Ruth 1:14

1:14 Again they wept loudly. ¹  Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law goodbye, ²  but Ruth ³  clung tightly to her. ⁴ 

Ruth 2:19

2:19 Her mother-in-law asked her, ⁵  “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!” ⁶  So Ruth ⁷  told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

¹ tn Heb “they lifted their voice[s] and wept” (so NASB; see v. 9). The expression refers to loud weeping employed in mourning tragedy (Judg 21:2; 2 Sam 13:36; Job 2:12).

² tc The LXX adds, “and she returned to her people” (cf. TEV “and went back home”). Translating the Greek of the LXX back to Hebrew would read a consonantal text of ותשׁב אל־עמה. Most dismiss this as a clarifying addition added under the influence of v. 15, but this alternative reading should not be rejected too quickly. It is possible that a scribe’s eye jumped from the initial vav on ותשׁב (“and she returned”) to the initial vav on the final clause (וְרוּת [vÿrut], “and Ruth”), inadvertently leaving out the intervening words, “and she returned to her people.” Or a scribe’s eye could have jumped from the final he on לַחֲמוֹתָהּ (lakhamotah, “to her mother-in-law”) to the final he on עַמָּהּ (’ammah, “her people”), leaving out the intervening words, “and she returned to her people.”

³ tn The clause is disjunctive. The word order is conjunction + subject + verb, highlighting the contrast between the actions of Orpah and Ruth.

⁴ sn Clung tightly. The expression suggests strong commitment (see R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth [NICOT], 115).

⁵ tn Heb “said to her.” Since what follows is a question, the translation uses “asked her” here.

⁶ tn Or “blessed” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV). The same expression occurs in the following verse.

⁷ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.