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

Context
2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi , “Let me go to the fields so I can gather grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” Naomi replied , “You may go , my daughter .” 2:3 So Ruth went and gathered grain in the fields behind the harvesters . Now she just happened to end up in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz , who was from the clan of Elimelech .
Boaz and Ruth Meet
2:4 Now at that very moment , Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters , “May the Lord be with you!” They replied , “May the Lord bless you!” 2:5 Boaz asked his servant in charge of the harvesters , “To whom does this young woman belong?” 2:6 The servant in charge of the harvesters replied , “She’s the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the region of Moab . 2:7 She asked , ‘May I follow the harvesters and gather grain among the bundles ?’ Since she arrived she has been working hard from this morning until now – except for sitting in the resting hut a short time .” 2:8 So Boaz said to Ruth , “Listen carefully, my dear ! Do not leave to gather grain in another field . You need not go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside my female workers . 2:9 Take note of the field where the men are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers. I will tell the men to leave you alone . When you are thirsty , you may go to the water jars and drink some of the water the servants draw .” 2:10 Ruth knelt before him with her forehead to the ground and said to him, “Why are you so kind and so attentive to me, even though I am a foreigner ?” 2:11 Boaz replied to her, “I have been given a full report of all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband – how you left your father and your mother , as well as your homeland , and came to live among people you did not know previously . 2:12 May the Lord reward your efforts ! May your acts of kindness be repaid fully by the Lord God of Israel , from whom you have sought protection !” 2:13 She said , “You really are being kind to me, sir , for you have reassured and encouraged me, your servant , even though I am not one of your servants !” 2:14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have some food ! Dip your bread in the vinegar !” So she sat down beside the harvesters . Then he handed her some roasted grain . She ate until she was full and saved the rest . 2:15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told his male servants , “Let her gather grain even among the bundles ! Don’t chase her off ! 2:16 Make sure you pull out ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up . Don’t tell her not to!” 2:17 So she gathered grain in the field until evening . When she threshed what she had gathered , it came to about thirty pounds of barley !
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 .

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • Gleaning

    [isbe] GLEANING - glen'-ing (laqat, `alal): The custom of allowing the poor to follow the reapers in the field and glean the fallen spears of grain is strikingly illustrated in the story of Ruth (Ruth 2:2-23). This custom had back ...
    [nave] GLEANING Laws concerning, Lev. 19:9, 10; 23:22; Deut. 24:19, 20. See: Orphan; Stranger; Widow. Figurative Judg. 8:2; Isa. 17:6; Jer. 49:9; Mic. 7:1. Instances of Ruth in the field of Boaz, Ruth 2:2, 3.

  • Beneficence

    [nave] BENEFICENCE. Deut. 15:7-15, 18. Lev. 25:35-43. Psa. 41:1; Psa. 112:9; Prov. 3:27, 28; Prov. 11:25; Prov. 22:9; Prov. 25:21, 22; Prov. 28:27; Isa. 58:6, 7, 10, 11; Ezek. 18:5, 7-9; Matt. 5:42; Matt. 19:21 Mark 10:21. Matt. 2...

  • Love

    [nave] LOVE. Of Children for Parents See: Children. Of God See: God, Love of. Of Mankind for God Ex. 20:6 Deut. 5:10. Deut. 6:5; Deut. 7:9; Deut. 10:12; Deut. 11:1; Deut. 13:3; Deut. 30:6 vs. 16,20.; Josh. 22:5 Deut. 11:1, 13...

  • Women

    [nave] WOMEN Creation of, Gen. 1:27; 2:21, 22. Named, Gen. 2:23. Fall of, and curse upon, Gen. 3:1-16; 2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim. 2:14. Promise to, Gen. 3:15. Had separate apartments in dwellings, Gen. 24:67; 31:33; Esth. 2:9, 11. Ve...

  • Lovers

    [nave] LOVERS. Instances of Isaac for Rebekah, Gen. 24:67. Jacob for Rachel, Gen. 29:20, 30. Shechem for Dinah, Gen. 34:3, 12. Boaz for Ruth, Ruth 2-4. of romance, mistresses, paramours Song 1:13, 14, 16; 2:3, 8, 9, 10, 16, 1...

  • Naomi

    [nave] NAOMI Wife of Elimelech; mother-in-law of Ruth; dwelt in Moab; returns to Bethlehem; kinswoman of Boaz, Ruth 1-4.

  • Boaz

    [nave] BOAZ 1. An ancestor of Jesus, Matt. 1:5; Luke 3:32. History of, Ruth 2-4. 2. One of the brazen pillars of the temple, 1 Kin. 7:21; 2 Chr. 3:17.

  • Widow

    [nave] WIDOW Vows of, binding, Num. 30:9. When daughters of priests, to be supported by their fathers, Lev. 22:13. Priests forbidden to marry, Lev. 21:14. Marriage of, authorized, Rom. 7:3; 1 Cor. 7:39. Widows' Inheritance, See...

  • Ruth

    [isbe] RUTH - rooth (ruth; Rhouth): The name Ruth is found in the Old Testament only in the book which is so entitled. It is a contraction for re'uth perhaps signifying "comrade," "companion" (feminine; compare Ex 11:2, "every woma...
    [nave] RUTH The daughter-in-law of Naomi, Ruth 1:4. Her devotion to Naomi, Ruth 1:16, 17, with verses 6-18. Goes to Bethlehem, Ruth 1:19, 22. Gleaned in the field of Boaz, Ruth 2:3. Receives kindness from Boaz, Ruth 2:4-17; 3:15...

  • Poor

    [nave] POOR Atonement money of, uniform with that of the rich, Ex. 30:15. Inexpensive offerings of the poor, Lev. 5:7; 12:8; 14:21, 22. See: Beneficence; Giving; Liberality; Orphans; Poverty; Widow. Also See: Rich; Riches. Uncl...

  • Vinegar

    [isbe] VINEGAR - vin'-e-ger (chomets; oxos): Vinegar, whose use as a condiment (Ruth 2:14) needs no comment, is formed when a saccharine fluid passes through a fermentation that produces acetic acid. In the ancient world vinegar wa...
    [smith] The Hebrew word translated "vinegar" was applied to a beverage consisting generally of wine or strong drink turned sour, but sometimes artificially made by an admixture of barley and wine, and thus liable to fermentation. It ...
    [nave] VINEGAR, a sour wine. Forbidden to Nazirites, Num. 6:3. Used with food, Ruth 2:14; Psa. 69:21; Prov. 10:26; 25:20. Offered to Christ on the cross, Matt. 27:34, 48; John 19:29, with Mark 15:23.

  • Agriculture

    [ebd] Tilling the ground (Gen. 2:15; 4:2, 3, 12) and rearing cattle were the chief employments in ancient times. The Egyptians excelled in agriculture. And after the Israelites entered into the possession of the Promised Land, the...

  • BARLEY

    [isbe] BARLEY - bar'-li (se`orah): (1) In the Bible, as in modern times, barley was a characteristic product of Palestine--"a land of wheat and barley, and vines and fig-trees," etc. (Dt 8:8), the failure of whose crop was a nation...
    [smith] is one of the most important of the cereal grains, and the most hardy of them all. It was grown by the Hebrews, (Leviticus 27:16; 8:8; Ruth 2:17) etc., who used it for baking into bread chiefly among the poor, (Judges 7:13; 2...

  • Elimelech

    [ebd] God his king, a man of the tribe of Judah, of the family of the Hezronites, and kinsman of Boaz, who dwelt in Bethlehem in the days of the judges. In consequence of a great dearth he, with his wife Naomi and his two sons, we...
    [isbe] ELIMELECH - e-lim'-e-lek ('elimelekh, "my God is king"; Abeimelech, Alimelek): Elimelech was a member of the tribe of Judah, a native of Bethlehem Judah, a man of wealth and probably head of a family or clan (Ruth 1:2,3; 2:1...
    [nave] ELIMELECH, with Naomi, his wife, and two sons, emigrate to Moab, Ruth 1:2, 3; 2:1, 2; 4:3, 9.

  • POVERTY

    [isbe] POVERTY - pov'-er-ti: 1. Old Testament References: This word, found but once in the Old Testament (Gen 45:11) outside of the Book of Proverbs in which it occurs 11 times (6:11; 10:15; 11:24 the King James Version; 13:18; 20:...

  • SHEAF; SHEAVES

    [isbe] SHEAF; SHEAVES - shef, shevz ('alummah, `omer, `amir): When the grain is reaped, it is laid in handfuls back of the reaper to be gathered by children or those who cannot stand the harder work of reaping (Ps 129:7). The handf...

  • Food

    [isbe] FOOD - food: I. VEGETABLE FOODS 1. Primitive Habits 2. Cereals 3. Leguminous Plants 4. Food of Trees II. ANIMAL FOOD LITERATURE In a previous article (see BREAD) it has been shown that in the Bible "bread" usually stands for...
    [nave] FOOD. Articles of Milk, Gen. 49:12; Prov. 27:27; butter, Deut. 32:14; 2 Sam. 17:29; cheese, 1 Sam. 17:18; Job 10:10; bread, Gen. 18:5; 1 Sam. 17:17; parched grain, Ruth 2:14; 1 Sam. 17:17; flesh, 2 Sam. 6:19; Prov. 9:2; fi...

  • ORPAH

    [smith] (a gazelle), a Moabite woman wife of Chilion son of Naomi, and thereby sister-in-law to Ruth. (Ruth 2:4,14) (B.C. 1360.)

  • Thankfulness

    [nave] THANKFULNESS Jesus set an example of, Matt. 11:25; 26:27; John 11:41. The heavenly host engage in, Rev. 4:9; 7:11, 12; 11:16, 17. Commanded, Psa. 50:14. Should be offered to God, Psa. 50:14; to Christ, 1 Tim. 1:12; throug...

  • HARVEST

    [ebd] the season for gathering grain or fruit. On the 16th day of Abib (or April) a handful of ripe ears of corn was offered as a first-fruit before the Lord, and immediately after this the harvest commenced (Lev. 23:9-14; 2 Sam. ...
    [isbe] HARVEST - har'-vest (qatsir; therismos): To many of us, harvest time is of little concern, because in our complex life we are far removed from the actual production of our food supplies, but for the Hebrew people, as for tho...
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Arts

Questions

  • It is pleasing to God. He never forgets it. Christ set an example of it. And it is characteristic of Saints (II Cor. 9:7; Heb. 6:10; II Cor. 8:9; Ps. 112:9). This good quality should be exercised in the service of God towards...

Resources/Books

Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • The Book of Ruth is one of the most fascinating and important short stories that anyone has ever written. As a piece of literature it is almost perfect. The German poet Goethe called it "the loveliest complete work on a small...
  • 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...
  • The motif of God's providence, His working out His own plan through the circumstances of life, which runs through the Book of Ruth, is especially strong in this pericope.The writer introduced Boaz as a kinsman (lit. acquainta...
  • Boaz called Ruth his daughter (v. 8) because she was considerably younger than he (3:10) and because of his affection for her. He explained why he felt as he did for her in the following verses. Normally the poor migrated fro...
  • 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...
  • Naomi had expressed a desire back in Moab that each of her daughters-in-law might find "rest"(1:9). The Hebrew word reads "security"in the NASB and "a home"in the NIV, but its meaning in other parts of the Old Testament is a ...
  • 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...
  • Ruth had risked danger by sleeping on the threshing floor (v. 14). Other people might have seen her and assumed that something bad was taking place. Evidently some of Boaz's reapers were aware of her presence, but Boaz told t...
  • 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 ...
  • Verse 13 is a key verse in the book because it records the fulfillment of Naomi and Ruth's plans to obtain rest (2:2; 3:1-5).82A son was indispensable to the continuation of the line of Boaz as well as that of Mahlon and Elim...
  • David asked God to keep him from the wicked in the world who are vicious and proud.17:6-7 The psalmist based his request on God's loyal love for him as seen in His deliverance of those who take refuge in Him. He called on God...
  • 36:5-6 David delighted in meditating on God's attributes rather than disregarding Him. Instead of pushing God out of his world view the psalmist made Him the center of it. He gloried in God's loyal love, faithfulness, righteo...
  • The psalmist encouraged the Israelite pilgrims to pray for continuing deliverance. The mention of Zion, the pilgrim's destination, recalled the place where God dwelt, the most important place in Israel. Those who hated Zion w...
  • The preceding vision described the future removal of individual sinners from the land through divine judgment, and this one pictures the eventual removal of all wickedness from the future "holy land"(2:12; cf. 3:9)."In line w...
  • 1:28 The fact that Gabriel greeted Mary as he did and did not greet Zechariah the same way shows Mary's favored position. Gabriel's greeting was customary: Hail! or Greetings! (Gr. chaire). Mary was highly "favored"(Gr. kecha...
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