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Texts -- Ruth 3:1-7 (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.

Pericope

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Bible Dictionary

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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:...

  • Naomi

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

  • 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...

  • 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.

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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 ...

  • 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:...

  • 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;...

  • 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 ...

  • Wiowing

    [nave] WIOWING, of grain, Ruth 3:2; Isa. 30:24; Matt. 3:12.

  • 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.

  • BATH, BATHING

    [smith] This was a prescribed part of the Jewish ritual of purification in cases of accident, or of leprous or ordinary uncleanness, (Leviticus 15; 16:28; 22:6; Numbers 19:7; 19; 2 Samuel 11:2,4; 2 Kings 5:10) as also after mou...

  • HEAP

    [isbe] HEAP - hep (`aremah, gal, nedh, tel): "Heap" appears (1) in the simple sense of a gathering or pile, as the translation of `aremah, a "heap," in Ruth 3:7 of grain; Neh 4:2 of stones; in 2 Ch 31:6, etc., of the tithes, etc.; ...

  • ANOINT; ANOINTED

    [isbe] ANOINT; ANOINTED - a-noint', a-noint'-ed (aleipho, chrio): Refers to a very general practice in the East. It originated from the relief from the effect of the sun that was experienced in rubbing the body with oil or grease. ...

  • Winnow

    [ebd] Corn was winnowed, (1.) By being thrown up by a shovel against the wind. As a rule this was done in the evening or during the night, when the west wind from the sea was blowing, which was a moderate breeze and fitted for the...
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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...
  • 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...
  • 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...
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