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Ruth Chapter
Two
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO RUTH 2
In
this chapter we have an account of Ruth's gleaning corn in the fields of Boaz,
a relation of Naomi, 2:1, and of Boaz coming to
his reapers, whom he saluted in a very kind manner; and observing a woman
gleaning after them, inquired of them who she was, and they informed him, 2:4, upon which he addressed himself to her, and gave
her leave to glean in his field, and desired her to go nowhere else, and bid
her eat and drink with his servants, 2:8 and gave
directions to his servants to let her glean, and to let fall some of the
handfuls on purpose, that she might gather them up, 2:15
and then an account is given of her returning to her mother-in-law with her
gleanings, to whom she related where she had gleaned, who was owner of the
field, and what he had said to her, upon which Naomi gave her advice, 2:18.
Ruth
2:1 There was a
relative of Naomi’s husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech.
His name was Boaz.
YLT 1And Naomi hath an acquaintance of her
husband's, a man mighty in wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name
[is] Boaz.
And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's,.... That was
her kinsman by her husband's side, who now lived at Bethlehem; and yet it does
not appear that Naomi made any application to him for assistance in her
circumstances, though well known to her, as the word used signifies; which
might arise from her modesty, and being loath to be troublesome to him,
especially as he was a relation, not of her own family, but of her husband's;
but, what is more strange, that this kinsman had taken no notice of her, nor
sent to her, who yet was a very generous and liberal man, and had knowledge of
her coming, for he had heard of the character of Ruth, 2:11
but perhaps he was not acquainted with their indigent circumstances:
a mighty man of wealth; a man of great wealth
and riches, and of great power and authority, which riches give and raise a man
to, and also of great virtue and honour, all which the word "wealth"
signifies; to which may be added the paraphrase the Targumist gives, that he
was mighty in the law; in the Scriptures, in the word of God, a truly religious
man, which completes his character:
of the family of Elimelech; the husband of Naomi;
some say that his father was Elimelech's brother; see Gill on 2:2,
and his name was Boaz; which signifies,
"in him is strength", strength of riches, power, virtue, and grace;
it is the name of one of the pillars in Solomon's temple, so called from its
strength. This man is commonly said by the Jews to be the same with Ibzan, a
judge of Israel, Judges 12:8, he was
the grandson of Nahshon, prince of the tribe of Judah, who first offered at the
dedication of the altar, Numbers 7:12, his
father's name was Salmon, and his mother was Rahab, the harlot of Jericho, Matthew 1:5. A
particular account is given of this man, because he, with Ruth, makes the
principal part of the following history.
Ruth
2:2 2 So Ruth the Moabitess said
to Naomi, “Please let me go to the field, and glean heads of grain after him
in whose sight I may find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
YLT 2And Ruth the Moabitess saith unto Naomi, `Let
me go, I pray thee, into the field, and I gather among the ears of corn after
him in whose eyes I find grace;' and she saith to her, `Go, my daughter.'
And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi,.... After
they had been some little time at Bethlehem, and not long; for they came at the
beginning of barley harvest, and as yet it was not over, nor perhaps for some
time after this; and knowing and considering the circumstances they were in,
and unwilling to live an idle life, and ready to do any thing for the support
of her life, and of her ancient mother-in-law; which was very commendable, and
showed her to be an industrious virtuous woman: she addressed her, and said:
let me now go to the field; she did not choose to go
any where, nor do anything, without her advice and consent; so dutiful and
obedient was she to her, and so high an opinion had she of her wisdom and
goodness; she desired to go to the field which belonged to Bethlehem, which
seems to have been an open field, not enclosed, where each inhabitant had his
part, as Boaz, 2:3 though Jarchi interprets it of
one of the fields of the men of the city; hither she asked leave to go, not
with any ill intent, nor was she in any danger of being exposed, since it being
harvest time the field was full of people: her end in going thither is
expressed in the next clause:
and glean ears of corn after him, in whose sight I shall find
grace; or "in" or "among the ears of corn"F15בשבלים εν τοις
σταχυσι, Sept. "in spicis", Montanus, Drusius, Piscator;
"inter spicas", De Dieu, Rambachius. ; between the ears of corn bound
up into sheaves, and there pick up the loose ears that were dropped and left.
This she proposed to do with the leave of the owner of the field, or of the
reapers, whom she followed; she might be ignorant that it was allowed by the
law of God that widows and strangers might glean in the field, Leviticus 19:9 or
if she had been acquainted with it by Naomi, which is not improbable, such was
her modesty and humility, that she did not choose to make use of this privilege
without leave; lest, as Jarchi says, she should be chided or reproved, and it
is certain she did entreat the favour to glean, 2:7.
and she said unto her, go, my daughter; which shows
the necessitous circumstances Naomi was in; though perhaps she might give this
leave and direction under an impulse of the Spirit of God, in order to bring
about an event of the greatest moment and importance, whereby she became the
ancestor of our blessed Lord.
Ruth
2:3 3 Then she left, and went
and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the
part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of
Elimelech.
YLT 3And she goeth and cometh and gathereth in a
field after the reapers, and her chance happeneth -- the portion of the field
is Boaz's who [is] of the family of Elimelech.
And she went, and came,.... That is, she went
out of the house where she was, and out of the city, and came into the field;
though, according to the MidrashF16Midrash Ruth, fol. 31. 4. Vid.
Jarchi & Alshech in loc. , she marked the ways as she went, before she
entered into the field, and then came back to the city to observe the marks and
signs she made, that she might not mistake the way, and might know how to come
back again:
and gleaned in the field after the reapers; when they had
cut down and bound up the corn, what fell and was left she picked up, having
first asked leave so to do:
and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto
Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech; the providence of God so
ordering and directing it; for though it was hap and chance to her, and what
some people call good luck, it was according to the purpose, and by the
providence and direction of God that she came to the reapers in that part of
the field Boaz, a near kinsman of her father-in-law, was owner of, and asked
leave of them to glean and follow them.
Ruth
2:4 4 Now behold, Boaz came from
Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And
they answered him, “The Lord
bless you!”
YLT 4And lo, Boaz hath come from Beth-Lehem, and
saith to the reapers, `Jehovah [is] with you;' and they say to him, `Jehovah
doth bless thee.'
And, behold, Boaz came to Bethlehem,.... Into the field, to
see how his workmen went on, and performed their service, and to encourage them
in it by his presence, and by his courteous language and behaviour, and to see
what provisions were wanting, that he might take care and give orders for the
sending of them, it being now near noon, as it may be supposed; and though he
was a man of great wealth, he did not think it below him to go into his field,
and look after his servants, which was highly commendable in him, and which
showed his diligence and industry, as well as his humility. So a king in HomerF17Iliad.
18. ver. 556,557. is represented as among his reapers, with his sceptre in his
hand, and cheerful. PlinyF18Nat. Hist. l. 18. c. 6. relates it, as a
saying of the ancients, that the eye of the master is the most fruitful thing
in the field; and AristotleF19De Administrat. Domestic. l. 1. c. 6.
reports, that a Persian being asked what fattened a horse most, replied, the
eye of the master; and an African being asked what was the best dung for land,
answered, the steps of his master:
and said unto the reapers, the Lord be with you; to give them
health, and strength, and industry in their work; the Targum is,"may the
Word of the Lord be your help:"
and they answered him, the Lord bless you; with a good
harvest, and good weather to gather it in; and though these salutations were of
a civil kind, yet they breathe the true spirit of sincere and undissembled
piety, and show the sense that both master and servants had of the providence
of God attending the civil affairs of life, without whose help, assistance, and
blessing, nothing succeeds well.
Ruth
2:5 5 Then Boaz said to his
servant who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
YLT 5And Boaz saith to his young man who is set
over the reapers, `Whose [is] this young person?'
Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers,.... To direct
them their work, what part each was to do, and to see that they did it well; to
take care for provisions for them, and to pay them their wages when their work
was done. JosephusF20Antiqu. l. 5. c. 9. sect. 2. calls him αγροκομος, that had the care of the field, and all things relative to it;
the JewsF21Midrash Ruth, fol. 32. 1. say, he was set over two and
forty persons, whom he had the command of:
whose damsel is this? to whom does she belong?
of what family is she? whose daughter is she? or whose wife? for he thought, as
Aben Ezra notes, that she was another man's wife; the Targum is, of what nation
is she? perhaps her dress might be somewhat different from that of the
Israelitish women.
Ruth
2:6 6 So the servant who was in
charge of the reapers answered and said, “It is the young Moabite woman
who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.
YLT 6And the young man who is set over the reapers
answereth and saith, `A young woman -- Moabitess -- she [is], who came back
with Naomi from the fields of Moab,
And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said,.... Who had
taken a great deal of notice of Ruth, and had conversed with her, and so was
capable of giving answers to his master's question:
it is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi, out of the
country of Moab; perhaps he had not got knowledge of her name, and therefore only
describes her by the country from whence she came; and by her coming from
thence along with Naomi, when she returned from Moab, with whose name Boaz was
well acquainted, and of whose return he had been informed; and perhaps had seen
her in person, and even Ruth also, though he might have forgot her; the Targum
makes the servant to add, that she was become a proselytess.
Ruth
2:7 7 And she said, ‘Please let
me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came and has
continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house.”
YLT 7and she saith, Let me glean, I pray thee --
and I have gathered among the sheaves after the reapers; and she cometh and
remaineth since the morning and till now; she sat in the house a little.
And she said,.... These are the words of the servant
continued, who goes on with the account of Ruth, and her conduct, since she had
been in the field:
I pray you let me glean, and gather after the reapers among the
sheaves: for though by the law of Israel she had a right, as a poor widow
and stranger, to glean, yet as the owner of the field, and his servants, by his
appointment, under him, might have power of fixing the time when such might
glean, and of judging who were the proper persons to be admitted, Ruth in her
great modesty and meekness did not choose to enter on this work without leave:
so she came; into the field and gleaned, having obtained leave:
and hath continued even from the morning until now; had been very
diligent and industrious in gathering up the loose ears of corn among the
sheaves, as she followed the reapers cutting down and binding up the corn in
sheaves; she began pretty early in the morning, and had stuck close to it till
that time, which may be supposed to be about noon, or pretty near it, for as
yet it was not mealtime, 2:14. The Septuagint
version is therefore very wrong, which reads"from the morning until the
evening,'for that was not yet come, 2:17 but
she tarried a little in the house; not that she went home
to the city, and stayed a little in the house of Naomi her mother, and then
returned again, for she went not home until the evening, 2:17,
but the meaning of the passage is, that she had been constant and diligent in
gleaning all the morning, only a very little time that she was in the house,
which was in the field; either a farm house of Boaz adjoining to the field; or
rather a cottage or booth, as Aben Ezra interprets it, which was in the field,
whither the reapers betook themselves when they ate their meals; or to shelter
themselves under the shade of it, as Abendana, from the heat of the sun at
noonday; and here Ruth set herself down awhile for a little rest, and ease, and
refreshment; and some think she was here when Boaz came, and therefore took the
more notice of her.
Ruth
2:8 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth,
“You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another
field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women.
YLT 8And Boaz saith unto Ruth, `Hast thou not
heard, my daughter? go not to glean in another field, and also, pass not over
from this, and thus thou dost cleave to my young women:
Then said Boaz unto Ruth,.... Having heard what
the servant said concerning her, he turned himself to her, and addressed her in
the following manner:
hearest thou not, my daughter? meaning not what the
servant had said, but hereby exciting her to hearken to what he was about to
say to her. NoldiusF23Ebr. Concord. part. p. 257. No. 1150. takes
the particle to signify beseeching and entreating, and renders the words,
"hear, I pray thee, my daughter". Some from hence conclude that Boaz
was a man in years, and Ruth much younger than he, and therefore calls her his
daughter:
go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence; which she
might be inclined to, lest she should be thought to be too troublesome to be
always in one man's field; but Boaz taking a liking to her, and willing to do
her some favour, chose she should not go elsewhere:
but abide here fast by my maidens; not maidens that gleaned
also as she did, poor maidens he permitted to glean; or that gleaned for the
poor, and much less that gleaned for him; a person so rich and liberal as he
was would never employ such for his advantage, and to the detriment of the
poor; nor would it be admitted of it being contrary to the law as it should
seem, and certain it is to the later traditions of the elders; for it is saidF24Misnah
Peah, c. 5. sect. 6. ,"a man may not hire a workman on this condition,
that his son should glean after him; he who does not suffer the poor to glean,
or who suffers one and not another, or who helps any one of them, robs the
poor.'But these maidens were such, who either gathered the handfuls, cut and
laid down by the reapers, and bound them up in sheaves, or else they also
reaped, as it seems from the following verse; and it was very probably
customary in those times for women to reap, as it is now with us.
Ruth
2:9 9 Let
your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Have I not
commanded the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the
vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.”
YLT 9thine eyes [are] on the field which they
reap, and thou hast gone after them; have not I charged the young men not to
touch thee? when thou art athirst then thou hast gone unto the vessels, and
hast drunk from that which the young men draw.'
Let thine eyes be upon the field that they do reap, and go thou
after them,.... And gather up the loose ears of corn dropped and left by
them:
have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? do her no
hurt, or offer any incivility or rudeness to her, or even play any wanton
tricks with her, as is too common with young persons in the fields at harvest
time. This charge he now gave in her hearing, or however suggests that he
would, and therefore she might depend upon it she should have no molestation
nor any affront given her:
and when thou art athirst: as at such a season of
the year, and in the field at such work, and in those hot countries, was
frequently the case:
go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have
drawn; which they had fetched from wells and fountains in or near the
city, and had put into bottles, pitchers, &c. for the use of the reapers
and gatherers; we read of the well of Bethlehem, 2 Samuel 23:15 now
she is ordered to go to these vessels, and drink when she pleased, without
asking leave of any; and Boaz no doubt gave it in charge to his young men not
to hinder her.
Ruth
2:10 10 So she fell on her face,
bowed down to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your
eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”
YLT 10And she falleth on her face, and boweth
herself to the earth, and saith unto him, `Wherefore have I found grace in
thine eyes, to discern me, and I a stranger?'
Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,.... In great
humility, and under a deep sense of the favour done her, and as showing the
greatest respect, in a civil manner, she was capable of:
and said unto him, why have I found grace in thine eyes: how is it
that one so mean and unworthy should have such favour shown?
that thou shouldest take knowledge of me; take such
notice of her, show such affection to her, and bestow such kindness on her:
seeing I am a stranger? not a citizen of
Bethlehem, nor indeed one of the commonwealth of Israel; but, as the
Targum,"of a strange people, of the daughters of Moab, and of a people who
were not fit and worthy to enter into the congregation of the Lord.'
Ruth
2:11 11 And
Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you
have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how
you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have
come to a people whom you did not know before.
YLT 11And Boaz answereth and saith to her, `It hath
thoroughly been declared to me all that thou hast done with thy mother-in-law,
after the death of thy husband, and thou dost leave thy father, and thy mother,
and the land of thy birth, and dost come in unto a people which thou hast not
known heretofore.
And Boaz answered and said unto her,.... Alshech thinks, that
he lift up his voice that all that stood by might hear:
it hath fully been showed me; either by Naomi, or
rather by some persons of Boaz's Naomi and reacquaintance, that had conversed
with Naomi and related to Boaz what passed between them, by which he was fully
informed of the following things mentioned by him; though the above writer
supposes, that it was showed him by the Holy Ghost:
all that thou hast done to thy mother in law since the death of
thine husband; how that, instead of going home to her father and mother, she
continued with her; how tenderly she used her; what strong expressions of love
she had made unto her; what care she had taken of her, and how she had fed and
nourished her, as the Targum, and now was gleaning for her support, as well as
her own:
and how thou hast left thy father and mother; in a literal
sense, to go along with her mother-in-law, to assist her in her journey, and
see her safe to the end of it: and in a figurative sense her idol gods, as in Jeremiah 2:27 so
the MidrashF25Midrash Ruth, fol. 32. 3. :
and the land of thy nativity; the land of Moab, where
she was born, and where her kindred, relations, and friends lived, dear and
engaging to her:
and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore; but by
hearsay, and what she learned of them from her husband and mother-in-law, even
the people of Israel; to whom she was come to be a proselyte, and dwell among
them, as the Targum.
Ruth
2:12 12 The Lord repay your
work, and a full reward be given you by the Lord God of Israel,
under whose wings you have come for refuge.”
YLT 12Jehovah doth recompense thy work, and thy
reward is complete from Jehovah, God of Israel, under whose wings thou hast
come to take refuge.'
The Lord recompence thy work,.... The Targum adds, in
this world; meaning the kind offices she had performed, and the good service
she had done to her mother-in-law; nor is God unrighteous to forget the work
and labour of love, which is shown by children to their parents; and though
such works are not in themselves meritorious of any blessing from God here or
hereafter, yet he is pleased of his own grace to recompence them, and return
the good into their bosom manifold, it being acceptable in his sight:
and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel; the Targum
adds, in the world to come; which is called the reward of the inheritance, Colossians 3:24 a
reward not of debt, but of grace; and that will be a full one indeed, fulness
of joy, peace, and happiness, an abundance of good things not to be conceived
of, see 2 John 1:8,
under whose wings thou art come to trust; whom she
professed to be her God, and whom she determined to serve and worship; whose
grace and favour she expected, and to whose care and protection she committed
herself: the allusion is either to fowls, which cover their young with their
wings, and thereby keep them warm and comfortable, and shelter and protect
them, see Psalm 36:7 or to
the wings of the cherubim overshadowing the mercy seat, Exodus 25:20 and
the phrase is now adopted by the Jews to express proselytism; and so the Targum
here,"thou art come to be proselyted, and to be hid under the wings of the
Shechinah of his glory,'or his glorious Shechinah.
Ruth
2:13 13 Then she said, “Let me
find favor in your sight, my lord; for you have comforted me, and have spoken
kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants.”
YLT 13And she saith, `Let me find grace in thine
eyes, my lord, because thou hast comforted me, and because thou hast spoken
unto the heart of thy maid-servant, and I -- I am not as one of thy
maid-servants.'
Then she said, let me find favour in thy sight, my lord,.... Or
rather, since she had found favour in his sight already: the words are to be
considered, not as a wish for it, but as acknowledging it, and expressing her
faith and confidence, that she should for time to come find favour in his
sight, and have other instances of it; for so the words may be rendered,
"I shall find favour"F26אמצא חן "inveniam gratiam", Pagninus, Montanus. , for
which she gives the following reasons:
for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken
friendly unto thine handmaid; had spoken in her commendation, and wished
her all happiness here and hereafter; said kind and comfortable words to her,
to her very heart, as in Isaiah 40:2 which
were cheering, refreshing, and reviving to her:
though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens; not worthy to
be one of them, or to be ranked with them, being meaner than the meanest of
them, a poor widow, and a Moabitish woman; the Septuagint and Syriac versions
leave out the negative particle, and read, "I shall be as one of thine
handmaids".
Ruth
2:14 14 Now Boaz said to her at
mealtime, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the
vinegar.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed parched grain to
her; and she ate and was satisfied, and kept some back.
YLT 14And Boaz saith to her, `At meal-time come
nigh hither, and thou hast eaten of the bread, and dipped thy morsel in the
vinegar.' And she sitteth at the side of the reapers, and he reacheth to her
roasted corn, and she eateth, and is satisfied, and leaveth.
And Boaz said, at mealtime come thou hither,.... This
looks as if she was now in the booth, or house in the field, where the reapers
used to retire to eat their food, or rest themselves, or take shelter from the
heat of the sun. This meal was very likely dinner, the time of which was not
yet come, but would soon, and to which Boaz invited Ruth:
and eat of the bread; his servants did, that
is, partake of the provisions they should have; bread being put for all. So
HomerF1Iliad. 18. ver. 559, 560. speaks of a large ox slain for such
a meal for the reapers, besides the "polenta" afterwards mentioned,
which the women prepared, and who uses the same word for it the Septuagint does
here: "to dip thy morsel in the vinegar"; which was used because of
the heat of the season, as Jarchi and Aben Ezra remark, for cooling and
refreshment; and such virtues PlinyF2Nat. Hist. l. 23. c. 1.
ascribes to vinegar, as being refreshing to the spirits, binding and bracing
the nerves, and very corroborating and strengthening; and it is at this day
used in Italy, it is said, in harvest time, when it is hot; where they also use
wine mixed with vinegar and water, as Lavater saysF3In loc. ; and
who from a learned physicianF4Christophor. "a Vega de arte
Medendi", l. 2. apud ib. observes, that reapers, instead of wine, use
vinegar mixed with a great deal of water, which they call household wine,
allayed with water; to which if oil and bread be put, it makes a cooling meal,
good for workmen and travellers in the heat of the sun; and the Targum calls it
pottage boiled in vinegar. The Romans had an "embamma", or sauce,
made of vinegar, in which they dipped their foodF5Salmuth in
Pancirol, par. 2. tit. 2. p. 83. ; and TheocritusF6Idyll, 10. ver.
13. makes mention of vinegar as used by reapers: in the Syriac version it is
bread dipped in milk; and in the Arabic version milk poured upon it. The
MidrashF7Melrash Ruth, fol. 33. 2. gives an allegorical sense of
these words, and applies them to the Messiah and his kingdom, and interprets
the bread of the bread of the kingdom, and the vinegar of the chastisements and
afflictions of the Messiah, as it is said, "he was wounded for our transgressions",
&c. Isaiah 53:5 which,
by the way, is a concession that the prophecy in that chapter relates to him:
and she sat beside the reapers; the women reapers; she
did not sit along with them, or in thee midst of them, in the row with them, as
ranking with them, but on one side of them, which was an instance of her great
modesty:
and he reached her parched corn; either Boaz himself, or
he that was set over the reapers. This parched corn seems to be the new barley
they were reaping, which they fried in a pan and ate. Galen saysF8De
Aliment. Facult. l. 1. apud Lavater. in loc. , the parched corn which is best
is made of new barley moderately dried and parched; and that it was the custom
of some to drink the same with new sweet wine, or wine mixed with honey, in the
summertime, before they went into the bath, who say they feel themselves by
this drink freed from thirst. But this seems to be a kind of food, what is
sometimes called "polenta", which is barley flour dried at the fire,
and fried after it hath been soaking in water one night; so Lavater says, they
dry the barley, having been soaked one night in water, the next day they dry
it, and then grind it in mills; some dress new barley beaten out of green ears,
and make it while moist into balls, and being cleansed, grind it; and thus
dressed with twenty pound of barley, they put three pound of linseed, half a
pound of coriander seed, and of salt, all being dried before, are mingled in a
mill; and if to be kept, are put into new earthen vessels with the meal and
bran: but a later writerF9Neumann. apud Rambachium in loc. takes
this "Kali", rendered parched corn, not to be anyone certain species,
but something made of corn and pulse, as lentiles, beans, &c. and
especially fried or parched vetches, of all which together was this kali or
pulse; and he refutes the notion of some, who take it to be "coffee",
since that has only been in use since the beginning of the sixteenth century,
and at first in Arabia; and is not of the kind of pulse, but is the fruit of a
certain tree, of which a liquor is made, something to drink; whereas this was
food, and was ate, as follows, see 2 Samuel 17:28.
and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left; she had such
a plentiful share given her, that she had more than she could eat, and was
obliged to leave some, and which it seems she carried home to her
mother-in-law, 2:18.
Ruth
2:15 15 And when she rose up to
glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the
sheaves, and do not reproach her.
YLT 15And she riseth to glean, and Boaz chargeth
his young men, saying, `Even between the sheaves she doth glean, and ye do not
cause her to blush;
And when she was risen up to glean,.... After she had ate
sufficiently, and refreshed herself, she rose up from her seat to go into the
field and glean again; which shows her industry:
Boaz commanded his young men; the reapers, or who
gathered the handfuls, and bound them up in sheaves:
saying, let her glean even among the sheaves; this she had
requested of the reapers when she first came into the field, and it was granted
her, 2:7 but this, as it was granted by Boaz
himself, so was still a greater favour; and there is some difference in the
expression, for it may be rendered here, "among those sheaves"F8בין העמרים "inter ipsos
manipulos", Tigurine version, Rambachius. , pointing to a particular spot
where might be the best ears of corn, and where more of them had fallen:
and reproach her not; as not with her being a
poor woman, a widow, a Moabitish woman, so neither with being a thief, or
taking such corn she should not, or gleaning where she ought not.
Ruth
2:16 16 Also let grain from
the bundles fall purposely for her; leave it that she may glean, and do
not rebuke her.”
YLT 16and also ye do surely cast to her of the
handfuls -- and have left, and she hath gleaned, and ye do not push against
her.'
And let fall some of the handfuls on purpose for her,.... That is,
when they had reaped an handful, instead of laying it in its proper order, to
be taken up by those that gathered after them, or by themselves, in order to be
bound up in sheaves, scatter it about, or let it fall where they reaped it:
and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not for taking
them, as if she did a wrong thing.
Ruth
2:17 17 So she gleaned in the
field until evening, and beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an
ephah of barley.
YLT 17And she gleaneth in the field till the
evening, and beateth out that which she hath gleaned, and it is about an ephah
of barley;
So she gleaned in the field until even,.... An
instance of her great diligence and industry, attending to this mean employment
constantly from morning tonight:
and beat out that she had gleaned: she did not bind up her
gleanings in a bundle, and carry it home on her head, as gleaners with us do,
but she beat it out with a staff in the field, where she gleaned it, and
winnowed it, very probably in the threshingfloor of Boaz; by which means what
she had gleaned was brought into a lesser size and weight, and was a lighter
burden to carry home:
and it was an ephah of barley; or three seahs of
barley, as the Targum; which, according to Bishop CumberlandF9Of
Scripture Weights and Measures, ch. 3. p. 64. , was six gallons, and three
pints, and three solid inches: an omer is said to be the tenth part of an
ephah, and, made into bread, was as much as a man could eat in one day, Exodus 16:16, so
that Ruth got enough in one day, for herself and her mother-in-law, which would
last five days at least. This was a great deal for one woman to pick up, ear by
ear, in one day; and must be accounted for, not only by her diligence and
industry, but by the favour shown her by the reapers, under the direction of
Boaz, who suffered her to glean among the sheaves, and let fall handfuls for
her to pick up.
Ruth
2:18 18 Then she took it up
and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. So she
brought out and gave to her what she had kept back after she had been
satisfied.
YLT 18and she taketh [it] up, and goeth into the
city, and her mother-in-law seeth that which she hath gleaned, and she bringeth
out and giveth to her that which she left from her satiety.
And she took it up,.... The ephah of barley, into her arms, or
on her shoulders:
and went into the city; the city of Bethlehem:
and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: she set it
down before her, and she looked at it with admiration, that she should glean so
much in one day:
and she brought forth; not Naomi, as JosephusF11Antiqu
l. 5. c. 9. sect. 2. represents it, who understood it as if she brought forth
some food her neighbours had brought her, part of which she kept for Ruth,
though he takes it in the other sense also; but the meaning is, that Ruth
brought forth out of a scrip, as the Targum adds; besides the ephah of barley
she set before her, she brought some victuals out of a bag:
and gave to her, that she had reserved after she was sufficed; not that she
ate of the barley, and her mother-in-law also; and then she gave her the rest
to lay up against another time, as some interpret it; but the remainder of the
food which Boaz gave her at dinner time, which she could not eat, 2:14 she reserved for her mother, and now gave it to
her; an instance of that piety commended by the apostle, 1 Timothy 5:4.
Ruth
2:19 19 And her mother-in-law said
to her, “Where have you gleaned today? And where did you work? Blessed be the
one who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had
worked, and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
YLT 19And her mother-in-law saith to her, `Where
hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? may he who is discerning
thee be blessed.' And she declareth to her mother-in-law with whom she hath
wrought, and saith, `The name of the man with whom I have wrought to-day [is]
Boaz.'
And her mother in law said unto her, where hast thou gleaned today?.... In what
part of the field of Bethlehem? or on whose land, that she had gleaned so much?
not that she suspected that she had got it in an illicit manner, but supposed
she had been directed by the providence of God to a spot of ground where there
was good gleaning; of that she had met with some hand, that had dropped ears of
corn plentifully in her favour:
and where wroughtest thou? which is the same
question repeated in other words, and shows that gleaning is a work, and a hard
work too, closely followed, to be stooping and picking up ears of corn a whole
day together:
blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee: she knew, by
the quantity of corn she brought home, that she must have had kindness shown
her by somebody; and especially she knew it by the food she brought home, and
therefore pronounced the man blessed, or wished him happiness, before she knew
who he was; though perhaps she might guess at him, or conjecture in her mind
who it was that had taken notice of her:
and she showed her mother in law with whom she had wrought: that is, with
whose reapers, men and maidens, she had wrought, whom she followed in gleaning,
they working in one sort of work, and she in another, yet in the same field:
the man's name with whom I wrought today is Boaz; that is, in
whose field, and with whose servants, she wrought; for Boaz wrought not
himself, unless this can be understood of her eating and drinking with him; but
the other sense is best.
Ruth
2:20 20 Then Naomi said to her
daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he of the Lord, who has not
forsaken His kindness to the living and the dead!” And Naomi said to her, “This
man is a relation of ours, one of our close relatives.”
YLT 20And Naomi saith to her daughter-in-law,
`Blessed [is] he of Jehovah who hath not forsaken His kindness with the living
and with the dead;' and Naomi saith to her, `The man is a relation of ours; he
[is] of our redeemers.'
And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, blessed be he of the Lord,.... Or the
Lord bless him with all kind of blessings, temporal and spiritual; and as he
has blessed him already, may he be blessed more and more:
who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead; he had been
kind to Elimelech and to his sons, who were now dead, and he continued his
kindness to the reliefs of them, Naomi and Ruth, who were living, and was kind
to them for the sake of the dead; and showing kindness to them expressed his
respect to the memory of the dead:
and Naomi said unto her; continued her speech to her,
and added to what she had said:
the man is near of kin to us; a near relation of ours,
meaning by her husband's side: yea:
one of our next kinsmen; the nearest we have,
there was but one nearer than he: the word for kinsman here is
"Goel", a redeemer; for to such who were in the degree of kindred as
Boaz was, and he that was nearer still than he to them, belonged the right of
redemption, and therefore were called by the name of "Goel", a
redeemer, as Ben Melech observes; they had a right to avenge the blood of the
slain, to redeem their houses and possessions, if sold or mortgaged, and their
persons by marrying them, and raising up seed to a deceased brother, or
kinsman.
Ruth
2:21 21 Ruth
the Moabitess said, “He also said to me, ‘You shall stay close by my young men
until they have finished all my harvest.’”
YLT 21And Ruth the Moabitess saith, `Also he surely
said unto me, Near the young people whom I have thou dost cleave till they have
completed the whole of the harvest which I have.'
And Ruth the Moabitess said, he said unto me also,.... Besides
the favours he has shown me already, he has given me reason to expect more, for
he has given me this strict order:
thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my
harvest; both barley harvest and wheat harvest; his will was, that she
kept following them, and gleaned after them, as long as both harvests lasted.
The Septuagint version is, "with my maidens", and which agrees with 2:8, where the order of Boaz is expressed, and with the
instructions of Naomi in the next verse, who so understood it; but if we
understand it of young men here, there is no contradiction; for both young men
and maidens wrought together in the same field, either in reaping or binding
up; so that if she kept fast by the one, she also would do the same by the
other.
Ruth
2:22 22 And Naomi said to Ruth her
daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his
young women, and that people do not meet you in any other field.”
YLT 22And Naomi saith unto Ruth her
daughter-in-law, `Good, my daughter, that thou goest out with his young women,
and they come not against thee in another field.'
And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law,.... Observing
the charge Boaz had given her, she thought fit to advise her upon it:
it is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens; that is, go
out in the morning with them, set out from Bethlehem when they went to work,
and so continue with them all the day:
that they meet thee not in any other field; the meaning
is, either that men might not meet her in another field alone, or rush upon her
at once and unawares, and reproach her, or beat her, or indeed force her; or
else that the servants of Boaz might not meet her, or see her in another field,
and report it to their master, who would be offended at her; and take it as a
slight of his kindness to her; which latter seems rather to be the sense.
Ruth
2:23 23 So she stayed close by the
young women of Boaz, to glean until the end of barley harvest and wheat
harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
YLT 23And she cleaveth to the young women of Boaz
to glean, till the completion of the barley-harvest, and of the wheat-harvest,
and she dwelleth with her mother-in-law.
So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean,.... Accepting
the kindness of Boaz, and attending to the advice of her mother-in-law, as well
as using all diligence to get a livelihood for her mother and herself; in which
she was a wonderful instance of dutiful affection, humility, and industry: and
so she continued
unto the end of barley harvest, and of wheat harvest; which latter
began at Pentecost, as the former did at the passover; and, according to the
MidrashF12Midrash Ruth, fol. 33. so Alshech in loc. , from the
beginning of the one, to the end of the other, were three months; though it may
be, they were gathered in sooner: indeed from the passover to Pentecost were
seven weeks, which was the difference between the beginning of one harvest, and
the beginning of the other:
and dwelt with her mother in law; which is to be
understood either of her coming home at night, after she had been gleaning all
day, and lodging with her mother-in-law, which was her constant custom during
both harvests; or that after the harvests were ended, she continued to dwell
with her mother-in-law; which seems to be added for the sake of carrying on the
history in the following chapter.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》