goel

Goel is a Hebrew term, often translated as “redeemer” or “kinsman-redeemer.” The root g-ʾ-l means to redeem, rescue, or deliver. In biblical Hebrew, go’el denotes a relative who has the legal obligation to aid another member of the family, particularly in matters of property, lineage, and protection, and in some contexts to avenge blood.

The term appears in several related legal and social roles. In Leviticus 25, the go’el’s duty is to redeem a relative’s land that has passed out of the family, preserving ancestral property within the household and ensuring its transfer is legitimate within the year of Jubilee. In Deuteronomy 25:5-10, the go’el is the nearest male relative who is to marry the widow of a deceased brother to raise up offspring for the dead man, thereby continuing his family line (the levirate marriage). In Numbers 35:19-21, the phrase go’el dam refers to the “avenger of blood,” a relative authorized to execute vengeance on a murderer.

The Book of Ruth provides a narrative example, with Boaz acting as go’el by redeeming Naomi’s land and marrying Ruth to preserve Elimelech’s lineage, though he is not the closest possible relative in line at first glance. Rabbinic and later Jewish law expand the concept as a guardian of the family’s social and economic continuity, with the obligation passing to the next kin if the nearest relative declines.

In Christian tradition, the term is often applied metaphorically to Jesus as a kinsman-redeemer, highlighting redemption and restoration.