Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ruth 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.

9. after them ] i.e. the maidens Rth 2:8, who followed the reapers and did the binding.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

After them – i. e. after my maidens. The fields not being divided by hedges, but only by unplowed ridges, it would be easy for her to pass off Boazs land without being aware of it, and so find herself among strangers where Boaz could not protect her.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 9. The young men that they shall not touch thee] This was peculiarly necessary, as she was a stranger and unprotected.

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

That they shall not touch thee, so as to offer any incivility or injury to thee. Touching is oft taken for hurting, Gen 26:11; Psa 105:15.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

9. go unto the vessels, and drink ofthat which the young men have drawnGleaners were sometimesallowed, by kind and charitable masters, to partake of therefreshments provided for the reapers. The vessels alluded to wereskin bottles, filled with waterand the bread was soaked in vinegar(Ru 2:14); a kind of poor, weakwine, sometimes mingled with a little olive oilvery cooling, aswould be required in harvest-time. This grateful refection is stillused in the harvest-field.

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

Let thine eyes be upon the field that they do reap, and go thou after them,…. And gather up the loose ears of corn dropped and left by them:

have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? do her no hurt, or offer any incivility or rudeness to her, or even play any wanton tricks with her, as is too common with young persons in the fields at harvest time. This charge he now gave in her hearing, or however suggests that he would, and therefore she might depend upon it she should have no molestation nor any affront given her:

and when thou art athirst: as at such a season of the year, and in the field at such work, and in those hot countries, was frequently the case:

go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn; which they had fetched from wells and fountains in or near the city, and had put into bottles, pitchers, c. for the use of the reapers and gatherers we read of the well of Bethlehem, 2Sa 23:15 now she is ordered to go to these vessels, and drink when she pleased, without asking leave of any; and Boaz no doubt gave it in charge to his young men not to hinder her.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(9) Have drawn.Literally, shall (from time to time) draw. Possibly from that self-same well at Bethlehem from which David desired to drink (2Sa. 23:15).

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

9. That they do reap go after them The words they and them refer respectively to the reapers and the maidens of Boaz, for in the Hebrew the verb reap, is in the masculine, and the suffix them, is in the feminine form. In the absence of fences to mark the exact limits of Boaz’s field, Ruth might, if she allowed herself to become far separated from his reapers, go unlicensed on another’s possessions; hence the charge to keep near his maidens.

Have I not charged the young men From this remark it seems that the reapers were apt to be rude in their deportment towards defenceless females, if they received no charge from their masters. “Such precautions,” says Dr. Thomson, “are not out of place at this day.

The reapers are gathered from all parts of the country, and largely from the ruder class, and, living far from home, throw off all restraint, and give free license to their tongues, if nothing more.”

Go unto the vessels This was doubtless a special indulgence to a gleaner. The harvest field was often at some distance from springs or wells, but the occasional refreshment of a drink of water was all important to the heated labourers; hence the vessels of water provided by the young men.

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

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.

Ver. 9. Go thou after them. ] Mercy is not miserly: charity is no churl. Love is full of good works. This age aboundeth with mouth mercy, Jam 3:15-16 but a little handful were better than a great many such mouthfuls.

That they should not touch thee. ] With a wanton touch, as young men are apt to do, or otherwise wrong thee. Let masters of families make Nebuchadnezzar’s law, that nothing be said or done, by those under their charge, against the God of heaven.

Drink of that which the young men have drawn. ] Not without hard labour in those hot and high countries: the courtesy, therefore, was the greater.

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

touch thee: Gen 20:6, Job 19:21, Psa 105:15, Pro 6:29, 1Co 7:1, 1Jo 5:18

go: Gen 24:18-20, Mat 10:42, Joh 4:7-11

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

2:9 {c} [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.

(c) That is, take notice of what field they reap.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes