Ruth 2:1--4:22
<04129> [kinsman.]
wealthy <01368> [a mighty.]
Boaz <01162> [Boaz.]
Boaz, according the Targumist, was the same as Ibzan.
[Booz.]
gather grain <03950 07641> [glean ears.]
gathered <03950> [gleaned.]
happened ... end up <04745 07136> [hap was. Heb. hap happened.]
Lord ......... Lord <03068> [The Lord.]
greeted ........... replied <0559> [And they.]
servant <05288> [the servant.]
This seems to have been a kind of steward, who had the under- management of the estate.
Moabite <04125> [It is the.]
follow <03950> [I pray.]
working hard <05975> [continued.]
resting hut <01004> [in the house.]
It seems that the reapers were now resting in a tent, erected for that purpose; and that Ruth had just gone in with them, to take her rest also.
dear <01323> [my daughter.]
beyond <05674> [neither.]
limits <01692> [abide.]
leave ... alone ..... thirsty <05060 06770> [touch thee.]
follow ...................... go <01980> [go.]
knelt <05307> [fell.]
kind <04672> [Why have.]
foreigner <05237> [seeing.]
done <06213> [all that.]
left <05800> [and how.]
reward <07999> [recompense.]
<03671> [wings.]
kind <04672> [Let me find. or, I find favour.]
encouraged <03820> [friendly. Heb. to the heart.]
one <0259> [not like.]
mealtime <06256> [At meal-time.]
Dip ... bread <06595 02881> [dip thy morsel.]
Vinegar, robb of fruits, etc., are used for this purpose in the East to the present day; into which, says Dr. Shaw, they dip the bread and hand together.
roasted grain <07039> [parched.]
have some food ....................... ate <0398> [she did.]
full <07646> [was sufficed.]
gather ......... her gather grain ...... Don't chase her <03950> [glean.]
The word glean comes from the French {glaner} to gather ears or grains of corn. This was formerly a general custom in England and Ireland: the poor went into the fields, and collected the straggling ears of corn after the reapers; and it was long supposed that this was their right, and that the law recognized it; but although it has been an old custom, it is now settled by a solemn judgment of the Court of Common Pleas, that a right to glean in the harvest field cannot be claimed by any person at common law. Any person may permit or prevent it on his own grounds. By the Irish Acts, 25 Henry VIII. c. 1, and 28 Henry VIII. c. 24, gleaning and leasing are so restricted as to be in fact prohibited in that part of the United Kingdom.
off <03637> [reproach. Heb. shame.]
gathered .............. gathered <03950> [she gleaned.]
pounds <0374> [ephah.]
saved <03498> [she had reserved.]
rewarded <01288> [blessed.]
Boaz <01162> [Boaz.]
rewarded <01288> [Blessed.]
because .... shown <05800> [hath not.]
guardian <01350> [one of our. or, one that hath right to redeem.]
gathering <01692> [Thou shalt.]
servants <05288> [young men.]
The word {hann‰ƒrim} should be translated the servants; both male and female being included in it, the latter especially: see ver. 8, 22, 23.
Ruth <07327> [Ruth.]
Ruth is said, by the Targumist, to have been the daughter of Eglon, king of Moab.
good <02896> [It is good.]
harmed <06293> [meet. or, fall not upon thee.]
find <01245> [shall I not.]
secure <03190> [may be.]
Boaz <01162> [is not Boaz.]
female servants <05291> [with whose.]
winnowing <02219> [he winnoweth.]
It is probable that the winnowing of grain was effected by taking up a portion of the corn in a sieve, and letting it down slowly in the wind; thus the grain would, by its own weight, fall in one place, while the chaff, etc., would be carried a distance by the wind. It is said here that this was done at night; probably what was threshed out in the day was winnowed in the evening, when the sea breeze set in, which was common in Palestine.
rub on some perfumed oil ... get <05480 07760> [anoint thee.]
get dressed up <07760 08071> [put thy.]
uncover ... legs <04772 01540> [uncover his feet. or, lift up the clothes that are on his feet.]
did <06213> [and did.]
feeling <03820> [his heart.]
lay down to sleep ............ crept up ....... lay down <0935 07901> [went to lie.]
Such was the simplicity of those early times, that the most wealthy persons looked after their own affairs, both at home and in the field. These threshing-floors were covered at top to keep off the rain, but lay open on all sides, that the wind might come in freely, for winnowing the corn; which being done, it is probable they were shut up at night, with doors fitted to them, that if any one lay there he might be kept warm, and the corn be secured from robbers.
Ruth <07327> [Ruth.]
Marry <06566 03671> [spread therefore.]
Hebrew "spread thy wing;" the emblem of protection; and a metaphor taken from the young of fowls, which run under the wings of their mother from birds of prey. Even to the present day, when a Jew marries a woman, he throws the skirts of his {talith} over her, to signify that he has taken her under his protection.
guardian of the family interests <01350> [a near kinsman. or, one that has right to redeem.]
rewarded <01288> [Blessed.]
before <07223> [at the beginning.]
village <08179> [city. Heb. gate.]
there <03426> [there is.]
agrees ....... him ......... want .... so ... promise ......... marry .... here <01350 02654> [if he will.]
surely .... Lord <02416 03068> [the Lord liveth.]
know <03045> [Let it not.]
shawl <04304> [vail. or sheet, or apron.]
The word {mitpachath} has been variously rendered. The LXX. translate it [ ,] an apron, and Vulgate, {pallium,} a cloak. By the circumstances of the story, it must have been of a considerable size; and accordingly Dr. Shaw thinks it was no other than the {hyke,} the finer sort of which, such as are still worn by ladies and persons of distinction among the Arabs, he takes to answer to the [ ,] or robe, of the ancient Greeks.
measured out <04058> [he measured.]
sixty .... barley <08337 08184> [six measures.]
The quantity of this barley is uncertain. The Targum renders it, {shith sein,} "six {seahs."} A {seah} contained about two gallons and a half, six of which must have been a very heavy load for a woman, and so the Targumist thought, for he adds, "And she received strength from the Lord to carry it."
daughter <01323> [Who art thou.]
Or, as the Vulgate renders, {Quid egisti filia?} "What hast thou done, my daughter?"
Stay <03427> [Sit still.]
village gate <08179> [to the gate.]
guardian <01350> [the kinsman.]
leaders <02205> [the elders.]
said <0559> [he said.]
informing ........................................................ replied <0559> [I thought. Heb. I said I will reveal in thine ear. Buy it.]
sitting <03427> [before the inhabitants.]
redeem ..... so ................... redeem .............. redeem <01350> [for there is none.]
When <03117> [What day.]
Or rather, according to the emendations proposed by Houbigant and Dr. Kennicott, and which have been confirmed by a great many MSS. since collated, and agreeably to the ancient versions, "In the day thou purchasest the land from the hand of Naomi, thou wilt also acquire Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of the dead," etc. This is Boaz's statement of the case to his kinsman, before the people and elders.
preserve ....... up <06965> [to raise up.]
unable ........................ unable <03201> [I cannot.]
The Targum seems to give the proper sense of this passage: "I cannot redeem it, because I have a wife already; and it is not fit for me to bring another into my house, lest brawling and contention arise in it; and lest I hurt my own inheritance. Do thou redeem it, for thou has no wife; which hinders me from redeeming it."
man ... remove <0376 08025> [a man plucked off.]
This custom does not refer to the law about refusing to marry a brother's widow, but was usual in the transfer of inheritances: for this relative was not a brother, but simply a kinsman; and the shoe was not pulled off by Ruth, but by the kinsman himself. The Targumist, instead of his shoe, renders "his right hand glove," it probably being the custom, in his time, to give that instead of a shoe. Jarchi says, "When we purchase any thing new, it is customary to give, instead of a shoe, a handkerchief or veil."
witnesses <05707> [Ye are witnesses.]
acquired <07069> [have I.]
descendant ......... name <08034> [the name.]
witnesses <05707> [ye are witnesses.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
Rachel <07354> [Rachel.]
built <01129> [build.]
make ........................ prosper <02428 06213> [do thou worthily. or, get thee riches, or power. Ephratah.]
<07121> [be famous. Heb. proclaim thy name.]
family ..... family <01004> [the house.]
Tamar <08559> [whom.]
descendants <02233> [of the seed.]
Boaz <01162> [A.M. 2697. B.C. 1307. An. Ex. Is. 184. Boaz.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
women <0802> [the women.]
praised <01288> [Blessed.]
<07673> [which hath.]
today <07673 03117> [left thee. Heb. caused to cease unto thee. kinsman, or, redeemer. that his.]
provide <03557> [a nourisher, etc. Heb. to nourish thy grey hairs.]
daughter-in-law <03618> [for thy.]
better <02896> [better.]
neighbor <07934> [the women.]
Obed <05744> [Obed.]
That is, [douleuon,] serving, or a servant, as Josephus interprets it.
Perez Perez <06557> [Pharez.]
[Phares, Esrom.]
father ... Ram Ram .... father <03205 07410> [begat Ram.]
[Aram, Aminadab.]
Nachshon Nachshon <05177> [Nahshon.]
[Naasson. Salmon. or, Samlah.]
Salmon <08012> [Salmon.]
[Salma.]
Boaz Boaz <01162> [and Boaz.]
[Booz.]
Jesse ... Jesse <03448> [Jesse.]
David <01732> [David.]
CONCLUDING REMARKS ON THE BOOK OF RUTH. This book is evidently a supplement to the book of Judges, and an introduction to that of Samuel, between which it is placed with great propriety. In the ancient Jewish canon, it formed a part of the book of Judges; but the modern Jews make it one of the five Megilloth, which they place towards the end of the Old Testament. This book has been attributed to various authors; but the best founded and generally received opinion, and in which the Jews coincide, is that which ascribes it to the prophet Samuel; before whose time it could not have been written, as is evident from the genealogy recorded in ch. 4:17-22. The time in which the events detailed in this book happened is involved in much obscurity and uncertainty. Augustine refers it to the time of the regal government of the Hebrews; Josephus to the administration of Eli; Moldenhawer, after some Jewish writers, to the time of Ehud; Rabbi Kimichi, and other Jewish authors, to the time of Ibzan; Bps. Patrick and Horne to the judicature of Gideon; Lightfoot to the period between Ehud and Deborah; and Usher, who is followed by most chronologers, to the time of Shamgar. The authenticity and canonical authority of this sacred book cannot be questioned; and the Evangelists, in describing our Saviour's descent, have followed its genealogical accounts. To delineate part of this genealogy appears to be the principal design of the book; it had been foretold that the Messiah should be of the tribe of Judah, and it was afterwards revealed that he should be of the family of David; and therefore it was necessary, to prevent the least suspicion of fraud or design, that the history of that family should be written before these prophecies were revealed. And thus this book, these prophecies, and their accomplishment, serve mutually to illustrate each other. The whole narrative is extremely interesting and instructive, and is written with the most beautiful simplicity. The distress of Naomi; her affectionate concern for her daughter-in-law; the reluctant departure of Orpah; the dutiful attachment of Ruth; and the sorrowful return to Bethlehem, are very beautifully told. The simplicity of manners, likewise, which is shown in the account of Ruth's industry and attention to Naomi; of the elegant charity of Boaz; and of his acknowledgement of his kindred with Ruth, afford a very pleasing contrast to the turbulent scenes described in the preceding book. And while it exhibits, in a striking and affecting manner, the care of Divine Providence over those who sincerely fear God, and honestly aim at fulfilling his will, the circumstance of a Moabitess becoming an ancestor of the Messiah seems to have been a pre-intimation of the admission of the Gentiles into his church. It must be remarked, that in the estimation of the Jews, it was disgraceful to David to have derived his birth from a Moabitess; and Shimei, in his revilings against him, is supposed by them to have tauntingly reflected on his descent from Ruth. This book, therefore, contains an intrinsic proof of its own verity, as it reveals a circumstance so little flattering to the sovereign of Israel; and it is scarcely necessary to appeal to its admission into the canon of Scripture, for a testimony of its authentic character. Add to which, that the native, the amiable simplicity in which the story is told, is sufficient proof of its genuineness. There are several sympathetic circumstances recorded which no forger could have invented: there is too much of nature to admit any thing of art.
