Ruth 3:15-18

3:15 Then he said, “Hold out the shawl ¹  you are wearing ²  and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds ³  of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he ⁴  went into town, 3:16 and she returned to her mother-in-law.

Ruth Returns to Naomi

When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi ⁵  asked, ⁶  “How did things turn out for you, ⁷  my daughter?” Ruth ⁸  told her about all the man had done for her. ⁹  3:17 She said, “He gave me these sixty pounds of barley, for he said to me, ¹⁰  ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” ¹¹  3:18 Then Naomi ¹²  said, “Stay put, ¹³  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.”

¹ tn Or “cloak” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT); CEV “cape.” The Hebrew noun occurs only here and in Isa 3:22.

² tn Heb “which [is] upon you”; NIV, NRSV “you are wearing.”

³ tn Heb “and she gripped it tightly and he measured out six of barley and placed upon her.” The unit of measure is not indicated in the Hebrew text, although it would probably have been clear to the original hearers of the account. Six ephahs, the equivalent of 180-300 pounds, is clearly too heavy, especially if carried in a garment. Six omers (an omer being a tenth of an ephah) seems too little, since this would have amounted to six-tenths of an ephah, less than Ruth had gleaned in a single day (cf. 2:17). Thus a seah (one third of an ephah) may be in view here; six seahs would amount to two ephahs, about 60 pounds (27 kg). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 222, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 178.

⁴ tc The MT preserves the 3rd person masculine singular form וַיָּבֹא (vayyavo’, “then he went”; cf. ASV, NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT), while many medieval mss (supported by the Syriac and Vulgate) have the 3rd person feminine singular form וַתָּבֹא (vattavo’, “then she went”; cf. KJV, NASB, TEV).

⁵ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁶ tn Heb “said.” Since what follows is a question, the present translation uses “asked” here.

⁷ tn Heb “Who are you?” In this context Naomi is clearly not asking for Ruth’s identity. Here the question has the semantic force “Are you his wife?” See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 223-24, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 184-85.

⁸ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁹ sn All that the man had done. This would have included his promise to marry her and his gift of barley.

¹⁰ tc The MT (Kethib) lacks the preposition אֵלַי (’elay, “to me”) which is attested in the marginal reading (Qere).

¹¹ 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.

¹² tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹³ tn Heb “sit”; KJV “Sit still”; NAB “Wait here”; NLT “Just be patient.”