The Book of Ruth

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- 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)

Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.

Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.”

She went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.

Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “May The LORD be with you.” They answered him, “May The LORD bless you.”

Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, “Whose young lady is this?”

The servant who was set over the reapers answered, “It is the Moabite lady who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.

She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came, and has continued even from the morning until now, except that she rested a little in the house.”

Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go to glean in another field, and don’t go from here, but stay here close to my maidens.

Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them. Haven’t I commanded the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink from that which the young men have drawn.”

Then she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, since I am a foreigner?”

Boaz answered her, “I have been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father, your mother, and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you didn’t know before.

May the LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, because you have comforted me, and because you have spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not as one of your servants.”

At meal time Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat some bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar.” She sat beside the reapers, and they passed her parched grain. She ate, was satisfied, and left some of it.

When she had risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and don’t reproach her.

Also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it. Let her glean, and don’t rebuke her.”

So she gleaned in the field until evening; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah(a) of barley.

She took it up, and went into the city. Then her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left after she had enough.

Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? Where have you worked? Blessed be he who noticed you.” She told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”

Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not abandoned his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Naomi said to her, “The man is a close relative to us, one of our near kinsmen.”

Ruth the Moabitess said, “Yes, he said to me, ‘You shall stay close to my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’”

Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, and that they not meet you in any other field.”

So she stayed close to the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she lived with her mother-in-law.

Footnotes

(a)2:17 1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel