Hebrew word · H4129

מוֹדַע

meyuda'

kinsman

From yādaʿ 'to know': a person known to you, a relative, kinsman, close acquaintance or intimate. BDB and HALOT give 'kinsman, relative'. A related feminine noun môdaʿat means 'kinship, kindred' (Ruth 3:2).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

kinsman, relative

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Proverbs 7:4

Range of meaning

From yādaʿ 'to know': a person known to you, a relative, kinsman, close acquaintance or intimate. BDB and HALOT give 'kinsman, relative'. A related feminine noun môdaʿat means 'kinship, kindred' (Ruth 3:2).

Against the English

BSB 'kinsman' and KJV 'kinswoman' stress family ties; WEB 'relative' is neutral; ESV and NASB choose 'intimate friend', stressing closeness rather than blood. Each catches part of a word that combines 'one of your own' with 'one you know intimately'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Only here and Ruth 2:1 (where the spoken reading has môdāʿ and the written text has a related form, məyuddāʿ), describing Boaz as a relative of Naomi's husband, the man who will later act as family redeemer. The root 'know' also describes trusted intimates elsewhere (e.g. Ps 55:13, 'my familiar friend').

From the study of Ruth 2:1

Range of meaning

Both forms come from yadaʿ, 'to know'. Modaʿ means a kinsman or relative, or an intimate friend. Meyuddaʿ means 'one who is known', an acquaintance or confidant (HALOT; BDB). The feminine form modaʿat appears in Ruth 3:2: 'Is not Boaz our relative?'. The masculine form is used only here and in Proverbs 7:4, where it stands next to 'sister': 'call insight your modaʿ.'

Against the English

KJV has 'kinsman', WEB and BSB 'relative', YLT 'acquaintance'. Most modern versions read 'relative', and that fits 3:2. Many readers, though, carry the later phrase 'kinsman-redeemer' back into this verse, and this word does not carry that meaning.

How it drifted

Popular retellings call Boaz 'the kinsman-redeemer' from his first appearance. The narrator does not use that legal word until Naomi says it in 2:20.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Septuagint translates it gnōrimos, 'a known person'. That follows the written consonants (meyuddaʿ). Related forms of 'known one' are used for close companions in Psalms 31:11, 55:13 and 88:8, 18, and in Job 19:14.

Where it appears

Ruth · 1

  1. Ruth 2:1 מוֹדַ֣ע a relative

    Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side, a prominent man of noble character from the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.

    Here: It comes from the verb 'to know' (yadaʿ). It means someone known to you as one of your own: a relative, or an intimate. The word is not a legal title. It does not yet say Boaz has any duty to Naomi. The legal word, goʾel ('redeemer'), comes only at 2:20.

Proverbs · 1

  1. Proverbs 7:4 וּ֝מֹדָ֗ע and a relative

    Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” and call understanding your kinsman,

    Here: 'And a kinsman.' A rare word from the root 'to know': one who is known to you, a close relative or intimate. Its only other use is for Boaz, the relative of Naomi's husband (Ruth 2:1). It is grammatically masculine although 'understanding' is feminine.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.