RUTH
CHAPTER 2
Ruth gleans in fields of Boaz, a near kinsman of Naomi—He treats Ruth kindly.
1 AND Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, [ So Naomi is not as alone as she originally thought. She does have some relatives left from her husbands side. ] a mighty man of wealth, [ Which means that Naomi should be provided for. At this point does Ruth maybe think maybe I did not need to come with Naomi as she will be just fine without me, and after all I am not really welcome here it seems since I am a stranger. ] of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.
2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn [ According to Israelite law you have to allow the poor to harvest the grain from the corners. some left bigger corners than others. That was the welfare system of the day. They did not just give them what they needed but they did provide a way for them to get what they needed. ] after him in whose sight I shall find grace. [ To me this suggests that Ruth does not understand the Israelite law. So Ruth is suggesting that she will go and try to harvest from the field what is left from the harvest, hoping and praying tha the farmer will not get mad at her, that he will take compassion on her. Ruth is going to appeal to the grace from someone to help her. ] And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
[ Naomi understands that law and tells her to go realizing that no matter which field she goes into she will not be punished for it. ]
3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap [ She happened to glean from the field that belonged to Boaz, the kinsman of Naomi. Of all of the fields in all of the places she ended up in the field of Boaz.Coincident or a tender mercy? ] was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.
4 ¶ And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee.
5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?
[ Who's servant is this? To whom does she belong, or where does she come from? ]
6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel [ I don't know other than that she is the woman who came from Moab with Naomi, she is a non member. ] that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:
7 And she [ Ruth. ] said, [ Asked the reapers of the fields of Boaz. ] I pray you, [ Asking in humility, will you allow me to harvest from the left overs of your field. Again Ruth does not understand that custom. ] let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, [ So the answer must have been sure go ahead. After all it was the law, but Ruth does not know it. ] and hath continued even from the morning until now, [ She has been out here all day working hard, except for a few minutes to catch a quick break. ] that she tarried a little in the house.
[ Could be translated as "she took a brief rest in a nearby shelter". She needed a little time out of the hot sun, and she went right back out there. ]
8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, [ Boaz approached Ruth and has a conversation with her directly. From the previous verse it would appear that Boaz is impressed with this damsel who is such a hard worker, and asked if she can glean. Not only is she a hard worker but she is humble. So he wants to meet her personally. ] Hearest thou not, my daughter? [ Listen to me my daughter. Boaz knows that she has returned with Naomi so he recognizes tha there is a familial bond between them, hence the term "my daughter". ] Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:
[ An offer of continued support. You are welcome in any of my fields anytime. SHe has not presumed upon his grace, because she asked. So he is providing the reciprocal, that you are always welcome here. ]
9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? [ Not only are you free to reap but I will also protect you. This is a very big deal. Often these down trodden women were taken advantage of in every way possible. So to have a might man say that if anyone treated them unfairly they would have to answer to him was a really big deal. ] and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
[ Oh and by the way you don't need to bring or fetch your own water, but rather you are free to drink from the water that they men have brought for the workers. ]
10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, [ This was the prayer that she had asked for, just let me find someone who will let me glean from the corners of their field and not punish me. Look how Biaz was a rtpe for Christ. ] seeing I am a stranger?
[ A foreigner, a non-Israelite. ]
11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, [ Willing to give up everything, self-sacrifice. ] and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
[ In a way Boaz is expressing his admiration for her, he looks up to her, that she would be so willing to sacrifice for her mother-in-law. ]
12 The LORD recompense [ Means: repay, this is the same word used in Exodus for making restitution for sin. ] thy work, and a full reward [ You will ge the full pay, you are no one's servant. Why? because you have trusted him. ] be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings [ Wings is used for wings literally, but it also means any extremity, like the four corners of the earth, the hem of a robe, the utter end of the reach of the redeemer, the extremes of things. This is where the woman with the issue of blood reached, to touch the furtherest part of the Savior's garment in an effort to be healed. ] thou art come to trust.
13 Then she [ Ruth. ] said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly [ Extended kindness. In Hebrew kindness refers to the heart. ] unto thine handmaid, [ Thy servant. ] though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.
[ You have been so kind as to treat me as one of your servants even though I am not one of them, I am an outsider. ]
14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. [ Boaz is going beyond the minimum. He suggests that she enjoy the added treat of vinegar as she enjoys his bread. Again with Boz as a type for Christ he suggests that she partake of the bread of life, and the vinegar is the fruit of the vine. Is it not the emblems of the sacrament? Bread and wine. ] And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, [ some translations have this as "he reached out to offer her roasted corn." this would have been a real treat. ] and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
[ This should be translated as "and she had some left-overs". So not only was she filled but also had more to spare. ]
15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, [ The sheaves are the stacks of grain brought to the threshing floor to be separated. So let her pick grain from that which you have brought out of the field. ] and reproach her not:
16 And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, [ As a matter of fact purposefully drop some handfuls of grain so that she made have them and not have to work so hard for them. Let her pick them up and don't say anything about whatever grain she chooses to glean. Where she has been picking up a kernel her and a kernel there now she will happen upon a whole pile. ] and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.
[ Don't say anything that would hold her back or cause her to doubt herself or withdraw from her labors. ]
17 So she gleaned in the field until even, [ She is there from sun up to sun down. She is working hard and long to take care of herself and Naomi. ] , and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. [ How much is that? Back when we were dealing with the manna it was said that every day they would gather an omer of manna, and an omer was enough to get through an entire day. There we were also taught that 10 omers make up one ephah. So she returns essentially with 10 days worth of grain. all from one days harvest. ] .
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? [ Naomi is shocked by how much grain she returns with. She says how did you get so much grain in one day? ] and where wroughtest thou? [ She maybe is so shocked with the volume of grain that she returned with that this is a way of saying maybe I did not explain it correctly to you where you can get the grain from. ] blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. [ The owner of the field would have seen if you were in the field or gathering grain from the floor, which in a way is the only way that you could have gotten so much grain. As most of the time you are only barely able to get enough for the day. So the owner of the field must have looked upon you and taken pity, so who's filed was it. ] And she shewed 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. [ Boaz is still willing ot honor his commitment even after the death of my husband from whence the relationship was started. Boaz is providing for those of his kinsman after they have gone on. ] And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.
[ Naomi exclaims wow what a coincidence. You happened to glean in the perfect field today as Boaz is our relative, we belong to him. What are the chances of that? ]
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, [ This is a blessing and Naomi see's it for what it is. Why? because she feels confident that Ruth will be protected in Boaz's fields, with his servants as he has told his servants not to touch her. He is protecting her. Naomi understands that it could be very different. Ruth to be going from field to field and as so she would be without protection and there are may bad people out there who would take advantage of her, but you have to do what ever you need in order to eat and not she it protected from that element- so it is good. ] my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.