Misinterpretations often arise from seeing the comparison to Rachel and Leah as endorsing polygamy, ignoring that the focus is their collective fruitfulness in building Israel's house through twelve sons, not Jacob's multiple wives; others misconstrue 'do thou worthily' as seeking personal fame or wealth, whereas it calls for righteous leadership and prosperity in covenant faithfulness within the community. Some reduce it to a generic fertility prayer, overlooking the specific context of Boaz's kinsman-redeemer role in Ruth's story of providence and inclusion of Gentiles in God's people.
Ruth 4:11
King James Version (1769)
11 And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders, said, We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which two did build the house of Israel: and do thou worthily in Ephratah, and be famous in Beth–lehem:
This passage captures the elders' and community's blessing on Boaz and Ruth's marriage at Bethlehem's gate, where they serve as witnesses and invoke God's favor to make Ruth as fruitful and nation-building as Rachel and Leah, the matriarchs who mothered Israel's tribes, while praying for Boaz to prosper through noble deeds, gaining renown in Ephratah. It underscores themes of redemption, communal endorsement, divine blessing on a godly union, and the foundational role of this family line in God's redemptive history leading to David and ultimately Christ.