Ruth 4:7. Now this was the manner in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his shoe, and gave it to his neighbor: and this was a testimony in Israel.
There was no divine law ordaining this; it was simply an ancient custom. It is not to be confounded with the law in reference to levirate marriages in Deuteronomy 25:7-10. It probably originated from the fact that the right to tread the soil belonged only to the owner of it, and hence the transfer of a sandal was a very appropriate representation of the transfer of property. Allusion to this custom is doubtless intended in Psalm 60:8, “Over Edom will I cast out my shoe”; that is, I will transfer it to myself. The custom was prevalent among the Indians and ancient Germans, and is said still to exist in the East.