Ruth 2:17

2:17 So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed ¹  what she had gathered, it came to about thirty pounds ²  of barley!

Ruth 2:15-16

2:15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told ³  his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among ⁴  the bundles! Don’t chase her off! ⁵  2:16 Make sure you pull out ⁶  ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!” ⁷ 

Ruth 2:3

2:3 So Ruth ⁸  went and gathered grain in the fields ⁹  behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up ¹⁰  in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.

Ruth 2:7

2:7 She asked, ¹¹  ‘May I follow the harvesters and gather ¹²  grain among the bundles?’ ¹³  Since she arrived she has been working hard ¹⁴  from this morning until now ¹⁵  – except for ¹⁶  sitting ¹⁷  in the resting hut ¹⁸  a short time.” ¹⁹ 

Ruth 2:18

Ruth Returns to Naomi

2:18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw ²⁰  how much grain ²¹  she had gathered. Then Ruth ²²  gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime. ²³ 

Ruth 2:23

2:23 So Ruth ²⁴  worked beside ²⁵  Boaz’s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest. ²⁶  After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law. ²⁷ 

Ruth 2:2

2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go ²⁸  to the fields so I can gather ²⁹  grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” ³⁰  Naomi ³¹  replied, “You may go, my daughter.”

Ruth 2:8

2:8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, ³²  my dear! ³³  Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not ³⁴  go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside ³⁵  my female workers. ³⁶ 

Ruth 2:19

2:19 Her mother-in-law asked her, ³⁷  “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!” ³⁸  So Ruth ³⁹  told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

[2:17]  ¹ tn Heb “she beat out” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT). Ruth probably used a stick to separate the kernels of grain from the husks. See O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 63.

[2:17]  ² tn Heb “there was an ephah.” An ephah was a dry measure, equivalent to one-tenth of a homer (see HALOT 43 s.v. אֵיפָה). An ephah was equivalent to a “bath,” a liquid measure. Jars labeled “bath” found at archaeological sites in Israel could contain approximately 5.8 gallons, or one-half to two-thirds of a bushel. Thus an ephah of barley would have weighed about 29 to 30 pounds (just over 13 kg). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 179.

[2:15]  ³ tn Or “commanded” (so KJV, NASB, NCV).

[2:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “even between”; NCV “even around.”

[2:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “do not humiliate her”; cf. KJV “reproach her not”; NASB “do not insult her”; NIV “don’t embarrass her.” This probably refers to a verbal rebuke which would single her out and embarrass her (see v. 16). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 176-77, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 126.

[2:16]  ⁵ tn The infinitive absolute precedes the finite verb for emphasis. Here שָׁלַל (shalal, “pull out”) is a homonym of the more common Hebrew verb meaning “to plunder.” An Arabic cognate is used of drawing a sword out of a scabbard (see BDB 1021 s.v.).

[2:16]  ⁶ tn Heb “do not rebuke her” (so NASB, NRSV); CEV “don’t speak harshly to her”; NLT “don’t give her a hard time.”

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:3]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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.

[2:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “said.” What follows is a question, so “asked” is used in the translation.

[2:7]  ¹⁰ tn On the use of the perfect with vav consecutive after the cohortative, see IBHS 530 §32.2.2b.

[2:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “May I glean and gather among the bundles behind the harvesters?” Others translate, “May I glean and gather [grain] in bundles behind the harvesters?” (cf. NAB; see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 117). For discussion of the terminology and process of harvesting, see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 59-61.

[2:7]  ¹² tn Heb “and she came and she has persisted.” The construction וַתָּבוֹא וַתַעֲמוֹד (vattavo’ vata’amod) forms a dependent temporal sequence: “since she came, she has persisted.” Because עָמַד (’amad, “to stand, remain, persist”; BDB 764 s.v. עָמַד; HALOT 840-42 s.v. עמד) has a broad range of meanings, וַתַעֲמוֹד has been understood in various ways: (1) Ruth had stood all morning waiting to receive permission from Boaz to glean in his field: “she has stood (here waiting)”; (2) Ruth had remained in the field all morning: “she has remained here” (NAB, NASB, NCV); and (3) Ruth had worked hard all morning: “she has worked steadily” (REB), “she has been working” (TEV, CEV), “she has been on her feet (all morning)” (JPS, NJPS, NRSV). For discussion, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 118-19.

[2:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “and she came and she stood, from then, the morning, and until now, this, her sitting [in] the house a little.” The syntax of the Hebrew text is awkward and the meaning uncertain. For discussion see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 118-19.

[2:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “except this.” The function and meaning of the demonstrative adjective זֶה (zeh, “this”) is difficult: (1) MT accentuation joins זֶה withשִׁבְתָּהּ (shivtah, “this her sitting”), suggesting that זֶה שִׁבְתָּהּ functions as subject complement (see BDB 261 s.v. זֶה 2.a and Josh 9:12). (2) Others suggest that זֶה functions as an emphasizing adverb of time (“just now”; BDB 261 s.v. 4.h) and connect it with עַתָּה (’attah, “now”) to form the idiom עַתָּה זֶה (zeh ’attah, “now, just now”; BDB 261 s.v. 4.h; GKC 442-43 §136.d; see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 118-19). The entire line is translated variously: KJV “until now, (+ save ASV) that she tarried a little in the house”; NASB “she has been sitting in the house for a little while”; NIV “except for a short rest in the shelter”; NJPS “she has rested but little in the hut”; “her sitting (= resting) in the house (has only been) for a moment.” A paraphrase would be: “She came and has kept at it (= gleaning) from this morning until now, except for this: She has been sitting in the hut only a little while.” The clause as a whole is an exceptive clause: “except for this….”

[2:7]  ¹⁵ tc The MT vocalizes consonantal שבתה as שִׁבְתָּהּ (shivtah, “her sitting”; Qal infinitive construct from יָשַׁב (yashav), “to sit” + 3rd person feminine singular suffix), apparently taking the 3rd person feminine singular suffix as a subjective genitive: “she sat [in the hut only a little while]” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NIV, REB, TEV, NCV, NJPS). On the other hand, LXX κατέπαυσεν (“she rested”) reflects the vocalization שָׁבְתָה (shavtah, “she rested”; Qal perfect 3rd person feminine singular from שָׁבַת (shavat), “to rest”): “she rested [in the hut only a little while]” (so RSV, NRSV, NAB, CEV, NJB, JPS). The MT reading is more difficult and is therefore probably original.

[2:7]  ¹⁶ tc Several English versions (NAB, NEB, RSV, NRSV, JB, CEV) suggest deleting MT הַבַּיִת (habbayit, lit. “the house”) due to dittography with בתה in שִׁבְתָּהּ (shivtah) which precedes; however, several ancient textual witnesses support the MT (medieval Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Targum). The LXX reading ἐν τῷ ἀργῷ (en tw argw, “in the field”) probably does not represent an alternate Hebrew textual tradition, but merely the translator’s attempt to smooth out a difficult Hebrew text.

[2:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “a little while.” The adjective מְעָט (me’at) functions in a temporal sense (“a little while”; e.g., Job 24:24) or a comparative sense (“a little bit”); see BDB 589-90 s.v. The foreman’s point is that Ruth was a hard worker who only rested a short time.

[2:18]  ¹¹ tc MT vocalizes ותרא as the Qal verb וַתֵּרֶא (vattere’, “and she saw”), consequently of “her mother-in-law” as subject and “what she gathered” as the direct object: “her mother-in-law saw what she gathered.” A few medieval Hebrew mss (also reflected in Syriac and Vulgate) have the Hiphil וַתַּרְא (vattar’, “and she showed”), consequently taking “her mother-in-law” as the direct object and “what she gathered” as the double direct-object: “she showed her mother-in-law what she had gathered” (cf. NAB, TEV, CEV, NLT). Although the latter has the advantage of making Ruth the subject of all the verbs in this verse, it would be syntactically difficult. For one would expect the accusative sign אֶת (’et) before “her mother-in-law” if it were the direct object of a Hiphil verb in a sentence with a double direct object introduced by the accusative sign אֶת, e.g., “to show (Hiphil of רָאָה, ra’ah) your servant (direct object marked by accusative sign אֶת) your greatness (double direct object marked by accusative sign אֶת) (Deut 3:24). Therefore the MT reading is preferred.

[2:18]  ¹² tn Heb “that which”; the referent (how much grain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ¹³ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left over from her being satisfied.”

[2:23]  ¹³ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:23]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and she stayed close with”; NIV, NRSV, CEV “stayed close to”; NCV “continued working closely with.”

[2:23]  ¹⁵ sn Barley was harvested from late March through late April, wheat from late April to late May (O. Borowski, Agriculture in Ancient Israel, 88, 91).

[2:23]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and she lived with her mother-in-law” (so NASB). Some interpret this to mean that she lived with her mother-in-law while working in the harvest. In other words, she worked by day and then came home to Naomi each evening. Others understand this to mean that following the harvest she stayed at home each day with Naomi and no longer went out looking for work (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 140). Others even propose that she lived away from home during this period, but this seems unlikely. A few Hebrew mss (so also Latin Vulgate) support this view by reading, “and she returned to her mother-in-law.”

[2:2]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Following the preceding cohortative, the cohortative with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.

[2:2]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Have you not heard?” The idiomatic, negated rhetorical question is equivalent to an affirmation (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 119, and GKC 474 §150.e).

[2:8]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “my daughter.” This form of address is a mild form of endearment, perhaps merely rhetorical. It might suggest that Boaz is older than Ruth, but not necessarily significantly so. A few English versions omit it entirely (e.g., TEV, CEV).

[2:8]  ¹⁹ tn The switch from the negative particle אַל (’al, see the preceding statement, “do not leave”) to לֹא (lo’) may make this statement more emphatic. It may indicate that the statement is a policy applicable for the rest of the harvest (see v. 21).

[2:8]  ²⁰ tn Heb “and thus you may stay close with.” The imperfect has a permissive nuance here.

[2:8]  ²¹ sn The female workers would come along behind those who cut the grain and bundle it up. Staying close to the female workers allowed Ruth to collect more grain than would normally be the case (see O. Borowski, Agriculture in Iron Age Israel, 61, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 121).

[2:19]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “said to her.” Since what follows is a question, the translation uses “asked her” here.

[2:19]  ²⁰ tn Or “blessed” (so NAB, NIV, NRSV). The same expression occurs in the following verse.

[2:19]  ²¹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.