Ruth 1:3

1:3 Sometime later ¹  Naomi’s husband Elimelech died, so she and her two sons were left alone.

Ruth 2:1

Ruth Works in the Field of Boaz

2:1 Now Naomi ²  had a relative ³  on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech. ⁴ 

Ruth 3:14

3:14 So she slept beside him ⁵  until morning. She woke up while it was still dark. ⁶  Boaz thought, ⁷  “No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.” ⁸ 

Ruth 4:7

4:7 (Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel: ⁹  A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party. ¹⁰  This was a legally binding act ¹¹  in Israel.)

Ruth 1:1

A Family Tragedy: Famine and Death

1:1 During the time of the judges ¹²  there was a famine in the land of Judah. ¹³  So a man from Bethlehem ¹⁴  in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ¹⁵  in the region of Moab, along with his wife and two sons. ¹⁶ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Heb “And Elimelech, the husband of Naomi, died.” The vav (ו) functions in a consecutive sense (“then”), but the time-frame is not explicitly stated.

[2:1]  ² tn The disjunctive clause (note the vav [ו] + prepositional phrase structure) provides background information essential to the following narrative.

[2:1]  ³ tc The marginal reading (Qere) is מוֹדַע (moda’, “relative”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְיֻדָּע (miyudda’, “friend”). The textual variant was probably caused by orthographic confusion between consonantal מְיֻדָּע and מוֹדַע. Virtually all English versions follow the marginal reading (Qere), e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “kinsman”; NIV, NCV, NLT “relative.”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “and [there was] to Naomi a relative, to her husband, a man mighty in substance, from the clan of Elimelech, and his name [was] Boaz.”

[3:14]  ³ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has the singular מַרְגְּלָתַו (margÿlatav, “his leg”), while the marginal reading (Qere) has the plural מַרְגְּלוֹתָיו (margÿlotayv, “his legs”).

[3:14]  ⁴ tn Heb “and she arose before a man could recognize his companion”; NRSV “before one person could recognize another”; CEV “before daylight.”

[3:14]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he said” (so KJV, NASB, NIV). Some translate “he thought [to himself]” (cf. NCV).

[3:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “let it not be known that the woman came [to] the threshing floor” (NASB similar). The article on הָאִשָּׁה (ha’ishah, “the woman”) is probably dittographic (note the final he on the preceding verb בָאָה [va’ah, “she came”]).

[4:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “and this formerly in Israel concerning redemption and concerning a transfer to ratify every matter.”

[4:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “a man removed his sandal and gave [it] to his companion”; NASB “gave it to another”; NIV, NRSV, CEV “to the other.”

[4:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “the legal witness”; KJV “a testimony”; ASV, NASB “the manner (form NAB) of attestation.”

[1:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “in the days of the judging of the judges.” The LXX simply reads “when the judges judged,” and Syriac has “in the days of the judges.” Cf. NASB “in the days when the judges governed (ruled NRSV).”

[1:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “in the land.” The phrase “of Judah” is supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[1:1]  ⁷ sn The name Bethlehem (בֵּית לֶחֶם, bet lekhem) is from “house, place” (בֵּית) and “bread, food” (לֶחֶם), so the name literally means “House of Bread” or “Place of Food.” Perhaps there is irony here: One would not expect a severe famine in such a location. This would not necessarily indicate that Bethlehem was under divine discipline, but merely that the famine was very severe, explaining the reason for the family’s departure.

[1:1]  ⁸ tn Or “to live temporarily.” The verb גּוּר (gur, “sojourn”) may refer to (1) temporary dwelling in a location (Deut 18:6; Judg 17:7) or (2) permanent dwelling in a location (Judg 5:17; Ps 33:8). When used of a foreign land, it can refer to (1) temporary dwelling as a visiting foreigner (Gen 12:10; 20:1; 21:34; 2 Kgs 8:1-2; Jer 44:14) or (2) permanent dwelling as a resident foreigner (Gen 47:4; Exod 6:4; Num 15:14; Deut 26:5; 2 Sam 4:3; Jer 49:18,33; 50:40; Ezek 47:22-23). Although Naomi eventually returned to Judah, there is some ambiguity whether or not Elimelech intended the move to make them permanent resident foreigners. Cf. NASB “to sojourn” and NIV “to live for a while,” both of which imply the move was temporary, while “to live” (NCV, NRSV, NLT) is more neutral about the permanence of the relocation.

[1:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “he and his wife and his two sons.” The LXX omits “two.”