Ruth 3:1--4:17
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.
