When they entered 4 Bethlehem, 5 the whole village was excited about their arrival. 6 The women of the village said, 7 “Can this be Naomi?” 8
2:4 Now at that very moment, 9 Boaz arrived from Bethlehem 10 and greeted 11 the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, 12 “May the Lord bless you!”
2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem 17 in Judea, in the time 18 of King Herod, 19 wise men 20 from the East came to Jerusalem 21
2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,
for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” 22
1 sn This explanatory note links the earlier name Ephrath with the later name Bethlehem.
2 tn The suffix “them” appears to be masculine, but it is probably an archaic dual form (E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 65; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 75-76).
3 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
4 tn The temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi, “and it was”) here introduces a new scene.
5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
6 tn Heb “because of them” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “excited to see them.”
7 tn Heb “they said,” but the verb form is third person feminine plural, indicating that the women of the village are the subject.
8 tn Heb “Is this Naomi?” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The question here expresses surprise and delight because of the way Naomi reacts to it (F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 92).
9 tn Heb “and look”; NIV, NRSV “Just then.” The narrator invites the audience into the story, describing Boaz’s arrival as if it were witnessed by the audience.
10 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
11 tn Heb “said to.” Context indicates that the following expression is a greeting, the first thing Boaz says to his workers.
12 tn Heb “said to him.” For stylistic reasons “replied” is used in the present translation.
13 tn Following the jussive, the imperative with prefixed vav indicates purpose or result.
14 tn The phrase וַעֲשֵׂה־חַיִל (va’aseh-khayil, literally, “do strength”) has been variously translated: (1) financial prosperity: “may you become rich” (TEV), “may you be a rich man” (CEV), “may you achieve wealth” (NASB), “may you prosper” (NKJV, NJPS); (2) social prominence: “may you become powerful” (NCV), “may you have standing” (NIV), “may you be great” (NLT), “may you do well” (NAB); (3) reproductive fertility: “may you produce children” (NRSV); and (4) social activity: “may you do a worthy deed” (REB).
15 tc Heb “and call a name.” This statement appears to be elliptical. Usually the person named and the name itself follow this expression. Perhaps וּקְרָא־שֵׁם (uqÿra’-shem) should be emended to וְיִקָּרֵא־שֵׁם (vÿyiqqare’-shem), “and your name will be called out,” that is, “perpetuated” (see Gen 48:16, cf. also Ruth 4:14b). The omission of the suffix with “name” could be explained as virtual haplography (note the letter bet [ב], which is similar to kaf [כ], at the beginning of the next word). The same explanation could account for the omission of the prefixed yod (י) on the verb “call” (yod [י] and vav [ו] are similar in appearance). Whether one reads the imperative (the form in the MT) or the jussive (the emended form), the construction indicates purpose or result following the earlier jussive “may he make.”
16 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
17 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
18 tn Grk “in the days.”
19 sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37
20 sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).
21 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
22 sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.
23 tn Grk “is from the seed” (an idiom for human descent).
24 sn An allusion to Ps 89:4.
25 sn An allusion to Mic 5:2.
26 tn Grk “the village where David was.”