Ruth 2:8-18

2:8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, ¹  my dear! ²  Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not ³  go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside ⁴  my female workers. ⁵  2:9 Take note of ⁶  the field where the men ⁷  are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers. ⁸  I will tell the men ⁹  to leave you alone. ¹⁰  When you are thirsty, you may go to ¹¹  the water jars ¹²  and drink some of the water ¹³  the servants draw.” ¹⁴ 

2:10 Ruth ¹⁵  knelt before him with her forehead to the ground ¹⁶  and said to him, “Why are you so kind ¹⁷  and so attentive to me, ¹⁸  even though ¹⁹  I am a foreigner?” ²⁰  2:11 Boaz replied to her, ²¹  “I have been given a full report of ²²  all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband – how you left ²³  your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously. ²⁴  2:12 May the Lord reward your efforts! ²⁵  May your acts of kindness be repaid fully ²⁶  by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection!” ²⁷  2:13 She said, “You really are being kind to me, ²⁸  sir, ²⁹  for you have reassured ³⁰  and encouraged ³¹  me, your servant, ³²  even though I am ³³  not one of your servants!” ³⁴ 

2:14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have ³⁵  some food! Dip your bread ³⁶  in the vinegar!” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed ³⁷  her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest. ³⁸  2:15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told ³⁹  his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among ⁴⁰  the bundles! Don’t chase her off! ⁴¹  2:16 Make sure you pull out ⁴²  ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!” ⁴³  2:17 So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed ⁴⁴  what she had gathered, it came to about thirty pounds ⁴⁵  of barley!

Ruth Returns to Naomi

2:18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw ⁴⁶  how much grain ⁴⁷  she had gathered. Then Ruth ⁴⁸  gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime. ⁴⁹ 

[2:8]  ¹ 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]  ² 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]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “and thus you may stay close with.” The imperfect has a permissive nuance here.

[2:8]  ⁵ 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).

[2:9]  ⁶ tn Heb “let your eyes be upon” (KJV, NASB similar).

[2:9]  ⁷ tn Heb “they.” The verb is masculine plural, indicating that the male workers are the subject here.

[2:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “and go after them.” The pronominal suffix (“them”) is feminine plural, indicating that the female workers are referred to here.

[2:9]  ⁹ tn Male servants are in view here, as the masculine plural form of the noun indicates (cf. KJV, NAB, NRSV “the young men”).

[2:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “Have I not commanded the servants not to touch [i.e., “harm”] you?” The idiomatic, negated rhetorical question is equivalent to an affirmation (see v. 8). The perfect is either instantaneous, indicating completion of the action concurrent with the statement (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 107, 121-22, who translates, “I am herewith ordering”) or emphatic/rhetorical, indicating the action is as good as done.

[2:9]  ¹¹ tn The juxtaposition of two perfects, each with vav consecutive, here indicates a conditional sentence (see GKC 337 §112.kk).

[2:9]  ¹² tn Heb “vessels (so KJV, NAB, NRSV), receptacles”; NCV “water jugs.”

[2:9]  ¹³ tn Heb “drink [some] of that which” (KJV similar); in the context “water” is implied.

[2:9]  ¹⁴ tn The imperfect here either indicates characteristic or typical activity, or anterior future, referring to a future action (drawing water) which logically precedes another future action (drinking).

[2:10]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:10]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “she fell upon her face and bowed to the ground” (KJV, NASB similar).

[2:10]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “Why do I find favor in your eyes…?” The expression מָצַא חֵן בְּעֵינֶי (matsa’ khen bÿ’eney, “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) is often characterized by the following features: (1) A subordinate or servant is requesting permission for something from a superior (master, owner, king). (2) The granting of the request is not a certainty but dependent on whether or not the superior is pleased with the subordinate to do so. (3) The granting of the request by the superior is an act of kindness or benevolence; however, it sometimes reciprocates loyalty previously shown by the subordinate to the superior (e.g., Gen 30:27; 32:6; 33:8, 10, 15; 34:11; 39:4; 47:25, 29; 50:4; Num 32:5; Deut 24:1; 1 Sam 1:18; 16:22; 20:3, 29; 27:3; 2 Sam 14:22; 16:4; 1 Kgs 11:19; Esth 5:8; 7:3; BDB 336 s.v. חֵן). While Boaz had granted her request for permission to glean in his field, she is amazed at the degree of kindness he had shown – especially since she had done nothing, in her own mind, to merit such a display. However, Boaz explains that she had indeed shown kindness to him indirectly through her devotion to Naomi (v. 11).

[2:10]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “Why do I find favor in your eyes by [you] recognizing me.” The infinitive construct with prefixed לְ (lamed) here indicates manner (“by”).

[2:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and I am a foreigner.” The disjunctive clause (note the pattern vav + subject + predicate nominative) here has a circumstantial (i.e., concessive) function (“even though”).

[2:10]  ²⁰ sn The similarly spelled Hebrew terms נָכַר (nakhar, “to notice”) and נָכְרִי (nokhriy, “foreigner”) in this verse form a homonymic wordplay. This highlights the unexpected nature of the attentiveness and concern Boaz displayed to Ruth.

[2:11]  ²¹ tn Heb “answered and said to her” (so NASB). For stylistic reasons this has been translated as “replied to her.”

[2:11]  ²² 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”).

[2:11]  ²³ 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.

[2:11]  ²⁴ 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).

[2:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “repay your work”; KJV, ASV “recompense thy work.” The prefixed verbal form is understood as a jussive of prayer (note the jussive form in the next clause).

[2:12]  ²⁶ tn Heb “may your wages be complete”; NCV “May your wages be paid in full.” The prefixed verbal form is a distinct jussive form, indicating that this is a prayer for blessing.

[2:12]  ²⁷ tn Heb “under whose wings you have sought shelter”; NIV, NLT “have come to take refuge.”

[2:13]  ²⁸ tn Heb “I am finding favor in your eyes.” In v. 10, where Ruth uses the perfect, she simply states the fact that Boaz is kind. Here the Hebrew text switches to the imperfect, thus emphasizing the ongoing attitude of kindness displayed by Boaz. Many English versions treat this as a request: KJV “Let me find favour in thy sight”; NAB “May I prove worthy of your kindness”; NIV “May I continue to find favor in your eyes.”

[2:13]  ²⁹ tn Heb “my master”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “my lord.”

[2:13]  ³⁰ tn Or “comforted” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

[2:13]  ³¹ tn Heb “spoken to the heart of.” As F. W. Bush points out, the idiom here means “to reassure, encourage” (Ruth, Esther [WBC], 124).

[2:13]  ³² tn Ruth here uses a word (שִׁפְחָה, shifkhah) that describes the lowest level of female servant (see 1 Sam 25:41). Note Ruth 3:9 where she uses the word אָמָה (’amah), which refers to a higher class of servant.

[2:13]  ³³ tn The imperfect verbal form of הָיָה (hayah) is used here. F. W. Bush shows from usage elsewhere that the form should be taken as future (Ruth, Esther [WBC], 124-25).

[2:13]  ³⁴ tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + verb) is circumstantial (or concessive) here (“even though”).

[2:14]  ³⁵ tn Heb “eat” (so KJV, NRSV).

[2:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “your portion”; NRSV “your morsel.”

[2:14]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew verb צָבַט (tsavat) occurs only here in the OT. Cf. KJV, ASV “he reached her”; NASB “he served her”; NIV “he offered her”; NRSV “he heaped up for her.” For discussion of its meaning, including the etymological evidence, see BDB 840 s.v.; R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 174; and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 125-26.

[2:14]  ³⁸ tn Heb “and she ate and she was satisfied and she had some left over” (NASB similar).

[2:15]  ³⁹ tn Or “commanded” (so KJV, NASB, NCV).

[2:15]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “even between”; NCV “even around.”

[2:15]  ⁴¹ 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]  ⁴² 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]  ⁴³ tn Heb “do not rebuke her” (so NASB, NRSV); CEV “don’t speak harshly to her”; NLT “don’t give her a hard time.”

[2:17]  ⁴⁴ 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]  ⁴⁵ 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.

[2:18]  ⁴⁶ 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]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “that which”; the referent (how much grain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left over from her being satisfied.”