Ruth 2:3

2:3 So Ruth ¹  went and gathered grain in the fields ²  behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up ³  in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.

Ruth 2:2

2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go ⁴  to the fields so I can gather ⁵  grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” ⁶  Naomi ⁷  replied, “You may go, my daughter.”

Ruth 1:6

1:6 So she decided to return home from the region of Moab, accompanied by her daughters-in-law, ⁸  because while she was living in Moab ⁹  she had heard that the Lord had shown concern ¹⁰  for his people, reversing the famine by providing abundant crops. ¹¹ 

Ecclesiastes 9:11

Wisdom Cannot Protect against Seemingly Chance Events

9:11 Again, ¹²  I observed this on the earth: ¹³ 

the race is not always ¹⁴  won by the swiftest,

the battle is not always won by the strongest;

prosperity ¹⁵  does not always belong to those who are the wisest,

wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning,

nor does success ¹⁶  always come to those with the most knowledge –

for time and chance may overcome ¹⁷  them all.

[2:3]  ¹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ² tn Heb “and she went and entered [a field] and gleaned in the field behind the harvesters.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the reapers”; TEV “the workers.”

[2:3]  ³ sn The text is written from Ruth’s limited perspective. As far as she was concerned, she randomly picked a spot in the field. But God was providentially at work and led her to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who, as a near relative of Elimelech, was a potential benefactor.

[2:2]  ⁴ tn The cohortative here (“Let me go”) expresses Ruth’s request. Note Naomi’s response, in which she gives Ruth permission to go to the field.

[2:2]  ⁵ tn Following the preceding cohortative, the cohortative with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.

[2:2]  ⁶ tn Heb “anyone in whose eyes I may find favor” (ASV, NIV similar). The expression אֶמְצָא־חֵן בְּעֵינָיו (’emtsa’-khen bÿ’enayv, “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) appears in Ruth 2:2, 10, 13. It is most often used when a subordinate or servant requests permission for something from a superior (BDB 336 s.v. חֵן). Ruth will play the role of the subordinate servant, seeking permission from a landowner, who then could show benevolence by granting her request to glean in his field behind the harvest workers.

[2:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “and she arose, along with her daughters-in-law, and she returned from the region of Moab.”

[1:6]  ⁹ tn Heb “in the region of Moab”; KJV, NRSV “in the country of Moab.” Since this is a repetition of the phrase found earlier in the verse, it has been shortened to “in Moab” in the present translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “had visited” or “taken note of.” The basic meaning of פָּקַד (paqad) is “observe, examine, take note of” (T. F. Williams, NIDOTTE 3:658), so it sometimes appears with זָכַר (zakhar, “to remember”; Pss 8:4 [MT 5]; 106:4; Jer 14:10; 15:15; Hos 8:13; 9:9) and רָאָה (ra’ah, “to see”; Exod 4:31; Ps 80:14 [MT 15]; NIDOTTE 3:659). It often emphasizes the cause/effect response to what is seen (NIDOTTE 3:659). When God observes people in need, it is glossed “be concerned about, care for, attend to, help” (Gen 21:1; 50:24, 25; Exod 4:31; Ruth 1:6; 1 Sam 2:21; Jer 15:15; Zeph 2:7; Zech 10:3b; NIDOTTE 3:661). When humans are the subject, it sometimes means “to visit” needy people to bestow a gift (Judg 15:1; 1 Sam 17:18). Because it has such a broad range of meanings, its use here has been translated variously: (1) “had visited” (KJV, ASV, NASV, RSV; so BDB 823-24 s.v. פָּקַד); (2) “had considered” (NRSV) and “had taken note of” (TNK; so HALOT 955-57 s.v. פקד); and (3) “had come to the aid of” (NIV), “had blessed” (TEV), and “had given” (CEV; so NIDOTTE 3:657). When God observed the plight of his people, he demonstrated his concern by benevolently giving them food.

[1:6]  ¹¹ tn Heb “by giving to them food.” The translation “reversing the famine and providing abundant crops” attempts to clarify the referent of לֶחֶם (lekhem, “food”) as “crops” and highlights the reversal of the famine that began in v. 1. The infinitive construct לָתֵת לָהֶם לָחֶם (latet lahem lakhem) may denote (1) purpose: “[he visited his people] to give them food” or (2) complementary sense explaining the action of the main verb: “[he visited his people] by giving them food.” The term לֶחֶם (lakhem) here refers to agricultural fertility, the reversal of the famine in v. 1.

[9:11]  ¹² tn Heb “I returned and.” In the Hebrew idiom, “to return and do” means “to do again.”

[9:11]  ¹³ tn Heb “under the sun.”

[9:11]  ¹⁴ tn The term “always” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation (five times in this verse) for clarity.

[9:11]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “bread.”

[9:11]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “favor.”

[9:11]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “happen to.”