17 So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.
18 And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.
19 And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.
20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.
22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.
23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.
17 So she gleaned H3950 in the field H7704 until even, H6153 and beat out H2251 that she had gleaned: H3950 and it was about an ephah H374 of barley. H8184
18 And she took it up, H5375 and went H935 into the city: H5892 and her mother in law H2545 saw H7200 what she had gleaned: H3950 and she brought forth, H3318 and gave H5414 to her that she had reserved H3498 after she was sufficed. H7648
19 And her mother in law H2545 said H559 unto her, Where hast thou gleaned H3950 to day? H3117 and where H375 wroughtest H6213 thou? blessed H1288 be he that did take knowledge H5234 of thee. And she shewed H5046 her mother in law H2545 with whom she had wrought, H6213 and said, H559 The man's H376 name H8034 with whom I wrought H6213 to day H3117 is Boaz. H1162
20 And Naomi H5281 said H559 unto her daughter in law, H3618 Blessed H1288 be he of the LORD, H3068 who hath not left off H5800 his kindness H2617 to the living H2416 and to the dead. H4191 And Naomi H5281 said H559 unto her, The man H376 is near of kin H7138 unto us, one of our next kinsmen. H1350
21 And Ruth H7327 the Moabitess H4125 said, H559 He said H559 unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast H1692 by my young men, H5288 until they have ended H3615 all my harvest. H7105
22 And Naomi H5281 said H559 unto Ruth H7327 her daughter in law, H3618 It is good, H2896 my daughter, H1323 that thou go out H3318 with his maidens, H5291 that they meet H6293 thee not in any other H312 field. H7704
23 So she kept fast H1692 by the maidens H5291 of Boaz H1162 to glean H3950 unto the end H3615 of barley H8184 harvest H7105 and of wheat H2406 harvest; H7105 and dwelt H3427 with her mother in law. H2545
17 So she gleaned in the field until even; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
18 And she took it up, and went into the city; and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth and gave to her that which she had left after she was sufficed.
19 And her mother-in-law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to-day is Boaz.
20 And Naomi said unto her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Jehovah, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is nigh of kin unto us, one of our near kinsmen.
21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, Yea, he said unto me, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.
22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, and that they meet thee not in any other field.
23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
17 And she gleaneth in the field till the evening, and beateth out that which she hath gleaned, and it is about an ephah of barley;
18 and 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.
19 And 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.'
20 And 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.'
21 And 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.'
22 And 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.'
23 And 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.
17 And she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out what she had gleaned; and it was about an ephah of barley.
18 And she took [it] up, and came into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought forth and gave to her that which she had reserved after she was sufficed.
19 And her mother-in-law said to her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? Blessed be he that did regard thee! And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to-day is Boaz.
20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Jehovah, who has not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead! And Naomi said to her, The man is near of kin to us, one of those who have the right of our redemption.
21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said to me also, Thou shalt keep with my young men until they have ended all my harvest.
22 And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.
23 So she kept with the maidens of Boaz to glean, until the end of the barley-harvest and of the wheat-harvest. And she dwelt with her mother-in-law.
17 So she gleaned in the field until even; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
18 She took it up, and went into the city; and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth and gave to her that which she had left after she was sufficed.
19 Her mother-in-law said to her, Where have you gleaned today? and where have you worked? blessed be he who did take knowledge of you. She shown her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz.
20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Yahweh, who has not left off 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.
21 Ruth the Moabitess said, Yes, he said to me, You shall keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.
22 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.
23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she lived with her mother-in-law.
17 So she went on getting together the heads of grain till evening; and after crushing out the seed it came to about an ephah of grain.
18 And she took it up and went into the town; and she let her mother-in-law see what she had got, and after taking enough for herself she gave her the rest.
19 And her mother-in-law said to her, Where did you take up the grain today, and where were you working? May a blessing be on him who gave such attention to you. And she gave her mother-in-law an account of where she had been working, and said, The name of the man with whom I was working today is Boaz.
20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, May the blessing of the Lord, who has at all times been kind to the living and to the dead, be on him. And Naomi said to her, The man is of our family, one of our near relations.
21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, Truly, he said to me, Keep near my young men till all my grain is cut.
22 And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, It is better, my daughter, for you to go out with his servant-girls, so that no danger may come to you in another field.
23 So she kept near the servant-girls of Boaz to take up the grain till the cutting of the early grain and the cutting of the late grain were ended; and she went on living with her mother-in-law.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Ruth 2
Commentary on Ruth 2 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 2
Ru 2:1-3. Ruth Gleans in the Field of Boaz.
2. Ruth … said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean—The right of gleaning was conferred by a positive law on the widow, the poor, and the stranger (see on Le 19:9 and De 24:19). But liberty to glean behind the reapers [Ru 2:3] was not a right that could be claimed; it was a privilege granted or refused according to the good will or favor of the owner.
3. her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz—Fields in Palestine being unenclosed, the phrase signifies that portion of the open ground which lay within the landmarks of Boaz.
Ru 2:4-23. He Takes Knowledge of Her, and Shows Her Favor.
4. Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you—This pious salutation between the master and his laborers strongly indicates the state of religious feeling among the rural population of Israel at that time, as well as the artless, happy, and unsuspecting simplicity which characterized the manners of the people. The same patriarchal style of speaking is still preserved in the East.
5. his servant that was set over the reapers—an overseer whose special duty was to superintend the operations in the field, to supply provision to the reapers, and pay them for their labor in the evening.
7. she said … Let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves—Various modes of reaping are practised in the East. Where the crop is thin and short, it is plucked up by the roots. Sometimes it is cut with the sickle. Whether reaped in the one way or the other, the grain is cast into sheaves loosely thrown together, to be subjected to the process of threshing, which takes place, for the most part, immediately after the reaping. Field labors were begun early in the morning—before the day became oppressively hot.
she tarried a little in the house—that is, the field tent, erected for the occasional rest and refreshment of the laborers.
8, 9. said Boaz unto Ruth, … bide here fast by my maidens—The reaping was performed by women while the assortment of sheaves was the duty of men-servants. The same division of harvest labor obtains in Syria still. Boaz not only granted to Ruth the full privilege of gleaning after his reapers, but provided for her personal comfort.
9. go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn—Gleaners were sometimes allowed, by kind and charitable masters, to partake of the refreshments provided for the reapers. The vessels alluded to were skin bottles, filled with water—and the bread was soaked in vinegar (Ru 2:14); a kind of poor, weak wine, sometimes mingled with a little olive oil—very cooling, as would be required in harvest-time. This grateful refection is still used in the harvest-field.
14. he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left—some of the new grain, roasted on the spot, and fit for use after being rubbed in the hands—a favorite viand in the East. He gave her so much, that after satisfying her own wants, she had some (Ru 2:18) in reserve for her mother-in-law.
16. let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her—The gleaners in the East glean with much success; for a great quantity of corn is scattered in the reaping, as well as in their manner of carrying it. One may judge, then, of the large quantity which Ruth would gather in consequence of the liberal orders given to the servants. These extraordinary marks of favor were not only given from a kindly disposition, but from regard to her good character and devoted attachment to her venerable relative.
17. and beat out that she had gleaned—When the quantity of grain was small, it was beat out by means of a stick.
an ephah—supposed to contain about a bushel.
20. the man is … one of our next kinsmen—Hebrew, "one of our redeemers," on whom it devolves to protect us, to purchase our lands, and marry you, the widow of his next kinsman. She said, "one of them," not that there were many in the same close relationship, but that he was a very near kinsman, one other individual only having the precedence.
21. all my harvest—both barley and wheat harvests. The latter was at the end of May or the beginning of June.
22. Naomi said unto Ruth … It is good … that thou go out with his maidens—a prudent recommendation to Ruth to accept the generous invitation of Boaz, lest, if she were seen straying into other fields, she might not only run the risk of rude treatment, but displease him by seeming indifferent to his kind liberality. Moreover, the observant mind of the old matron had already discerned, in all Boaz' attentions to Ruth, the germs of a stronger affection, which she wished to increase.