Bible Commentaries

Ruth Gleans in the Field of Boaz - Ruth 2

Ruth went to the field to glean ears of corn, for the purpose of procuringsupport for herself and her mother-in-law, and came by chance to the fieldof Boaz, a relative of Naomi, who, when he heard that she had come withNaomi from Moabitis, spoke kindly to her, and gave her permission notonly to glean ears in his field and even among the sheaves, but to appeaseher hunger and thirst with the food and drink of his reapers (vv. 1-16), sothat in the evening she returned to her mother-in-law with a plentifulgleaning, and told her of the gracious reception she had met with from thisman, and then learned from her that Boaz was a relation of her own ( 2:17-23).

The account of this occurrence commences with a statementwhich was necessary in order to make it perfectly intelligible, namely thatBoaz, to whose field Ruth went to glean, was a relative of Naomi throughher deceased husband Elimelech. The Kethibh מידע is to be read מידּע,an acquaintance (cf. Psalm 31:12; Psalm 55:14). The Keri מודע is theconstruct state of מודע, lit. acquaintanceship, then anacquaintance or friend (Proverbs 7:4), for which מודעת occursafterwards in 3:2 with the same meaning. That the acquaintance orfriend of Naomi through her husband was also a relation, is evident fromthe fact that he was “of the family of Elimelech. ” According to therabbinical tradition, which is not well established however, Boaz was anephew of Elimelech. The ל before אישׁהּ is used instead of thesimple construct state, because the reference is not to the relation, but to arelation of her husband; at the same time, the word מודע hastaken the form of the construct state notwithstanding this ל (compareEwald, §292, a., with §289, b.). חיל גּבּור generallymeans the brave man of war (Judges 6:12; Judges 11:1, etc.); but here it signifies aman of property. The name Boaz is not formed from עז בּו, in whom is strength, but from a root, בּעז, which does not occurin Hebrew, and signifies alacrity.

2:2-3

Ruth wished to go to the field and glean at (among) the ears, i.e.,whatever ears were left lying upon the harvest field (cf. 2:7), אשׁר אחר, behind him in whose eyes she should find favour. TheMosaic law (Leviticus 19:9; Leviticus 23:22, compared with Deuteronomy 24:19) did indeedexpressly secure to the poor the right to glean in the harvest fields, andprohibited the owners from gleaning themselves; but hard-hearted farmersand reapers threw obstacles in the way of the poor, and even forbade theirgleaning altogether. Hence Ruth proposed to glean after him who shouldgenerously allow it. She carried out this intention with the consent ofNaomi, and chance led her to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, arelation of Elimelech, without her knowing the owner of the field, or beingat all aware of his connection with Elimelech. מקרה ויּקר, lit., “her chance chanced to hit upon the field.”

2:4-7

When Boaz came from the town to the field, and had greeted hisreapers with the blessing of a genuine Israelites, “Jehovah be with you,”and had received from them a corresponding greeting in return, he said tothe overseer of the reapers, “Whose damsel is this?” to which he replied,“It is the Moabitish damsel who came back with Naomi from the fields ofMoab, and she has said (asked), Pray, I will glean (i.e., pray allow me toglean) and gather among the sheaves after the reapers, and has come andstays (here) from morning till now; her sitting in the house that is little.” מאז, lit. a conjunction, here used as a preposition, is strongerthan מן, “from then,” from the time of the morning onwards (seeEwald, §222, c.). It is evident from this answer of the servant who wasplaced over the reapers, (1) that Boaz did not prohibit any poor personfrom gleaning in his field; (2) that Ruth asked permission of the overseer ofthe reapers, and availed herself of this permission with untiring zeal fromthe first thing in the morning, that she might get the necessary support forher mother-in-law and herself; and (3) that her history was well known tothe overseer, and also to Boaz, although Boaz saw her now for the firsttime.

The good report which the overlooker gave of the modesty and diligence ofRuth could only strengthen Boaz in his purpose, which he had probablyalready formed from his affection as a relation towards Naomi, to make theacquaintance of her daughter-in-law, and speak kindly to her. With fatherlykindness, therefore, he said to her ( 2:8, 2:9), “Dost thou hear, mydaughter? (i.e., 'thou hearest, dost thou not?' interrogatio blande affirmat;)go not to reap in another field, and go not away from here, and keep so tomy maidens (i.e., remaining near them in the field). Thine eyes (directed)upon the field which they reap, go behind them (i.e., behind the maidens,who probably tired up the sheaves, whilst the men-servants cut the corn). I have commanded the young men not to touch thee (to do thee no harm);and if thou art thirsty (צמת, from צמה = צמא:see Ewald, §195, b.), go to the vessels, and drink of what the servantsdraw.”

Deeply affected by this generosity, Ruth fell upon her face, bowing downto the ground (as in 1 Samuel 25:23; 2 Samuel 1:2; cf. Genesis 23:7), to thank himreverentially, and said to Boaz, “Why have I found favour in thine eyes,that thou regardest me, who am only a stranger?” הכּיר, to look atwith sympathy or care, to receive a person kindly (cf. 2:19).

Boaz replied, “Everything has been told me that thou hast done to (את, prep. as in Zechariah 7:9; 2 Samuel 16:17) thy mother-in-law since thedeath of thy husband, that thou hast left thy father and thy mother, andthy kindred, and hast come to a people that thou knewest not heretofore”(hast therefore done what God commanded Abraham to do, Genesis 12:1). “The Lord recompense thy work, and let thy reward be perfect (recallingGenesis 15:1) from the Lord the God of Israel, to whom thou hast come toseek refuge under His wings!” For this figurative expression, which isderived from Deuteronomy 32:11, compare Psalm 91:4; Psalm 36:8; Psalm 57:2. In these words ofBoaz we see the genuine piety of a true Israelite.

Ruth replied with true humility, “May I find favour in thine eyes; for thouhast comforted me, and spoken to the heart of thy maiden (see Judges 19:3),though I am not like one of thy maidens,” i.e., though I stand in no suchnear relation to thee, as to have been able to earn thy favour. In this lastclause she restricts the expression “thy maiden.” Carpzov has rightlypointed this out: “But what am I saying when I call myself thy maiden?since I am not worthy to be compared to the least of thy maidens.” Theword אמצא is to be taken in an optative sense, as expressive ofthe wish that Boaz might continue towards her the kindness he had alreadyexpressed. To take it as a present, “I find favour” (Clericus and Bertheau),does not tally with the modesty and humility shown by Ruth in thefollowing words.

This unassuming humility on the part of Ruth made Boaz all the morefavourably disposed towards her, so that at meal-time he called her to eatalong with his people (לה without Mappik, as in Numbers 32:42; Zechariah 5:11; cf. Ewald, §94, b. 3). “Dip thy morsel in the vinegar.” (Chomeza sour beverage composed of vinegar (wine vinegar or sour wine) mixedwith oil; a very refreshing drink, which is still a favourite beverage in theEast (see Rosenmüller, A. and N. Morgenland, iv. p. 68, and my Bibl. Archäologie, ii. p. 16). “And he reached her parched corn.” The subject isBoaz, who, judging from the expression “come hither,” either joined in themeal, or at any rate was present at it. קלי are roasted grains ofwheat (see at Leviticus 2:14, and my Bibl. Arch. ii. p. 14), which are still eatenby the reapers upon the harvest field, and also handed to strangers.

(Note: Thus Robinson (Pal. ii. p. 394) gives the following descriptionof a harvest scene in the neighbourhood of Kubeibeh: “In one fieldnearly two hundred reapers and gleaners were at work, the latter beingnearly as numerous as the former. A few were taking theirrefreshment, and offered us some of their 'parched corn.' In theseason of harvest, the grains of wheat not yet fully dry and hard, areroasted in a pan or on an iron plate, and constitute a very palatablearticle of food; this is eaten along with bread, or instead of it.”)

Boaz gave her an abundant supply of it, so that she was not only satisfied,but left some, and was able to take it home to her mother ( 2:18.)

When she rose up to glean again after eating, Boaz commanded his people,saying, “She may also glean between the shaves (which was not generallyallowed), and ye shall not shame her (do her any injury, Judges 18:7); and yeshall also draw out of the bundles for her, and let them lie (the ears drawnout), that she may glean them, and shall not scold her,” sc., for picking upthe ears that have been drawn out. These directions of Boaz went farbeyond the bounds of generosity and compassion for the poor; and showthat he felt a peculiar interest in Ruth, with whose circumstances he waswell acquainted, and who had won his heart by her humility, her faithfulattachment to her mother-in-law, and her love to the God of Israel, - a faceimportant to notice in connection with the further course of the history.

Thus Ruth gleaned till the evening in the field; and when she knocked outthe ears, she had about an ephah (about 20-25 lbs.) of barley.

2:18

This she brought to her mother-in-law in the city, and “drew out(sc., from her pocket, as the Chaldee has correctly supplied) what she hadleft from her sufficiency,” i.e., of the parched corn which Boaz had reachedher ( 2:14).

2:19-20

The mother inquired, “where hast thou gleaned to-day, andwhere wroughtest thou?” and praised the benefactor, who, as sheconjecture from the quantity of barley collected and the food broughthome, had taken notice of Ruth: “blessed be he that did take knowledge ofthee!” When she heard the name of the man, Boaz, she saw that thisrelative of her husband had been chosen by God to be a benefactor ofherself and Ruth, and exclaimed, “Blessed be he of the Lord, that he hasnot left off (withdrawn) his favour towards the living and the dead!” Onחסדּו עזב see Genesis 24:27. This verb is construed witha double accusative here; for את cannot be a preposition, as in thatcase מאת would be used like מעם in Gen. l.c. “Theliving,” etc., forms a second object: as regards (with regard to) the livingand the dead, in which Naomi thought of herself and Ruth, and of herhusband and sons, to whom God still showed himself gracious, even aftertheir death, through His care for their widows. In order to enlighten Ruthstill further upon the matter, she added, “The man (Boaz) is our relative,and one of our redeemers.” He “stands near to us,” sc., by relationship. גּאלנוּ, a defective form for גּאלינוּ, which is found inseveral MSS and editions. On the significance of the goël, or redeemer, seeat Leviticus 25:26, Leviticus 25:48-49, and the introduction to Ruth 3.

2:21

Ruth proceeded to inform her of his kindness: כּי גּם, “also (know) that he said to me, Keep with my people, till theharvest is all ended.” The masculine הנּערים, for which weshould rather expect the feminine נערות in accordance with 2:8, 2:22, 2:23, is quite in place as the more comprehensive gender, as adesignation of the reapers generally, both male and female; and theexpression לי אשׁר in this connection in the sense ofmy is more exact than the possessive pronoun: the people who belong tomy house, as distinguished from the people of other masters.

2:22

Naomi declared herself fully satisfied with this, because Ruthwould be thereby secured from insults, which she might receive whengleaning in strange fields. “That they meet thee not,” lit. “that they do notfall upon thee.” בּ פּגע signifies to fall upon a person, to smiteand ill-treat him.

2:23

After this Ruth kept with the maidens of Boaz during the wholeof the barley and wheat harvests gleaning ears of corn, and lived with hermother-in-law, sc., when she returned in the evening from the field. In thislast remark there is a tacit allusion to the fact that a change took place forRuth when the harvest was over.