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Texts -- Ruth 3:6-15 (NET)

Context
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 ,

Pericope

NET

Bible Dictionary

  • WIMPLE

    [ebd] Isa. 3:22, (R.V., "shawls"), a wrap or veil. The same Hebrew word is rendered "vail" (R.V., "mantle") in Ruth 3:15.
    [smith] an old English word for hood or veil, used in the Authorized Version of (Isaiah 3:22) The same Hebrew word is translated "veil" in (Ruth 3:15) but it signifies rather a kind of shawl of mantle.

  • Veil, vail

    [ebd] (1.) Heb. mitpahath (Ruth 3:15; marg., "sheet" or "apron;" R.V., "mantle"). In Isa. 3:22 this word is plural, rendered "wimples;" R.V., "shawls" i.e., wraps. (2.) Massekah (Isa. 25:7; in Isa. 28:20 rendered "covering"). The ...

  • 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 ...

  • SKIRT

    [isbe] SKIRT - skurt: (1) kanaph, "wing" "extremity" (Ruth 3:9, etc.), is the usual word. But in 1 Sam 24:4 ff perhaps "corner" is the best translation. (2) shul, "loose hanging" (Ex 28:33, etc.; in the King James Version often ren...

  • RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY

    [isbe] RELATIONSHIPS, FAMILY - re-la'-shun-ships: I. CONSANGUINITY 1. In General 2. Parents and Children 3. Brothers and Sisters 4. Uncles, Aunts, Cousins, Kinsmen II. AFFINITY 1. Husband and Wife 2. Father-in-Law, etc. 3. Brother-...

  • NEAR, NIGH

    [isbe] NEAR, NIGH - ner, ni (chiefly qarobh, "to draw near," qarabh; eggus): Used of proximity in place (Gen 19:20; 45:10; Ex 13:17; Ps 22:11; Jn 3:23, etc.), time (Jer 48:16; Ezek 7:7; 30:3; Mk 13:28), or kinship (Lev 21:2; Ruth 3...

  • MIDNIGHT

    [isbe] MIDNIGHT - mid'-nit (chatsoth laylah, "middle of the night" (Ex 11:4; Job 34:20; Ps 119:62), chatsi ha-laylah, "the half of the night" (Ex 12:29; Jdg 16:3; Ruth 3:8), tokh ha-laylah, "the division of the night" and hence, th...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • LOVINGKINDNESS

    [isbe] LOVINGKINDNESS - luv-ing-kind'-nes (hecedh): "Lovingkindness" in the King James Version always represents this word (30 times), but of hecedh there are many other renderings, e.g. "mercy" (frequently), "kindness" (38), "good...

  • 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...

  • Kerchief

    [ebd] mentioned only Ezek. 13:18, 21, as an article of apparel or ornament applied to the head of the idolatrous women of Israel. The precise meaning of the word is uncertain. It appears to have been a long loose shawl, such as Or...

  • 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;...

  • 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.; ...

  • HANDMAID

    [ebd] servant (Gen. 16:1; Ruth 3:9; Luke 1:48). It is probable that Hagar was Sarah's personal attendant while she was in the house of Pharaoh, and was among those maid-servants whom Abram had brought from Egypt.
    [isbe] HANDMAID - hand'-mad: Which appears often in the Old Testament, but seldom in the New Testament, like bondmaid, is used to translate two Hebrew words (shiphchah, and 'amah) both of which normally mean a female slave. It is u...

  • 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...

  • 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...

  • 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.

  • Apron

    [ebd] found in the Authorized Version in Gen. 3:7, of the bands of fig-leaves made by our first parents. In Acts 19:12, it denotes the belt or half-girdle worn by artisans and servants round the waist for the purpose of preserving...

  • Apparel

    [ebd] In Old Testament times the distinction between male and female attire was not very marked. The statute forbidding men to wear female apparel (Deut. 22:5) referred especially to ornaments and head-dresses. Both men and women ...

Arts

Resources/Books

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...
  • 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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