Ruth 4:2

4:2 Boaz chose ten of the village leaders ¹  and said, “Sit down here!” So they sat down.

Ruth 1:19

1:19 So the two of them ²  journeyed together until they arrived in Bethlehem. ³ 

Naomi and Ruth Arrive in Bethlehem

When they entered ⁴  Bethlehem, ⁵  the whole village was excited about their arrival. ⁶  The women of the village said, ⁷  “Can this be Naomi?” ⁸ 

Ruth 2:18

Ruth Returns to Naomi

2:18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw ⁹  how much grain ¹⁰  she had gathered. Then Ruth ¹¹  gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime. ¹² 

Ruth 3:15

3:15 Then he said, “Hold out the shawl ¹³  you are wearing ¹⁴  and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about sixty pounds ¹⁵  of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he ¹⁶  went into town,

[4:2]  ¹ tn Heb “and he took ten men from the elders of the town.”

[1:19]  ² tn The suffix “them” appears to be masculine, but it is probably an archaic dual form (E. F. Campbell, Ruth [AB], 65; F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 75-76).

[1:19]  ³ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[1:19]  ⁴ tn The temporal indicator וַיְהִי (vayÿhi, “and it was”) here introduces a new scene.

[1:19]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[1:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “because of them” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); CEV “excited to see them.”

[1:19]  ⁷ tn Heb “they said,” but the verb form is third person feminine plural, indicating that the women of the village are the subject.

[1:19]  ⁸ tn Heb “Is this Naomi?” (so KJV, NASB, NRSV). The question here expresses surprise and delight because of the way Naomi reacts to it (F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 92).

[2:18]  ³ 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]  ⁴ tn Heb “that which”; the referent (how much grain) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:18]  ⁶ tn Heb “and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left over from her being satisfied.”

[3:15]  ⁴ tn Or “cloak” (so NAB, NRSV, NLT); CEV “cape.” The Hebrew noun occurs only here and in Isa 3:22.

[3:15]  ⁵ tn Heb “which [is] upon you”; NIV, NRSV “you are wearing.”

[3:15]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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).