The relationship between and significance of the names mentioned in the first part of this verse would not be grasped by most receptors in Central Africa. The focus of the original is upon the unorthodox levirate union between Judah and Tamar which resulted in the birth of Perez, who became the ancestor of the clan of Ephrath, to which Boaz belonged. Readers who would be acquainted with the Judah/Tamar episode (Gen. 38) would undoubtedly have some negative feelings about it due to the surface consideration that an act of prostitution was involved between a father and his daughter-in-law, a most inauspicious event from an African perspective. This is regarded as incest and behavior which would be sure to bring down the wrath of the ancestors upon the offending clan, and perhaps even the community at large. Furthermore, the emphasis upon the line of Boaz in these final verses of the book seems a bit strange, since the children that Ruth bore were technically the foster offspring of Mahlon. The fact that these men were of the same clan would not be obvious to the average reader, nor would the book’s thematic emphasis on Boaz’ faithfulness to the ancient traditions of Israel in his dealings with Ruth.

Source: Wendland 1987, p. 184.