Ruth 3:7-8

3:7 When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap. ¹  Then Ruth ²  crept up quietly, ³  uncovered his legs, ⁴  and lay down beside him. ⁵  3:8 In the middle of the night he was startled ⁶  and turned over. ⁷  Now ⁸  he saw a woman ⁹  lying beside him! ¹⁰ 

[3:7]  ¹ tn Heb “and Boaz ate and drank and his heart was well and he went to lie down at the end of the heap”; NAB “at the edge of the sheaves.”

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

[3:7]  ³ sn Ruth must have waited until Boaz fell asleep, for he does not notice when she uncovers his legs and lies down beside him.

[3:7]  ⁴ tn See the note on the word “legs” in v. 4.

[3:7]  ⁵ tn The words “beside him” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Cf. TEV “at his feet”; CEV “near his feet.”

[3:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “trembled, shuddered”; CEV, NLT “suddenly woke up.” Perhaps he shivered because he was chilled.

[3:8]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Heb “and behold” (so KJV, NASB). The narrator invites the reader to view the situation through Boaz’s eyes.

[3:8]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “[at] his legs.” See the note on the word “legs” in v. 4.