Ruth 2:11

2:11 Boaz replied to her, ¹  “I have been given a full report of ²  all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband – how you left ³  your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously. 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.”

Ruth 2:21

2:21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even ⁸  told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants ⁹  until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’” ¹⁰ 

Ruth 4:9

4:9 Then Boaz said to the leaders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have acquired from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon.

Ruth 4:11

4:11 All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May ¹¹  you prosper ¹²  in Ephrathah and become famous ¹³  in Bethlehem. ¹⁴ 

¹ tn Heb “answered and said to her” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons this has been translated as “replied to her.”

² tn Heb “it has been fully reported to me.” The infinitive absolute here emphasizes the following finite verb from the same root. Here it emphasizes either the clarity of the report or its completeness. See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 153, n. 6. Most English versions tend toward the nuance of completeness (e.g., KJV “fully been shewed”; NAB “a complete account”; NASB, NRSV “All that you have done”).

³ tn The vav (ו) consecutive construction here has a specifying function. This and the following clause elaborate on the preceding general statement and explain more specifically what she did for her mother-in-law.

⁴ tn Heb “yesterday and the third day.” This Hebrew idiom means “previously, in the past” (Exod 5:7,8,14; Exod 21:29,36; Deut 4:42; 19:4,6; Josh 3:4; 1 Sam 21:5; 2 Sam 3:17; 1 Chr 11:2).

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.

⁹ tn On the force of the phrase גָּם כִּי (gam ki) here, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 138-39.

¹⁰ tn Heb “with the servants who are mine you may stay close.” The imperfect has a permissive nuance here. The word “servants” is masculine plural.

¹¹ tn Heb “until they have finished all the harvest which is mine”; NIV “until they finish harvesting all my grain.”

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.