scene presents family restoration after earlier loss. Boaz marries Ruth, and a son is born. The narrator directly attributes the pregnancy to Yahweh (“Yahweh gave her conception”), while still describing ordinary human actions (marriage and childbirth).
A common mistake is to treat this as trivia. Names, places, numbers, and sequence details often carry memory, covenant identity, or narrative movement in the biblical story.
Start with Ruth 4:13-17, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
13So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife; and he went in to her, and Yahweh gave her conception, and she bore a son.
14The women said to Naomi, Blessed be Yahweh, who has not left you this day without a near kinsman; and let his name be famous in Israel.
15He shall be to you a restorer of life, and sustain you in your old age, for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him.
16Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and became nurse to it.
17The women her neighbors gave it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they named him Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.