Text -- Ruth 3:17-18 (NET)

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.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Rut 3:17

¹ tc The MT (Kethib) lacks the preposition אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) which is attested in the marginal reading (Qere).

² sn ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’ In addition to being a further gesture of kindness on Boaz’s part, the gift of barley served as a token of his intention to fulfill his responsibility as family guardian. See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 225-26, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 187.

NET Notes: Rut 3:18

¹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Heb “sit”; KJV “Sit still”; NAB “Wait here”; NLT “Just be patient.”