Ruth 3:10

3:10 He said, “May you be rewarded ¹  by the Lord, my dear! ²  This act of devotion ³  is greater than what you did before. ⁴  For you have not sought to marry ⁵  one of the young men, whether rich or poor. ⁶ 

Ruth 1:16

1:16 But Ruth replied,

“Stop urging me to abandon you! ⁷ 

For wherever you go, I will go.

Wherever you live, I will live.

Your people will become my people,

and your God will become my God.

Ruth 2:8

2:8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, ⁸  my dear! ⁹  Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not ¹⁰  go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside ¹¹  my female workers. ¹² 

Ruth 4:20

4:20 Amminadab was the father of Nachshon, Nachshon was the father of Salmah,

Ruth 2:20

2:20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he ¹³  has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!” ¹⁴  Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.” ¹⁵ 

Ruth 3:15

3:15 Then he said, “Hold out the shawl ¹⁶  you are wearing ¹⁷  and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds ¹⁸  of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he ¹⁹  went into town,

Ruth 1:5

1:5 Then Naomi’s two sons, Mahlon and Kilion, also died. ²⁰  So the woman was left all alone – bereaved of her two children ²¹  as well as her husband!

Ruth 3:8

3:8 In the middle of the night he was startled ²²  and turned over. ²³  Now ²⁴  he saw a woman ²⁵  lying beside him! ²⁶ 

Ruth 4:10-11

4:10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property ²⁷  so the name of the deceased might not disappear ²⁸  from among his relatives and from his village. ²⁹  You are witnesses today.” 4:11 All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May ³⁰  you prosper ³¹  in Ephrathah and become famous ³²  in Bethlehem. ³³ 

Ruth 3:1

Naomi Instructs Ruth

3:1 At that time, ³⁴  Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure. ³⁵ 

Ruth 3:9

3:9 He said, “Who are you?” ³⁶  She replied, “I am Ruth, your servant. ³⁷  Marry your servant, ³⁸  for you are a guardian of the family interests.” ³⁹ 

Ruth 4:14

4:14 The village women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian ⁴⁰  today! May he ⁴¹  become famous in Israel! ⁴² 

Ruth 1:12

1:12 Go back home, my daughters! For I am too old to get married again. ⁴³  Even if I thought that there was hope that I could get married tonight and conceive sons, ⁴⁴ 

Ruth 2:13

2:13 She said, “You really are being kind to me, ⁴⁵  sir, ⁴⁶  for you have reassured ⁴⁷  and encouraged ⁴⁸  me, your servant, ⁴⁹  even though I am ⁵⁰  not one of your servants!” ⁵¹ 

Ruth 2:22

2:22 Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you should go out to work with his female servants. ⁵²  That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.” ⁵³ 

Ruth 3:4

3:4 When he gets ready to go to sleep, ⁵⁴  take careful notice of the place where he lies down. Then go, uncover his legs, ⁵⁵  and lie down ⁵⁶  beside him. ⁵⁷  He will tell ⁵⁸  you what you should do.”

Ruth 4:7

4:7 (Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel: ⁵⁹  A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party. ⁶⁰  This was a legally binding act ⁶¹  in Israel.)

[3:10]  ¹ tn Or “blessed” (so NASB, NRSV).

[3:10]  ² tn Heb “my daughter.” This form of address is a mild form of endearment, perhaps merely rhetorical. A few English versions omit it entirely (e.g., TEV, CEV). The same expression occurs in v. 11.

[3:10]  ³ tn Heb “latter [act of] devotion”; NRSV “this last instance of your loyalty.”

[3:10]  ⁴ tn Heb “you have made the latter act of devotion better than the former”; NIV “than that which you showed earlier.”

[3:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “by not going after the young men” (NASB similar); TEV “You might have gone looking for a young man.”

[3:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “whether poor or rich” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV); the more common English idiom reverses the order (“rich or poor”; cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[1:16]  ⁷ tn Heb “do not urge me to abandon you to turn back from after you.” Most English versions, following the lead of the KJV, use “leave” here. The use of עזב (“abandon”) reflects Ruth’s perspective. To return to Moab would be to abandon Naomi and to leave her even more vulnerable than she already is.

[2:8]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and thus you may stay close with.” The imperfect has a permissive nuance here.

[2:8]  ¹⁷ 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).

[2:20]  ¹⁹ tn Many English versions translate this statement, “May he [Boaz] be blessed by the Lord, who has not abandoned his loyalty to the living and dead.” In this case the antecedent of אֲשֶׁר (’asher, “who”) would be the immediately preceding “the Lord.” However, this understanding of the construction is not accurate. The antecedent of אֲשֶׁר is Boaz, not the Lord. Elsewhere when אֲשֶׁר follows the blessing formula בָּרוּךְ (barukh, Qal passive participle) + proper name/pronoun, it always introduces the reason the recipient of the blessing deserves a reward. (For this reason one could analyze אֲשֶׁר as a causal conjunction in this construction.) If אֲשֶׁר refers to the Lord here, then this verse, unlike others using the construction, gives no such reason for the recipient being blessed. 2 Sam 2:5, which provides the closest structural parallel to Ruth 2:20, supports this interpretation: בְּרֻכִים אַתֶּם לַיהוָה אֲשֶׁר עֲשִׂיתֶם הַחֶסֶד הַזֶּה עִם־אֲדֹנֵיכֶם עִם־שָׁאוּל, “May you [plural] be blessed by the Lord, you who [plural]/because you [plural] have extended such kindness to your master Saul.” Here אֲשֶׁר refers back to the second plural pronoun אַתֶּם (’atem, “you”) in the formula, as the second plural verb עֲשִׂיתֶם(’asitem) after אֲשֶׁר indicates. Though יְהוָה (yÿhvah) is in closer proximity to אֲשֶׁר, it is not the antecedent. The evidence suggests that Ruth 2:20 should be translated and interpreted as follows: “May he [Boaz] be blessed by the Lord, he who [i.e., Boaz]/because he [i.e., Boaz] has not abandoned his loyalty to the living and dead.” Cf. NIV, NCV, CEV, NLT. See B. A. Rebera, “Yahweh or Boaz? Ruth 2.20 Reconsidered,” BT 36 (1985): 317-27, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 134-36. By caring for the impoverished widows’ physical needs, Boaz had demonstrated loyalty to both the living (the impoverished widows) and the dead (their late husbands). See R. B. Chisholm, From Exegesis to Exposition, 72.

[2:20]  ²⁰ tn Heb “to the living and the dead” (so KJV, NASB).

[2:20]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew term גָּאַל (ga’al) is sometimes translated “redeemer” here (NIV “one of our kinsman-redeemers”; NLT “one of our family redeemers”). In this context Boaz, as a “redeemer,” functions as a guardian of the family interests who has responsibility for caring for the widows of his deceased kinsmen.

[3:15]  ²⁵ tn Or “cloak” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT); CEV “cape.” The Hebrew noun occurs only here and in Isa 3:22.

[3:15]  ²⁶ tn Heb “which [is] upon you”; NIV, NRSV “you are wearing.”

[3:15]  ²⁷ tn Heb “and she gripped it tightly and he measured out six of barley and placed upon her.” The unit of measure is not indicated in the Hebrew text, although it would probably have been clear to the original hearers of the account. Six ephahs, the equivalent of 180-300 pounds, is clearly too heavy, especially if carried in a garment. Six omers (an omer being a tenth of an ephah) seems too little, since this would have amounted to six-tenths of an ephah, less than Ruth had gleaned in a single day (cf. 2:17). Thus a seah (one third of an ephah) may be in view here; six seahs would amount to two ephahs, about 60 pounds (27 kg). See R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 222, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 178.

[3:15]  ²⁸ tc The MT preserves the 3rd person masculine singular form וַיָּבֹא (vayyavo’, “then he went”; cf. ASV, NAB, NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT), while many medieval mss (supported by the Syriac and Vulgate) have the 3rd person feminine singular form וַתָּבֹא (vattavo’, “then she went”; cf. KJV, NASB, TEV).

[1:5]  ³¹ tn Heb “and the two of them also died, Mahlon and Kilion.”

[1:5]  ³² tn The term יֶלֶד (yeled, “offspring”), from the verb יָלַד (yalad, “to give birth to”), is used only here of a married man. By shifting to this word from the more common term בֵּן (ben, “son”; see vv. 1-5a) and then using it in an unusual manner, the author draws attention to Naomi’s loss and sets up a verbal link with the story’s conclusion (cf. 4:16). Although grown men, they were still her “babies” (see E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 56; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 66).

[3:8]  ³⁷ tn Heb “trembled, shuddered”; CEV, NLT “suddenly woke up.” Perhaps he shivered because he was chilled.

[3:8]  ³⁸ tn The verb לָפַת (lafat) occurs only here, Job 6:18, and Judg 16:29 (where it seems to mean “grab hold of”). Here the verb seems to carry the meaning “bend, twist, turn,” like its Arabic cognate (see HALOT 533 s.v. לפת, and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 163).

[3:8]  ³⁹ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, NASB). The narrator invites the reader to view the situation through Boaz’s eyes.

[3:8]  ⁴⁰ sn Now he saw a woman. The narrator writes from Boaz’s perspective. Both the narrator and the reader know the night visitor is Ruth, but from Boaz’s perspective she is simply “a woman.”

[3:8]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “[at] his legs.” See the note on the word “legs” in v. 4.

[4:10]  ⁴³ tn Heb “in order to raise up the name of the deceased over his inheritance” (NASB similar).

[4:10]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “be cut off” (so NASB, NRSV); NAB “may not perish.”

[4:10]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “and from the gate of his place” (so KJV, ASV); NASB “from the court of his birth place”; NIV “from the town records.”

[4:11]  ⁴⁹ tn Following the jussive, the imperative with prefixed vav indicates purpose or result.

[4:11]  ⁵⁰ tn The phrase וַעֲשֵׂה־חַיִל (va’aseh-khayil, literally, “do strength”) has been variously translated: (1) financial prosperity: “may you become rich” (TEV), “may you be a rich man” (CEV), “may you achieve wealth” (NASB), “may you prosper” (NKJV, NJPS); (2) social prominence: “may you become powerful” (NCV), “may you have standing” (NIV), “may you be great” (NLT), “may you do well” (NAB); (3) reproductive fertility: “may you produce children” (NRSV); and (4) social activity: “may you do a worthy deed” (REB).

[4:11]  ⁵¹ tc Heb “and call a name.” This statement appears to be elliptical. Usually the person named and the name itself follow this expression. Perhaps וּקְרָא־שֵׁם (uqÿra’-shem) should be emended to וְיִקָּרֵא־שֵׁם (vÿyiqqare’-shem), “and your name will be called out,” that is, “perpetuated” (see Gen 48:16, cf. also Ruth 4:14b). The omission of the suffix with “name” could be explained as virtual haplography (note the letter bet [ב], which is similar to kaf [כ], at the beginning of the next word). The same explanation could account for the omission of the prefixed yod (י) on the verb “call” (yod [י] and vav [ו] are similar in appearance). Whether one reads the imperative (the form in the MT) or the jussive (the emended form), the construction indicates purpose or result following the earlier jussive “may he make.”

[4:11]  ⁵² map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[3:1]  ⁵⁵ tn The phrase “sometime later” does not appear in Hebrew but is supplied to mark the implicit shift in time from the events in chapter 2.

[3:1]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “My daughter, should I not seek for you a resting place so that it may go well for you [or which will be good for you]?” The idiomatic, negated rhetorical question is equivalent to an affirmation (see 2:8-9) and has thus been translated in the affirmative (so also NAB, NCV, NRSV, TEV, CEV, NLT).

[3:9]  ⁶¹ tn When Boaz speaks, he uses the feminine form of the pronoun, indicating that he knows she is a woman.

[3:9]  ⁶² tn Here Ruth uses אָמָה (’amah), a more elevated term for a female servant than שִׁפְחָה (shifkhah), the word used in 2:13. In Ruth 2, where Ruth has just arrived from Moab and is very much aware of her position as a foreigner (v. 10), she acknowledges Boaz’s kindness and emphasizes her own humility by using the term שִׁפְחָה, though she admits that she does not even occupy that lowly position on the social scale. However, here in chap. 3, where Naomi sends her to Boaz to seek marriage, she uses the more elevated term אָמָה to describe herself because she is now aware of Boaz’s responsibility as a close relative of her deceased husband and she wants to challenge him to fulfill his obligation. In her new social context she is dependent on Boaz (hence the use of אָמָה), but she is no mere שִׁפְחָה.

[3:9]  ⁶³ tn Heb “and spread your wing [or skirt] over your servant.” Many medieval Hebrew mss have the plural/dual “your wings” rather than the singular “your wing, skirt.” The latter is more likely here in the context of Ruth’s marriage proposal. In the metaphorical account in Ezek 16:8, God spreads his skirt over naked Jerusalem as an act of protection and as a precursor to marriage. Thus Ruth’s words can be taken, in effect, as a marriage proposal (and are so translated here; cf. TEV “So please marry me”). See F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 164-65.

[3:9]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “for you are a גֹאֵל [go’el],” sometimes translated “redeemer” (cf. NIV “a kinsman-redeemer”; NLT “my family redeemer”). In this context Boaz, as a “redeemer,” functions as a guardian of the family interests who has responsibility for caring for the widows of his deceased kinsmen. For a discussion of the legal background, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 166-69.

[4:14]  ⁶⁷ tn Or “redeemer.” See the note on the phrase “guardian of the family interests” in 3:9. As the following context indicates, the child is referred to here.

[4:14]  ⁶⁸ tn The “guardian” is the subject of the verb, as the next verse makes clear.

[4:14]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “may his name be called [i.e., “perpetuated”; see Gen 48:16] in Israel.”

[1:12]  ⁷³ sn Too old to get married again. Naomi may be exaggerating for the sake of emphasis. Her point is clear, though: It is too late to roll back the clock.

[1:12]  ⁷⁴ tn Verse 12b contains the protasis (“if” clause) of a conditional sentence, which is completed by the rhetorical questions in v. 13. For a detailed syntactical analysis, see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 78-79.

[2:13]  ⁷⁹ 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]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “my master”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “my lord.”

[2:13]  ⁸¹ tn Or “comforted” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

[2:13]  ⁸² 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]  ⁸³ 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]  ⁸⁴ 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]  ⁸⁵ tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + verb) is circumstantial (or concessive) here (“even though”).

[2:22]  ⁸⁵ tn Naomi uses the feminine form of the word “servant” (as Boaz did earlier, see v. 8), in contrast to Ruth’s use of the masculine form in the preceding verse. Since she is concerned for Ruth’s safety, she may be subtly reminding Ruth to stay with the female workers and not get too close to the men.

[2:22]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “and they will not harm you in another field”; NRSV “otherwise you might be bothered in another field.”

[3:4]  ⁹¹ tn Heb “and let it be when he lies down”; NAB “But when he lies down.”

[3:4]  ⁹² tn Some define the noun מַרְגְּלוֹת (margÿlot) as “the place for the feet” (see HALOT 631 s.v.; cf. KJV, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT), but in Dan 10:6 the word refers to the legs, or “region of the legs.” For this reason “legs” or “lower body” is the preferred translation (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 152). Because “foot” is sometimes used euphemistically for the genitals, some feel that Ruth uncovered Boaz’s genitals. For a critique of this view see Bush, 153. While Ruth and Boaz did not actually have a sexual encounter at the threshing floor, there is no doubt that Ruth’s actions are symbolic and constitute a marriage proposal.

[3:4]  ⁹³ tc The consonantal text (Kethib) has וְשָׁכָבְתִּי (vÿshakhavtiy, “then I will lie down”; Qal perfect 1st person common singular), while the marginal reading (Qere) is וְשָׁכָבְתְּ (vÿshakhavt, “then you lie down”; Qal perfect 2nd person feminine singular) which makes more sense. It is possible that the Kethib preserves an archaic spelling of the 2nd person feminine singular form (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 144-45).

[3:4]  ⁹⁴ tn The words “beside him” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons; cf. NLT “lie down there.”

[3:4]  ⁹⁵ tn The disjunctive clause structure (vav [ו] + subject + verb) highlights this final word of instruction or signals the conclusion of the instructions.

[4:7]  ⁹⁷ tn Heb “and this formerly in Israel concerning redemption and concerning a transfer to ratify every matter.”

[4:7]  ⁹⁸ 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]  ⁹⁹ tn Heb “the legal witness”; KJV “a testimony”; ASV, NASB “the manner (form NAB) of attestation.”