Definition
Go’el (Hebrew: גֹּאֵל) is the participial form of ga’al (to redeem, to reclaim) and denotes the nearest blood-relative who has both the right and the duty to redeem forfeited property, to buy a slave out of slavery, and to continue the lineage of a deceased brother (cf. Lev. 25; Ruth 4; Deut. 25). As a soteriological key concept it pictures Christ as the Kinsman Redeemer who redeems humanity — as his property — from the bondage of sin.
Usage in the Corpus
Stephen Jones
Jones develops the go’el principle in The Restoration of All Things (Ch. 7) as the legal basis of universal redemption. His core argument: if Christ is truly the go’el of humanity, he has both the right and the obligation to redeem all people. The go’el prerogative is not optional — it is a legal claim that must be executed on juridical grounds. Jones connects this to the Jubilee structure: every fifty years all properties return to their original owner (Lev. 25:28). So the entire creation, as God’s property, must ultimately return. [Jones, The Restoration of All Things, Ch. 7]
Origin
The root verb ga’al occurs 104 times in the OT. Beyond the juridical-familial context it is also applied to God as Redeemer of Israel (Isa. 41:14; 43:14). In the book of Ruth, Boaz’s action as go’el is the narrative central illustration of the principle.