Come on, Vadim. Gen. 24:67 uses exactly the same terminology to describe Isaac "taking" Rebekah. Was she also "not a real wife"?
Ruth 4:13 VAYYIQAX BO`AZ ET RWT VATT:HIY-LW = and Boaz took Ruth and she
became to him.
you know, she did not actually become his wife
WHAT? Of course she did. Look at the next word: Le'i$$ah. Look also at vss. 10-11. You might not like the idea of "buying" a wife, but wife she was.
It's odd to hear such things from you, Yigal. Boaz took Ruth to restore the seed of Elimelech (4:6). That was a standard procedure regarding a childless wife of one's brother. It wasn't marriage proper. Buying that obligation is not prescribed in Torah, but was apparently practiced.
Vadim Cherny
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