גָּאַל

“To redeem” in Hebrew is Ga'al (גָּאַל), pronounced “ga-AL.” Ga'al comes from the root ג-א-ל (gimel-aleph-lamed), meaning 'to redeem, to act as kinsman-redeemer.' The go'el was a legal institution in ancient Israel — a close relative who restored what was lost. A different root, ג-א-ל with different vowels, means 'to defile,' showing the dramatic distance between redemption and defilement.

Ga'al (גָּאַל) means “To redeem, to act as kinsman-redeemer” in Biblical Hebrew. Ga'al and its derivatives appear approximately 118 times in the Hebrew Bible. Key contexts include the kinsman-redeemer laws (Leviticus 25:25-55), the book of Ruth, God as Israel's Redeemer (Isaiah 41:14, 43:1, 44:6), and Job's confession (Job 19:25).

Ga'al is pronounced “ga-AL.” The word comes from the Hebrew root ג-א-ל.

A go'el must be: (1) a close relative (goel must be family, Leviticus 25:25), (2) able to pay the redemption price (have sufficient resources), and (3) willing to redeem (it was a right, not an obligation — the unnamed relative in Ruth 4:6 declined). Christians see Jesus fulfilling all three: He became human (close relative), He is God (able to pay), and He chose the cross (willing).

Boaz is the go'el in Ruth who redeems the family land, marries Ruth (a Gentile outsider), and provides for her and Naomi. He mirrors Christ who redeems what was lost, brings outsiders into God's family, provides abundantly, and does so willingly and joyfully. From Boaz and Ruth's line came David and eventually Jesus — the ultimate Go'el.

In Job 19:25, Job cries, 'I know that my Go'el lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth.' In his deepest suffering, Job clung to the certainty that his kinsman-redeemer — God Himself — was alive and would ultimately vindicate him. This declaration of faith in the midst of agony is one of the most powerful statements in all of Scripture.