Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ruth 2:3

And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field [belonging] unto Boaz, who [was] of the kindred of Elimelech.

3. her hap Boaz ] The word for hap occurs in 1Sa 6:9 (‘a chance’), 1Sa 20:26. Throughout the story the writer intends us to share his strong belief in Providence, over-ruling unpremeditated actions and words (cf. Rth 2:12 ; Rth 2:19 f.), and rewarding those who trust it (Rth 3:4; Rth 3:9; Rth 3:11, Rth 4:6; Rth 4:14). ‘The cosmos is a fighter for the righteous,’ says the Jewish sage, Wis 16:17

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Rth 2:3

Her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz.

Gleanings in the field of Boaz

1. I learn, first, from this subject, how trouble develops character.

2. Again, I see in my text the beauty of unfaltering friendship.

3. Again, I learn from this subject that paths which open in hardship and darkness often come out in places of joy. And so it often is that a path which starts very darkly ends very brightly. When you started out for heaven, oh, how dark was the hour of conviction–how Sinai thundered, and devils tormented, and the darkness thickened! All the sins of your life pounced upon you. After a while you went into the harvest field of Gods mercy; you began to glean in the fields of Divine promise, and you had more sheaves than you could carry, as the voice of God addressed you, saying, Blessed is the man whose transgressions are forgiven and whose sins are covered. A very dark starting in conviction; a very bright ending in the pardon, and the hope, and the triumph of the gospel. So, very often, in our worldly business or in our spiritual career, we start off on a very dark path. We have to ford the river, we have to climb the mountain, we have to storm the castle; but, blessed be God! the day of rest and reward will come.

4. Again, I have to learn from my subject that events which seem to be most insignificant may be momentous. Can you imagine anything more unimportant than the coming of a poor woman from Moab to Judah? Can you imagine anything more trivial than the fact that this Ruth just happened to alight–as they say–just happened to alight on that field of Boaz? Yet all ages, all generations, have an interest in the fact. So it is in your history and in mine; events that you thought of no importance at all have been of very great moment. That casual conversation, that accidental meeting–you did not think of it again for a long while; but how it changed all the phase of your life.

5. Again, I see in my subject an illustration of the beauty of female industry.

6. Once more; I learn from my subject the value of gleanings. It is all the straws that make the harvest, it is the pence that make the pound, and it is all the opportunities of doing good that make a life of usefulness if rightly employed. Elihu Burritt learned many things while toiling in a blacksmiths shop. Abercrombie, the world-renowned philosopher, was a philosopher in Scotland, and he got his philosophy, or the chief part of it, while as a physician he was waiting for the door of the sick-room to open. (T. De Witt Talmage.)

Great issues out of little things

It was strikingly remarked by Pascal that if the nose of Cleopatra had been a little longer or shorter it would have changed the history of the world. The cackling of geese once saved Rome. An apple failing from a tree suggested to Sir Isaac Newton that great law by which he unlocked the mysteries of the starry firmament and shed a new light on the whole creation of God. The lifting of the lid of a common tea-kettle by the steam generated within it set James Watt upon a train of thought that led to the invention of a steam-engine, which has revolutionised our whole manufacturing industry and multiplied human intercourse a thousandfold. A reed of an unknown species, borne to the feet of Columbus by the Atlantic wave awakened in his mind the conjecture that there must be another continent; and this issued at length in the discovery of America. A little bird, flying from the mouth of the cave in which Mohammed is concealed, misleads the soldiers that are seeking his destruction; and this influences the character of religion and the history of our race for many centuries over the larger portion of the earth. Pharaohs daughter, coming down to the waters of the Nile to bathe, finds a smiling infant in its floating cradle among the bulrushes, and becomes Gods unconscious instrument in saving the life of one who is to deliver a nation from cruel bondage, to ascend Sinai and speak with God, and to conduct the million hosts of the chosen people, amid miracle and wonder, to the borders of the promised land. Ruths hap is to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz; and this eventually raises the poor stranger to affluence, and brings her name into the golden genealogy of the Saviour of men. (A. Thomson, D. D.)

The stranger in the harvest field

1. We see how God raises up friends for His people if they really need them. If you are poor, perhaps you could tell how, when times were hard the Lord has sent you a friend in your distress. Or, in some gloomy hour, when your heart has been ready to burst with inward grief, some kind Christian friend has called upon you, into whose ear you made bold to pour all your troubles, and found unspeakable relief.

2. We may learn, too, from this part of Ruths history, what a happy thing it is to put ourselves under the shelter of Gods care. Happy, happy, those who are thus dwelling in the secret place of the Most High, and abiding under the shadow of the Almighty, who can say, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him will I trust.(Bp. Oxenden.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

Verse 3. And her hap was] So she was accidentally or providentially led to that part of the cultivated country which belonged to Boaz.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Her hap was; for it was indeed a chance in reference to second causes, but ordered and designed by Gods providence.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

3. her hap was to light on a part ofthe field belonging unto BoazFields in Palestine beingunenclosed, the phrase signifies that portion of the open groundwhich lay within the landmarks of Boaz.

Ru2:4-23. HE TAKESKNOWLEDGE OF HER,AND SHOWS HERFAVOR.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

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 Midrash p, 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.

p Midrash Ruth, fol. 31. 4. Vid. Jarchi & Alshech in loc.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(3) Her hap was to light on.Literally, her hap happened. A chance in outward seeming, yet a clear shaping of her course by unseen hands. Her steps were divinely guided to a certain field, that Gods good purposes should be worked out.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

3. She went and gleaned But not without first asking permission of the overseer of the reapers. Rth 2:7.

Her hap was To human observation her lighting upon Boaz’s field was accidental; in the Divine economy it was providentially designed.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘ And she went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and her chance was to light on the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.’

Leaving the town to glean in the fields Ruth found a field where, having made enquiries of those working in the field, she was given permission to glean (Rth 2:7). She therefore began to follow the reapers as they cut and gathered the barley, picking up any gleanings that were left. The reapers would be both men and women, mainly free men and women who made themselves available at the various harvest times (compare Mat 20:1 ff.). Ruth was probably not the only gleaner there, and there would no doubt also have been quarrels among the gleaners as they sought for the best gleanings, and she may well have been looked down on even by them. It was not the pleasantest of tasks and offered little reward. But unknown to her she ‘chanced’ to have selected a part of the ‘field’ which belonged to Boaz, who was kinsman to her deceased father-in-law and her deceased husband. It was not, of course, a fenced field, ownership of parts of a large area of ground being indicated by landmarks, which sometimes unscrupulous owners would move (Deu 19:14; Deu 27:17). There can be little doubt that the author did not really see it as having happened by chance. Notice how YHWH is emphasised in the next verse. (We can, however, compare ‘by chance’ with Luk 10:31).

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Rth 2:3  And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.

Rth 2:3 “a part of the field belonging unto Boaz” – Comments – Perhaps this was a common field that was shared by all the villagers with it being divided into parts. Boundaries were generally marked by stones, of which the Law forbade to move (Deu 19:14, Pro 22:28).

Deu 19:14, “Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.”

Pro 22:28, “Remove not the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.”

Rth 2:7  And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house.

Rth 2:7 “she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves!” – Comments – The grain gathered represents the Bread of life, or the Word of life. She was willing to gather what was left after the Israelites gathered enough. This is a good Old Testament parallel of the Syro-Phenician woman who said, “Yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table” (Mat 15:21-28). As it took great faith for this Syro-Phenician woman to seek Jesus words, and as Jesus responded to her faith, so it is with Ruth and Boaz.

Mat 15:27, “And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

Ruth sought the grain of Boaz, and he responded to her faith.

Rth 2:8  Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens:

Rth 2:8 “my daughter” – Comments – Apparently, Boaz was much older then Ruth. He refers to young men as if he was older than they. He comments that Ruth did not run after young men, meaning that she was also a young lady (see Rth 3:10).

Rth 3:10, “And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich.”

Rth 2:9  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? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

Rth 2:9 “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?” – Comments – Jesus watches over us.

Rth 2:9 “and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn” – Comments – When we thirst, we come to Jesus (Joh 7:37).

Joh 7:37, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.”

Rth 2:14  And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.

Rth 2:14 Word Study on “and left” The Hebrew phrase “and left” ( ), made from the conjunction ( ) “and” and the verb ( ) (H3498), which Strong says literally means, “to jut over or exceed,” and by implication, “to excel,” and used intransitive, “to remain or be left,” and used causatively, “to leave, to cause to abound, to preserve.”

Modern English translations follow at least three different interpretations, saying (1) she left after eating:

“and left” ( AB), “and left thereof” ( ASV), “and left” ( KJV), “ ” (and left) ( Brenton, LXX)

Or, (2) she took food with her that was left over, which she later brought to Naomi (Rth 2:18 b, “ and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.”)

“and took the leavings” ( DRC), “and she had some left over” ( ESV), “and had some left over” ( NAB), “and had some left” ( NASB), “and saved the rest” ( NET), “even had some food left over” (NCV), “and kept some back” ( NKJV), “and still had some left over” ( NLT), “and she had some left over” ( NRSV, RSV), “ et tulit reliquias ” (and she took that which was left behind) ( VgClem)

Or, (3) she ate until she was filled, and left some food remaining:

“and had some left over” ( God’s Word), “and left thereof remaining” ( Rotherham)

Rth 2:14 Comments – Jesus is the bread of life (Joh 6:48).

Joh 6:48, “I am that bread of life.”

Rth 2:17  So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley.

Rth 2:17 “about an ephah of barley” Comments – The ISBE says that an ephah is “a dry measure of about one bushel capacity .” [13]

[13] H. Porter, “Ephah (2),” and “Weights and Measures,” in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, ed. James Orr (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., c1915, 1939), in The Sword Project, v. 1.5.11 [CD-ROM] (Temple, AZ: CrossWire Bible Society, 1990-2008).

Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures

And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.

Are not these reapers similar to the ministering servants of Jesus, who while gathering fruit for the Lord, leave sweet gleanings for the people that come after them? But Reader! do not overlook what is said concerning Ruth in this verse, that unknown to her it was her hap to light upon the field of Boaz. To her indeed it appeared casual, but not so in reality. Most graciously doth the Holy Ghost direct sinners to Jesus; and not only leads therein to Jesus, but brings them in his own time and way acquainted with Jesus. Joh 16:13-14 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Rth 2:3 And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field [belonging] unto Boaz, who [was] of the kindred of Elimelech.

Ver. 3. And she went, and came, and gleaned. ] A mean, but honest employment, which therefore she stoopeth unto, and it proved a step to her highest preferment. A diligent person liveth not long in a low place. Pro 22:29

And her hap was to light, &c. ] Accidit accidens vel eventus. By mere chance, in respect of Ruth, – who, being a stranger, knew not whose field it was, – but by a sweet providence of God, who led her hither by the hand as it were, for her present encouragement and future advancement. God will direct and succeed the attempts of the well minded.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

gleaned. Compare Lev 19:9, Lev 19:10; Lev 23:22. Deu 24:19.

hap. From Anglo-Saxon, good luck = happy. Hebrew “her chance chanced”. Figure of speech Polyptoton. App-6.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

gleaned: 1Th 4:11, 1Th 4:12, 2Th 3:12

hap was: Heb. hap happened, 2Ki 8:5, Est 6:1, Est 6:2, Mat 10:29, Luk 10:31

Reciprocal: Lev 23:22 – General 2Sa 1:6 – As I happened Pro 31:13 – worketh Mar 11:13 – haply

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Rth 2:3. Her hap was, &c. It was a chance in appearance, and in reference to second causes, but ordered by Gods providence. God wisely orders small events, even those that seem altogether contingent. Many a great affair is brought about by a little turn, fortuitous as to men, but designed by God.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments