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Texts -- Ruth 2:18-23 (NET)

Context
Ruth Returns to Naomi
2:18 She carried it back to town , and her mother-in-law saw how much grain she had gathered . Then Ruth gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime . 2:19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you gather grain today ? Where did you work ? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded !” So Ruth told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked . She said , “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz .” 2:20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law , “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead !” Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian .” 2:21 Ruth the Moabite replied , “He even told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants until they have finished gathering all my harvest !’” 2:22 Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth , “It is good , my daughter , that you should go out to work with his female servants . That way you will not be harmed , which could happen in another field .” 2:23 So Ruth worked beside Boaz’s female servants , gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest . After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • I. Naomi's predicament ch. 1A. The deaths of Naomi's husband and sons 1:1-5B. Naomi's inability to provide husbands for Ruth and Orpah 1:6-14C. Ruth's profession of faith in Yahweh 1:15-18D. Naomi's weak faith 1:19-21E. Hope ...
  • As is often true in literature, the structure of the piece sometimes reveals the purpose of the writer. This is certainly the case in the Book of Ruth. The writer constructed the whole book with a chiastic (crossing) structur...
  • This summary sentence not only concludes chapter 1 but also prepares the reader for the remaining scenes of the story. Naomi had left Bethlehem pleasant (Heb. na'em) but returned bitter (v. 20). She had left with Elimelech, o...
  • Chapter 1 in a sense prepares for chapters 2-4 that constitute the heart of the book. Chapter 1 presents a problem, but chapters 2-4 provide the solution. The key to the solution on the human level was the planning of Naomi a...
  • Chapter 2 has its own chiastic structure.41ARuth and Naomi (2:2-3)BBoaz and the reapers (2:4-7)CBoaz and Ruth (2:8-15a)B'Boaz and the reapers (2:15b-16)A'Naomi and Ruth (2:19-22)Boaz's conversation with Ruth is the focus of t...
  • At the end of the day Ruth beat out and winnowed the grain she had gleaned. She had collected about three-fifths of a bushel of barley, "the equivalent of at least half a month's wages in one day"(v. 17).48Ruth also took the ...
  • Having obtained food and safety the two women could look beyond their immediate physical needs to their greater need. Whereas Ruth took the initiative in proposing a plan to obtain food (2:2), Naomi now suggested a plan to ge...
  • Ruth carried out Naomi's instructions exactly, further demonstrating her loyal love to her mother-in-law, and encouraged Boaz to pursue the possibility of marriage (vv. 6-9)."Note that the threshingfloor was a public place an...
  • The gate of cities like Bethlehem was the place where people transacted official business (cf. Gen. 19:1; 2 Sam. 15:2-6; 1 Kings 22:10; Amos 5:10, 12, 15)."In ancient cities the gate' was a short passageway through the thick ...
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