מֹדַ֫עַת

From the study of Ruth 3:2

Range of meaning

An abstract noun from yādaʿ, "to know": "kinship, relationship," used here as a concrete "relative, kinsman." It comes from the same family as mōdaʿ / məyuddāʿ in Ruth 2:1, where Boaz is introduced as "a relative of her husband." The basic idea is a person who is "known": recognised as one of your own people.

Against the English

KJV "of our kindred," WEB/NASB "kinsman," BSB/ESV "relative." All are accurate. YLT "of our acquaintance" follows the root "know" too closely: in English "acquaintance" suggests a casual contact, which is weaker than the family bond the word carries in Ruth.

How it drifted

Little drift in the English itself. The risk is that readers who know the phrase "kinsman-redeemer" import the whole legal idea into this word. Naomi does not use that word here.

Used elsewhere in the period

This exact form occurs only here in the Hebrew Bible. The related mōdaʿ appears in Ruth 2:1 (where the written and the read-aloud forms of the text differ) and in Proverbs 7:4, where wisdom is to be called your "kinswoman / intimate friend" alongside "sister." The Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation) uses gnōrimos, "a known person, relative," in both Ruth passages. Some scholars (e.g. Campbell) compare an Akkadian word meaning a close associate or confidant, but that link is suggestive, not proven.