The Book of Ruth

⭑ Catholic Public Domain Version 2009 ⭑

- Chapter 2 -

But there was a man related to Elimelech, a powerful man, and very wealthy, named Boaz.

And Ruth, the Moabite, said to her mother-in-law, “If you order, I will go into the field and gather the ears of grain which escape the reaping hand, wherever I will find favor with the father of a family, who will be compassionate to me.” She answered her, “Go, my daughter.”(a)

And so she went and gathered the ears of grain after the completion of the reaping. But it happened that this field was owned by Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.

And behold, he came out of Bethlehem and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you.” They answered him, “May the Lord bless you.”

And Boaz said to the young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”(b)

He answered him, “This is the Moabite woman, who came with Naomi, from the land of the Moabites,

and she asked to gather the remnants of the ears of grain, following the steps of the reapers, and from morning until now she has remained in the field, and, indeed, not for one moment has she returned home.”

And Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen to me, daughter. Do not go to gather in any other field, nor depart from this place, but join with my young women,

and follow where they reap. For I have given orders to my young men, so that no one is to harass you. And so, whenever you are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink from the waters that the young men also drink.”(c)

She, falling on her face and paying homage on the ground, said to him: “How did this happen to me, that I should find favor before your eyes, and that you would condescend to accept me, a foreign woman?”

He answered her, “Everything has been reported to me, what things you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, and how you left your parents, and the land in which you were born, and came to a people you did not know before.

May the Lord repay you for your work, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you have come, and under whose wings you have taken refuge.”

She said, “I have found favor before your eyes, my lord, who has consoled me, and you have spoken to the heart of your handmaid, who is unlike one of your young women.”(d)

And Boaz said to her, “When mealtime begins, come here, and eat bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar.” And so she sat beside the reapers, and she piled up parched grain for herself, and she ate and was satisfied, and carried off the leftovers.

And then she arose from there, so as to gather the ears of grain, according to the custom. But Boaz commanded his servants, saying, “If she is even willing to reap with you, do not prevent her,

and purposely let fall some from your bundles, and allow them to remain, so that she may gather without blushing, and let no one rebuke her gathering.”

And so she gathered in the field until evening. And striking and threshing with a staff what she had gathered, she found about the measure of an ephah of barley, that is, three measures.(e)

Carrying this, she returned into the city and showed it to her mother-in-law. Moreover, she offered it to her and even gave her the leftovers of her food, with which she had been satisfied.

And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gathered today, and where have you found work? Blessed is he who took pity on you!” And she informed her with whom she had been working, and she said the man’s name, that he was called Boaz.

Naomi answered her, “May he be blessed by the Lord, because the same kindness which he provided for the living, he also kept for the dead.” And again she said: “This man is our near relative.”(f)

And Ruth said, “He charged me with this also, that from now on I should join with his reapers until all the crop has been reaped.”

And her mother-in-law said to her, “It is better, my daughter, to go out reaping with his young women, lest in a stranger’s field someone may confront you.”(g)

And so, she joined with the young women of Boaz, and from then on reaped with them, until the barley and the wheat were stored in the barns.(h)

Footnotes

(a)2:2 Naomi and Ruth had no husbands, no work (at first), and so they were in fairly dire straits. Their closest relative in the area was Boaz, someone they did not know well.(Conte)

(b)2:5 The word puella means young woman, but there is also a connotation of servitude.(Conte)

(c)2:9 The word molestus means to trouble or to annoy, but there is also clearly a sexual implication, so the word could be translated as molest. But Boaz tells the young men not to harass her, or not to flirt with her. Certainly, Boaz, being a devout Jew, would not have permitted any of his workers to have sexual relations outside of marriage.(Conte)

(d)2:13 The words ancillae and puellarum both refer to young women and both connote a role of some servitude, but ancillae has comparatively the greater degree of servitude.(Conte)

(e)2:17 An ephah is a dry unit of measure approximately equal to three pecks or six gallons. A “measure” in ancient Rome was approximately equivalent to one peck or two gallons. Here again the text beginning with “that is” was probably added at a later date, for those who do not know the Hebrew language.(Conte)

(f)2:20 In previous verses, other terms were used to indicate a relative, but here the word propinquus is used to indicate a particular type of relative, one who is near of kin, or next of kin. The significance is that Naomi and Ruth were hoping that their nearest male relative would give them assistance, and they also hoped that, if he were unmarried, he would fulfill an obligation under Jewish law and custom to take Ruth as his wife. Since Ruth was a foreigner, not of Jewish descent, this obligation would have been somewhat in doubt. Therefore, Naomi and Ruth do not approach him in an open and forthright manner.(Conte)

(g)2:22 In a stranger’s field, someone might object to Ruth because she is a foreigner, or they might assault her.(Conte)

(h)2:23 This time period would be at least several weeks, since their were two crops to harvest and the work was done by hand. The harvest in Israel is completed in the time between Passover and the Feast of Weeks.(Conte)