or to turn back from following you!
Where you go, I will go;
where you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people,
and your God my God.
17Where you die, I will die—
there will I be buried.
May the LORD do thus and so to me,
and more as well,
if even death parts me from you!”
18When Naomi saw that she was determined to go with her, she said no more to her.
19So the two of them went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they came to Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred because of them; and the women said, “Is this Naomi?”
20She said to them,
“Call me no longer Naomi,a
call me Mara,b
for the Almightyc has dealt bitterly with me.
21I went away full,
but the LORD has brought me back empty;
why call me Naomi
when the LORD has dealt harshly withd me,
and the Almightye has brought calamity upon me?”
22So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab. They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
next chapter
* * *
a That is Pleasant
b That is Bitter
c Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
d Or has testified against
e Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
1.1–5 Naomi gradually emerges as the focus of the story. She is left without male relatives; all that remains of her family are her two Moabite daughters-in-law. Famine, dislocation, and death mark the beginning of the story. These will all be reversed with the return to Bethlehem, the harvest seasons, marriage, and birth.
1.1 The judges ruled. The narrative is set in the period of the judges, after the settlement in Canaan and before the monarchy. The judges are portrayed as local or tribal leaders who arose in times of crisis. The tone of the book, however, with its pastoral calmness, is quite different from the tenor of the violent and insecure times portrayed in the book of Judges. Moab is the country east of the Dead Sea, between Ammon and Edom, on approximately the same latitude as Judah. There was apparently no famine there. The motif of migration to a foreign land in time of famine occurs in reference to Abraham (Gen 12.10) and Jacob (Gen 42.1). Elsewhere in the Bible (Num 21.29–30; Deut 23.3–4), the name Moab has negative connotations, but they are absent here.
1.2 Elimelech. On the characters’ names, see Introduction. Ephrathites, residents of a geographical area or a subgroup of the Judean populace. Ephrath or Ephratah is associated with Bethlehem and Judah in several biblical passages (e.g., Gen 35.16, 19; 1 Sam 17.12; 1 Chr 2.18–24, 42–50; Mic 5.2). Mention of the term here presumably underlines the family’s long-standing connection with Bethlehem.
1.6–22 Both Orpah and Ruth initially show concern for Naomi, even as she, out of her own concern for them, attempts to persuade them to return to their own families. Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi proves unshakable, and she returns to Bethlehem along with her mother-in-law. The key words in this section are return (vv. 6, 10, 15, 22) and turn back (vv. 11, 12, 16); see also go/gone back (vv. 7, 8, 15); all from the same Hebrew root. They are used in the sense of parting and in the sense of rejoining. The issue is how these widows can find security, i.e., a husband and family.
1.11 Sons in my womb. Naomi despairs of being able to provide her daughters-in-law with new husbands. This passage is often seen as exemplifying the levirate law in Deut 25.5–10, but it is not a true levirate because these husbands, if they could be born, would not have the same father as Mahlon and Chilion. They would not be brothers of the deceased.
1.16 Your people…my God, a stirring declaration of loyalty. There was as yet no formal procedure for religious conversion, nor was it even conceived of. One’s ethnic identity determined for all time one’s religious persuasion. Therefore, Ruth mentions “people” and “God” together. Each people had its own god; or, as it was viewed in the ancient Near East, each god had its own people. Ruth is adopting a new people, a new ethnic identity, along with a new faith.
1.20–21 Naomi, whose name means “Pleasant,” feels that this name no longer reflects her situation. The name “Bitter,” Mara, is now more apt. The theme of emptiness and fullness is evident.
RUTH 2
Ruth Meets Boaz
1Now Naomi had a kinsman on her husband’s side, a prominent rich man, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain, behind someone in whose sight I may find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.” 3So she went. She came and gleaned in the field behind the reapers. As it happened, she came to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4Just then Boaz came from Bethlehem. He said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you.” They answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, “To whom does this young woman belong?” 6The servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the Moabite who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. 7She said, ‘Please, let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.’ So she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now, without resting even for a moment.”a
8Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women. 9Keep your eyes on the field that is being reaped, and follow behind them. I have ordered the young men not to bother you. If you get thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from what the young men have drawn.” 10Then she fell prostrate, with her face to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, when I am a foreigner?” 11But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before. 12May the LORD reward you for your deeds, and may you have a full reward from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge!” 13Then she said, “May I continue to find favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, even though I am not one of your servants.”
14At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat some of this bread, and dip your morsel in the sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. 15When she got up to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, “Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. 16You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
17So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18She picked it up and came into the town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. Then she took out and gave her what was left over after she herself had been satisfied. 19Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” 20Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest kin.”b 21Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay close by my servants, until they have finished all my harvest.’” 22Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is better, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, otherwise you might be bothered in another field.” 23So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests; and she lived with her mother-in-law.
next chapter
* * *
a Compare Gk Vg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
b Or one with the right to redeem
2.1–23 The fortuitous coming of Ruth to glean in Boaz’s field has the ring of divine guidance. Boaz shows her special favors—providing food and drink for her, guaranteeing protection from the workers’ taunts, and inviting her to glean on his estate throughout the harvest. Although readers learn in the first verse that Boaz is a relative of Naomi’s deceased husband, Ruth does not learn this fact until the end of the chapter when she returns in the evening to Naomi. But even readers are unaware until Naomi’s speech that Boaz is a near kinsman, a go’el (Hebrew), a family protector. The appearance of this male kinsman and the plentiful food that he makes available bode well for the two impoverished, husbandless women.
2.2 Glean. Gleaning is a form of charity in which the poor are permitted to gather the grain left by the harvesters (cf. Lev 19.9; 23.22; Deut 24.19). Naomi and Ruth, having no other source of income, must resort to this. Notice that Ruth takes the initiative here in providing for Naomi.
2.5 Boaz, noticing Ruth, whom he presumably had not seen before, inquires into her family background. It was family connection, rather than an individual’s name, that served as identification. The foreman’s answer stresses Ruth’s Moabite ancestry and her attachment to Naomi.
2.8 My daughter, the same term used by Naomi for Ruth (v. 2). It suggests a familial relationship and a protective stance. Boaz deemphasizes Ruth’s foreignness, although the foreman and Ruth herself emphasize it (cf. v. 10), and he begins to assume the role of provider and protector.
2.8–9 The invitation to Ruth to remain in Boaz’s field throughout the harvest signals that he will provide all she needs. Moreover, he accords her special protection and privileges, keeping the male harvesters from bothering her and providing her with food and drink, the leftovers of which she takes home to Naomi (2.18).
2.10 Ruth is taken aback by these unexpected privileges, especially given that she is a foreigner. The Hebrew take notice and foreigner are from the same root, thereby forming a wordplay.
2.14 Sour wine, a vinegar-based substance into which bread was dipped.
2.15 Standing sheaves. Normally the gleaners worked in areas where the grain had been cut, picking up what the harvesters left behind. Ruth is permitted to glean where the cut grain was tied into the sheaves, thereby gaining access to additional grain that fell out of the bundles. Moreover, in the next verse the workers are bidden to actually pull out grain from the bound sheaves for her. This goes beyond the privileges she was initially granted.
2.17 Ephah, approximately two-thirds of a bushel, a substantial amount for one day’s gleaning.
2.20 Nearest kin, Hebrew go’el, “one with the right to redeem,” a close relative who takes responsibility for protecting the rights of a family in the absence of the head of the household. This usually involves the buying back of property, the redeeming of slaves, or the avenging of murder. Ruth later turns to Boaz as the go’el (3.9) but he informs her that there is a go’el with prior rights (3.12).
RUTH 3
Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor
1Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, I need to seek some security for you, so that it may be well with you. 2Now here is our kinsman Boaz, with whose young women you have been working. See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor. 3Now wash and anoint yourself, and put on your best clothes and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4When he lies down, observe the place where he lies; then, go and uncover his feet and lie down; and he will tell you what to do.” 5She said to her, “All that you tell me I will do.”
6So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had instructed her. 7When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and he was in a contented mood, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came stealthily and uncovered his feet, and lay down. 8At midnight the man was startled, and turned over, and there, lying at his feet, was a woman! 9He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant; spread your cloak over your servant, for you are next-of-kin.”a 10He said, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter; this last instance of your loyalty is better than the first; you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich. 11And now, my daughter, do not be afraid, I will do for you all that you ask, for all the assembly of my people know that you are a worthy woman. 12But now, though it is true that I am a near kinsman, there is another kinsman more closely related than I. 13Remain this night, and in the morning, if he will act as next-of-kinb for you, good; let him do it. If he is not willing to act as next-of-kinc for you, then, as the LORD lives, I will act as next-of-kind for you. Lie down until the morning.”
14So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before one person could recognize another; for he said, “It must not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.” 15Then he said, “Bring the cloak you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley, and put it on her back; then he went into the city. 16She came to her mother-in-law, who said, “How did things go with you,e my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her, 17saying, “He gave me these six measures of barley, for he said, ‘Do not go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” 18She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest, but will settle the matter today.”
next chapter
* * *
a Or one with the right to redeem
b Or one with the right to redeem
c Or one with the right to redeem
d Or one with the right to redeem
e Or “Who are you,
3.1–18 Ruth’s initiative in providing for her mother-in-law in ch. 2 is reciprocated by Naomi’s initiative in seeking a husband for Ruth. This has been Naomi’s concern since ch. 1. Readers have long speculated on what actually transpired between Ruth and Boaz at the threshing floor that night. One senses a romantic attraction, but more important in the eyes of the Bible is the loyalty to family manifested by both Ruth and Boaz. As in ch. 2, there are three scenes here: Ruth and Naomi, Ruth and Boaz, and Ruth and Naomi. As in ch. 2, Boaz sends Ruth home with ample provisions of grain.
3.1 As in 1.9, security implies finding a husband, as a woman on her own in ancient times had little standing and no protection.
3.2 Threshing floor, an elevated open space where the kernels of grain would be separated from the chaff (winnowing). This was done in the evening, when the wind picked up, by beating the grain and tossing it up in the air so that the wind would carry the chaff a distance away. The harvesters or the owner of the field would sleep at or near the threshing floor to protect the harvest at night.
3.3 Anoint, put on perfumed oil, equivalent to putting on cosmetics.
3.7–8 Although Naomi instructed Ruth to lie down near Boaz after he had eaten and drunk, Ruth apparently waited even longer, till after Boaz had fallen asleep. Boaz is startled to sense the presence of someone at midnight.
3.9 Spread your cloak. Ruth is asking for marriage; spreading a garment over a woman signifies acquiring her (cf. Ezek 16.8). This phrase echoes 2.12, in which Boaz speaks of Ruth’s finding refuge under God’s wings (the Hebrew uses the same word for wings and cloak).
3.10 Last instance of your loyalty. Boaz recognizes that Ruth is motivated by chesed (Hebrew), “loyalty,” i.e., loyalty to the family of Naomi. She did not seek a husband far and wide but chose Boaz because he was the go’el (3.9). This is her second act of loyalty; her first was her steadfast cleaving to Naomi (cf. 2.11).
3.11 Worthy woman, Hebrew ’ eshet chayil (cf. Prov 31.10). By using this term Boaz equates Ruth’s status with his own. He is an ’ ish gibbor chayil, “a prominent rich man” (2.1). Ruth is no longer to be perceived as a servant or a foreigner (cf. 2.10, 13), but as an appropr
iate wife for Boaz.
3.12 Just as the agreement of marriage between Boaz and Ruth seems assured, we learn that there is a man who has a prior claim to marry Ruth.
RUTH 4
The Marriage of Boaz and Ruth
1No sooner had Boaz gone up to the gate and sat down there than the next-of-kin,a of whom Boaz had spoken, came passing by. So Boaz said, “Come over, friend; sit down here.” And he went over and sat down. 2Then Boaz took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, “Sit down here” so they sat down. 3He then said to the next-of-kin,b “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our kinsman Elimelech. 4So I thought I would tell you of it, and say: Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if you will not, tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one prior to you to redeem it, and I come after you.” So he said, “I will redeem it.” 5Then Boaz said, “The day you acquire the field from the hand of Naomi, you are also acquiring Ruthc the Moabite, the widow of the dead man, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance.” 6At this, the next-of-kind said, “I cannot redeem it for myself without damaging my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
7Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel. 8So when the next-of-kine said to Boaz, “Acquire it for yourself,” he took off his sandal. 9Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “Today you are witnesses that I have acquired from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, to be my wife, to maintain the dead man’s name on his inheritance, in order that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his kindred and from the gate of his native place; today you are witnesses.” 11Then all the people who were at the gate, along with the elders, said, “We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you produce children in Ephrathah and bestow a name in Bethlehem; 12and, through the children that the LORD will give you by this young woman, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah.”
HarperCollins Study Bible Page 114
