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Texts -- Ruth 3:1-18 (NET)

Context
Naomi Instructs Ruth
3:1 At that time, Naomi , her mother-in-law , said to her, “My daughter , I must find a home for you so you will be secure . 3:2 Now Boaz , with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative . Look , tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor . 3:3 So bathe yourself, rub on some perfumed oil , and get dressed up . Then go down to the threshing floor . But don’t let the man know you’re there until he finishes his meal . 3:4 When he gets ready to go to sleep , take careful notice of the place where he lies down . Then go , uncover his legs , and lie down beside him. He will tell you what you should do .” 3:5 Ruth replied to Naomi, “I will do everything you have told me to do .”
Ruth Visits Boaz
3:6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do. 3:7 When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied , he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap . Then Ruth crept up quietly , uncovered his legs , and lay down beside him. 3:8 In the middle of the night he was startled and turned over . Now he saw a woman lying beside him ! 3:9 He said , “Who are you ?” She replied , “I am Ruth , your servant . Marry your servant , for you are a guardian of the family interests .” 3:10 He said , “May you be rewarded by the Lord , my dear ! This act of devotion is greater than what you did before . For you have not sought to marry one of the young men , whether rich or poor . 3:11 Now , my dear , don’t worry ! I intend to do for you everything you propose , for everyone in the village knows that you are a worthy woman . 3:12 Now yes, it is true that I am a guardian , but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am. 3:13 Remain here tonight . Then in the morning , if he agrees to marry you, fine , let him do so . But if he does not want to do so , I promise , as surely as the Lord lives , to marry you. Sleep here until morning .” 3:14 So she slept beside him until morning . She woke up while it was still dark. Boaz thought , “No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor .” 3:15 Then he said , “Hold out the shawl you are wearing and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he went into town ,
Ruth Returns to Naomi
3:16 and she returned to her mother-in-law . When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked , “How did things turn out for you , my daughter ?” Ruth told her about all the man had done for her. 3:17 She said , “He gave me these sixty pounds of barley , for he said to me, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed .’” 3:18 Then Naomi said , “Stay put , my daughter , until you know how the matter turns out . For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today .”

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • Levirate Law

    [ebd] from Latin levir, "a husband's brother," the name of an ancient custom ordained by Moses, by which, when an Israelite died without issue, his surviving brother was required to marry the widow, so as to continue his brother's...

  • Naomi

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

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • Threshing

    [nave] THRESHING By beating, Ruth 2:17; by treading, Deut. 25:4; Isa. 25:10; Hos. 10:11; 1 Cor. 9:9; 1 Tim. 5:18. With instruments of wood, 2 Sam. 24:22; of iron, Amos 1:3; with a cart wheel, Isa. 28:27, 28. Floors for, Gen. 50:1...

  • Inheritance

    [nave] INHERITANCE Provisions for inheritance under Levirate marriages, Gen. 38:7-11; Num. 36:6-9; Deut. 25:5-10; Ruth 3:1-8; 4:7-17. Unclassified Scriptures Relating to Gen. 15:3; Gen. 21:9-11; Gen. 24:36; Gen. 25:5, 6; Gen. 48:...

  • Chastity

    [nave] CHASTITY. Ex. 20:14; Job 31:1; Prov. 2:10, 11, 16-22; Prov. 5:15-21; Prov. 6:24, 25; Prov. 7:1-5; Prov. 31:3; Matt. 5:28; Matt. 19:12; Acts 15:20; Rom. 13:13; 1 Cor. 6:13-19; 1 Cor. 7:1, 2, 7-9, 25, 26, 36, 37; 1 Cor. 9:27;...

  • Courtship

    [nave] COURTSHIP Ancient customs of: Suitor visited the woman, Judg. 14:7; women proposed marriage, Ruth 3:9-13. See: Betrothal; Marriage.

  • THRESHING-FLOOR

    [isbe] THRESHING-FLOOR - thresh'-ing-flor (goren; halon; 'iddar, occurs in Dan 2:35): The location and method of making threshing-floors have already been described under AGRICULTURE. These floors have come into prominence because ...

  • KINSMAN; KINSWOMAN

    [isbe] KINSMAN; KINSWOMAN - kinz'-man, kinz'-woom-an: Most frequently of the go'-el, the one who had a right to "redeem"; referring to the custom of avenging the blood of a slain kinsman; hence, a blood relative (Nu 5:8; Ruth 2:20;...

  • Kinsman-redeemer

    [nave] KINSMAN-REDEEMER Ruth 2:20; 3:2, 9, 12; 4:1, 3, 6, 8, 14; 1 Chr. 12:2, 29; 2 Chr. 28:8; 29:34; Ezra 8:17; Job 19:14; Prov. 7:4 See also Levirate Marriage.

  • DRESS

    [ebd] (1.) Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig-leaves sewed together (Gen. 3:7); then skins of animals (3:21). Elijah's dress was probably the skin of a sheep (2 Kings 1:8). The Hebrews were early acquainted ...
    [isbe] DRESS - In the Hebrew and Greek there is a wonderful wealth of terminology having to do with the general subject of dress among the ancient Orientals. This is reflected in the numerous synonyms for "dress" to be found in Eng...
    [smith] This subject includes the following particulars: Materials; Color and decoration; Name, form, and mode of wearing the various articles; Special usages relating thereto. Materials .--After the first "apron" of fig leaves, (Ge...

  • Anointing

    [isbe] ANOINTING - a-noint'-ing: A distinction was made by the ancient Hebrews between anointing with oil in private use, as in making one's toilet (cukh), and anointing as a religious rite (mashach). 1. Ordinary Use: (1) As regard...
    [smith] in Holy Scripture, is either, I. Material--with oil--or II. Spiritual--with the Holy Ghost. I. MATERIAL.-- Ordinary . Anointing the body or head with oil was a common practice with the Jews, as with other Oriental nations. (...
    [nave] ANOINTING Of the body, Deut. 28:40; Ruth 3:3; Esth. 2:12; Psa. 92:10; 104:15; 141:5; Prov. 27:9, 16; Eccl. 9:8; Song 1:3; 4:10; Isa. 57:9; Amos 6:6; Mic. 6:15. Of guests, 2 Chr. 28:15; Luke 7:46; the sick, Isa. 1:6; Mark 6:...

  • HAIR

    [ebd] (1.) The Egyptians let the hair of their head and beard grow only when they were in mourning, shaving it off at other times. "So particular were they on this point that to have neglected it was a subject of reproach and ridi...
    [isbe] HAIR - har (se`ar, sa`ar, Aramaic se`ar, and their derivatives; thrix, gen. case trichos, kome): 1. Hair Fashions: Hair was worn in different fashions by the Orientals of Biblical times, and not always in the same way among ...
    [smith] The Hebrews were fully alive to the importance of the hair as an element of personal beauty. Long hair was admired in the case of young men. (2 Samuel 14:26) In times of affliction the hair was altogether cut off. (Isaiah ...

  • Kinsman

    [ebd] Heb. goel, from root meaning to redeem. The goel among the Hebrews was the nearest male blood relation alive. Certain important obligations devolved upon him toward his next of kin. (1.) If any one from poverty was unable to...

  • GOEL

    [ebd] in Hebrew the participle of the verb gaal, "to redeem." It is rendered in the Authorized Version "kinsman," Num. 5:8; Ruth 3:12; 4:1,6,8; "redeemer," Job 19:25; "avenger," Num. 35:12; Deut. 19:6, etc. The Jewish law gave the...
    [isbe] GOEL - go'-el (go'el, "redeemer"): Goel is the participle of the Hebrew word gal'al ("to deliver," "to redeem") which aside from its common usage is frequently employed in connection with Hebrew law, where it is the technica...
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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • Moses considered seven types of cases in these verses.The first case (vv. 13-19) is of a man who marries a woman and then falsely charges her with being a harlot (not being a virgin when he married her). If the girl could pro...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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...
  • 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 climax of this fascinating story and the resolution of the problem laying in the way of Ruth's union with Boaz and realization of rest become clear in this chapter. Naomi and Ruth's plan (3:1-5) comes to a successful comp...
  • Probably the practice of standing on land one possessed led to the custom of using the sandal as a symbol of possession in land transactions (v. 7; cf. Gen. 13:17; Deut. 1:36; 11:24; Josh. 1:3; 14:9).80Most scholars believe t...
  • 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...
  • 16:6 The Lord had compassion on Jerusalem in her helpless and undesirable condition and took care of her so she survived. The city remained as an unwanted child until, at the Lord's direction, David captured it from the Jebus...
  • "The style of the third oracle differs from the others. Instead of an initial statement or charge followed by a question of feigned innocence, this oracle begins with three questions asked by the prophet. However, as at the b...
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