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Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ruth 3:7

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And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.

7. at the end of the heap of corn ] To this day peasants are accustomed to sleep on the threshing-floor in the open air.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 7. When Boaz had eaten and drunk] The Targum adds, “He blessed the name of the Lord, who had heard his prayer, and removed famine from the land of Israel.”

Went to lie down] As the threshing-floors of the Eastern nations are in general in the open air, it is very likely that the owner or some confidential person continued in the fields till the grain was secured, having a tent in the place where the corn was threshed and winnowed. Boaz seems to have acted thus.

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

Had eaten and drunk, to wit, liberally, as the manner was upon those occasions. See Jdg 9:27; Psa 4:7; Isa 9:3.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry,…. Having ate and drank freely, though not to excess; and innocent mirth was always allowed in the time of harvest, and of the vintage, and of gathering the fruits of the earth, see Jud 9:27 or “his heart was good”; he was in a good frame and disposition of mind, praising God for his goodness to him, and to his people; so the Targum,

“and his heart was good, and he blessed the name of the Lord who had received his prayer, and removed the famine from the land of Israel:”

he went to lie down at the heap of corn; in the threshingfloor, which had either been threshed out, or lay in sheaves to be threshed out: however, it seems probable that he had laid himself down on some of the straw of the corn threshed out, with his clothes on, covering his feet with the lower part of his garment; it being usual in those countries to wear long garments, which served to sleep in by nights, as well as to cover them by day; nor was it thought mean and unworthy of persons of note to sleep in such a place, and in such a manner as this r. And it might be chosen for coolness in those hot countries. Jarchi thinks it was to preserve his corn from thieves; though it might be because it was late ere the festival was over, and too late to go home, and besides he was ready for his business the next morning:

and she came softly; with stillness and quietness, as Jarchi, making as little noise as possible; or secretly, as the Targum, that no one might see her, and have knowledge of what she did:

and uncovered his feet; turned up the skirt of the garment that was upon his feet, or removed whatever covering was laid on them:

and laid her down; not on the side of him, which would have seemed immodest, but at his feet, perhaps across them.

r “Nec pudor in stipula”, &c. Ovid. Fast. l. 1.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.Rth. 3:7. And when Boaz. Illustrates the simplicity of ancient patriarchal times and manners (Lange). The owners of the crops came every night and slept upon their threshing floors, and this we found to be universal in all the regions of Gaza (Dr. Robinson). Had eaten and drunk. An Eastern idea that great men were more kindly disposed after eating (cf. Est. 7:3). And his heart was merry [cheerful]. Not necessarily implying any excess (Sp. Com.); cheerful and happy over a bountiful harvest (Steele and Terry). [Cf. Jdg. 19:6-9; 1Ki. 21:7; 2Sa. 13:8.] In Jdg. 18:20; Pro. 15:15 it denotes gladness without any reference to eating and drinking. Designed to point out the danger encountered by Ruth, and the virtue of Boaz (Lange). He went to lie down. Betakes himself to rest in the solitude of the open field (Lange). In the open air wrapped up, as it seems, in his cloak (Wright). And she came softly. See Jdg. 4:21. Secretly (Keil). Not so, but quietly, softlyin a muffled manner (Cassel). And uncovered his feet. Servants in the East often sleep in this position. If the weather is cold usage allows this using the covering of the masters bed (Kitto). And laid her down. And uncovered the skirt of his cloak, and fell (in sleep) at his feet (Syr. Arab). Natives of the East care little for sleeping accommodation, but rest where weariness overcomes them, lying on the ground (Postans).

Rth. 3:8. The man was afraid [startled, Lange]. The Targum renders it, and trembledthe translator explaining his sense of the word by the silly gloss, and his flesh was made soft like a turnip (Wright). And turned himself. Rather bent forward, so as to feel what was at his feet (Speakers Com.). Same word as Jdg. 16:29took hold of. Bent over (Cappellus, Rosen. Gesen. Bertheau Wright).

Rth. 3:9. Who art thou? What is your news? (Syr.). What is your state?i.e., What is the matter with you? (Arab). Spread therefore. Lit. And thou hast spread (Morison). A request as in AV (Lange, Wordsworth, Wright, &c). Thy skirt Thy wings (Tremel, Junius, Geddes, Bertheau, Keil, Wright, &c.). Same word as in Rth. 2:12Under whose wings thou art come, &c. In Hebrew marriages the bridegroom places his tallith on the head of his bride. The phrase indicates receiving the woman in societatem tori acknowledging her as a wife (Speakers Com.). Equivalent to I have made thee my wife, in Eze. 16:8 (Wright). We are inclined, however, to adopt the opinion of those who consider the word to be employed metaphorically of protection, as in Rth. 2:12, a much more delicate way for Ruth to intimate her wish (ibid). Let thy name be called upon thine handmaid (cp. Isa. 4:1) by taking her as a wife (Targum). But cover thy handmaid with a corner of thy cloak (Syr.). A near kinsman [a redeemer] a goel, one that hath a right to redeem.

Rth. 3:10. Blessed be thou. The same phrase as in Rth. 2:20 Thou hast showed more kindness. Lit. Thou hast made thy last kindness better than the first. The first was faithfulness to her husband and her mother-in-law, the last was her willingness to accept Boaz, aged as he was. This latter feeling, according to Rosenmller and Bertheau, allied to her attachment to her former husband, for whom she wished to raise seed (Wright). The kindness which thou art showing to thy husband now that he is gone is still greater than that thou didst show to him while he lived (Michaelis). Inasmuch as thou followedst. Lit. In not going after the young men, whether [after] a poor one or a rich one.

Rth. 3:11. My daughter. Continues to speak as one older than herself. Fear not. A common thing to fear where there is intense desire. All that thou required [sayest]. All the city [Lit. gate] cf. Gen. 34:24; Deu. 17:2 [see on Rth. 4:1]. This not to be understood with the Targumist to signify only the council of the elders, but rather to mean all the people who were wont to assemble at the gate (Wright). A virtuous woman (LXX). Lit. A woman of strength. A good woman (Lange). Strong in a moral sense. Corresponds with the common expression, man of valour (Steele and Terry). Means that Ruth was strong in all that constitutes female excellence and worth; possessed force of character, &c. The same Hebrew word as in Pro. 31:10 : A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband. Boaz fully justified in ascribing to this very act an honourable principle.

Rth. 3:12. And now it is true. Truly indeed only a goel am I (Bertheau). in order to strengthen the assurance (Lange). Howbeit there is a kinsman [redeemer] nearer than I. But there is also a goel nearer of kin than I (Speakers Com.). From this it appears that Naomi had laboured under some mistake. Probably she was ignorant of the existence of this nearer kinsman (Steele and Terry). Or there may have been on her part a knowledge of his inability or unwillingness to act the part of a redeemer (Rth. 4:6). Cox, however, thinks she had a further purpose. Of the women Naomi has the first claim [upon her kinsman]. How is she to show that she waives it in favour of Ruth? Of the men the unnamed kinsman has the first right to redeem. How is Naomi to indicate that she would prefer Boaz? She achieves both points at a stroke by sending Ruth to Boaz [See Cox, p. 1156].

Rth. 3:13. Tarry this night. Dangerous to return to the city in the darkness, but not in the indistinct twilight (Rth. 3:14). He cannot send her away, nor is he afraid to let her remain (Lange). If he will perform the part of a kinsman. Lit. If he will redeem thee (Lange). Translate redeem and redeemer throughout the verse.

Rth. 3:7-14

Theme.A DELICATE MISSION DEFENDED

Fie on possession

But if a man be virtuous withal.Chaucer.

And when Boaz had eaten, etc.

We need not dwell on this part of the narrative except to defend it from unfair surmises, and possibly from what men have added to the simplicity of the story. The Scriptures in this very much like human lifewe find in them what we take to them. There are who see evil suggestiveness everywhere. The eye, no longer single, the whole world is full of evil. Nothing in these incidents, however, but what is perfectly in accordance with the customs of the East, the habits of the age, or with modesty itself. Note. (a) Men should be judged by the standard of their own timesespecially in matters of custom. While virtue and vice are the same always, manners and customs are continually varying. Note. (b) An Eastern custom not necessarily a bad one because we do not approve of it (Cumming).

Look,

I. At what is certainly known in connection with the incidents before us.

(1) That Boaz and Ruth must have come into daily contact during the harvest season. Hence mutual esteem and regard may be expected to have sprung up (Rth. 3:10) possibly admiration and affection.

(2) That there were reasons for reticence on the part of Boaz (a) his age (b) the fact that there was a nearer kinsman.

(3) That the widow had a right to claim marriage from the nearest of kin. [For the Levirate marriage, see extract from Lange, and Crit. and Exeg. Notes on Rth. 3:1-2 &c.]. If any one might criticise, and complain of the project it is Boaz, yet he does nothing but commend, (Rth. 3:11) a plain proof that neither Naomi or Ruth had overstepped what was customary or lawful under the circumstances. No apology was made by Ruth, no surprise expressed by Boaz (Statham).

Look again

II. At what fairly may be said in defence of the act.

(1) It was in general accordance with the usages of the time and place. The interview in the open air [see Crit. and Exeg. Notes]. The claim made by an act expressive of taking the place of a servant, and of claiming protection (Spread thy skirt, &c.); a more delicate way after all than if done by Ruth in the harvest field before the servants and reapers engaged there. Note. The transaction concerned only those engaged in it,was a matter of the most private and delicate nature. If followed by a refusal on the part of Boaz it was best for both parties, the thing should be kept as a secret. As the issue proved it showed the confidence of both women in the integrity of Boaz. True love is always bold and may venture where false would fail. Only in the event of Boaz proving untrue could the end be disastrous, and we may rest assured that Naomi had settled this point to her own satisfaction. She knew her man and acted accordingly. His diffidence must be removed, his recollection of duty stimulated in this abrupt and dramatic way. He must be put upon his honour (Statham).

(2) It was done with a definite end and purpose, and that in no way connected with intrigue (a) to do honour and raise posterity to the dead Mahlon. To the pure all things are pure. Ruth simple concerning evil. Had there been the slightest immodesty in the place it would have tended to have defeated its own purpose and alienated Boaz. (b) There was the hope that Boaz would redeem the land (Braden).

(3) It was done by the advice of an elderly and pious woman. Not an English or European mother, indeed bound by the sensitive conventionalities of a highly-civilised and fastidious society, but an Eastern mother, &c. (Braden). Note. Children do not generally sin in collusion with their elders and parents.

(4) This advice doubtless had respect to the upright character and known piety of Boaz. Ruth sent not to a young man but to one advanced in years, one who had previously commended her purity and worth.

IMPROVEMENT.

(1) All agree that this is not to be drawn into a precedent (M. Henry); laws, customs, etc. differ now.

(2) True also that others may do what it is not wise for us to do, go where it would be dangerous for us to go, (a) because their motives are higher and purer than ours, (b) because their spirit is less liable to be influenced by evil. One man is no law to another as to what would be temptation. Every man must judge for himself as in the sight of God [cf. on Rth. 1:15, p. 65].

Rth. 3:7. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, etc. No asceticism here. Becomes the rich and great to be generous (M. Henry). There is a time to be merry. The phrase here involves no excess (see Crit. and Exeg. Notes). Means that he was physically comfortable (Pulpit Com.) Note. Christs glory to declare the sacredness of all natural enjoyments (Robertson). His first miracle wrought at a marriage feast, at which the language of the master (Joh. 2:10) tells us there had been, not excess of course, but happiness and merry-making. He himself called a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber.

There is but one indivisible point from which we should look at a picture; all others are too near or too distant, too high or too low. Perspective fixes this point precisely in the art of painting; but who shall fix it in regard to truth and morals? (Pascal). Now, there are a right and a wrong point from which we may judge of the scene described in these verses. Judge of it according to the maxims and the manners of our own age and country, and we shall inevitably fall into a most mistaken estimate of the characters and events that pass before us. We must be fully aware of the peculiarities in ancient manners and laws; we must stand in thought amid the simplicities and catch the colouring of Oriental pastoral life; for this is the point neither too near nor too distant, neither too high nor too lowthe true perspective position from which to look, and to form a correct moral judgment of the whole transaction.Thomson.

To understand the incidents of this chapter we must have before us the ancient custom and laws of levirate marriage, so called from the Latin word levir, a brother-in-law. We meet the first instance of it in Gen. 38:8, where Judah calls upon his younger son Onan to marry Ers widow, and thus preserve his brothers name. The custom, however, was not peculiar to the Hebrews solely, but has been found to exist in several eastern countries. The Mosaic law on the subject is given in Deu. 25:5-10, and is in substance as follows: If a man die and leave no children, his brother is under obligation to marry the widow, and she has a right to demand it of him. This obligation, however, is not absolutely binding. From this book of Ruth we see that the levirate law was so contrived that in case the deceased husband had no surviving brother the obligation to marry the widow devolved upon his next nearest kinsman.Lange.

The Hebrew word for this kinsman is goel which means a redeemer. Its root is the exact equivalent of the Greek to loose, from which comes the New Testament a ransom. The meaning of the word is profoundly set forth in the various grand historical unfoldings of its ideas. According to the social philosophy of the Mosaic law no member of the national organisation was to perish, no branch of the tree was to wither; whatever had been dislocated by natural events was to be reset; whatever had been alienated was to be redeemed. This applied to lands as well as to persons; and the duty of redemption rested, as within the nation, so within the families into which the nation branched out. No one could redeem anything for a family who did not belong to it by blood relationship. The Great Liberator of Israel is God. He frees from servitude. For that reason the Messiah who delivers Israel is called Gol-Redeemer. When He appears he will come as Israels blood relation and brother, as Christ truly was.Cassel (condensed).

We must remember that delicacy as distinguished from morality consists not in any particular action, but in the conformity of that action with the habits of the society in which we live; while morality often requires a sturdy opposition to those very habits. To judge of the morality of an action we must therefore inquire concerning its conformity to the law of God; to judge of its delicacy, its conformity to the law of contemporary opinion. Nothing can be more unrighteous than the measure which ungodly persons apply to the characters of the Old Testament saints; the nations called Christian and Protestant, receive from the Gospel notions of purity and real delicacy, of which man without that revelation, has no conceptions. They receive them, but deny or forget the source from whence they came; and, regarding these Gospel sentiments as natural laws, represent these holy men of God as violating the first principles of the natural law of conscience, when, in fact, they were walking fully in accordance with the light they possessed, and earnestly desiring to see the rising of a brighter day.Macartney.

What took you there? What right had you to be there? Those are the critical questions on which everything depends. If you are passing through temptation with your eye fixed on a pure, true life beyond it, temptation being only a necessary stage upon your way, so long as you keep that purpose, that resolution, that ideal, you shall be safe. If you are in temptation with no purpose beyond it, you are lost.P. Brooks.

Rth. 3:9

ThemeA CRY FOR SHELTER AND A CLAIM FOR HELP

Therefore I come, thy gentle call obeying,

And lay my sins and sorrows at thy feet,

On everlasting strength my weakness staying,

Clothed in Thy robe of righteousness complete.

Who art thou? I am Ruth, thine handmaid. Spread, therefore, thy skirt [wings] over thine handmaid.

This conversation, a strangely interesting and suggestive one. Fear may possess wise and godly men (Rth. 3:8), yet they moderate it and are not overmastered by it. Boaz evidently has both his terror and his passions completely within control.

Evident, too, that both actors in the scene fully understand the meaning and the teaching of the Hebrew law as to the relationship between them. By a very delicate and thoroughly national figure of speech, the same Boaz has himself referred to and used, (Rth. 2:12) Ruth claims the acknowledgment of this relationship. She asks to do with respect to Boaz what he has already seen her do with regard to Jehovah, i.e., take shelter under his protecting wings. And she uses the strongest argument possible in order to prevail, taken alike from the law and from the word of God, Thou art a near kinsman. The fact that she is of Moab can no longer stand in the way. Has he not himself received and treated her as an Israelitish maiden? (Lange).

In this act,

I. She claims an honourable acknowledgment of the relationship existing between them. He owed it as a duty, she asks it as a right. Mark, too, the petition can no longer be denied without disgrace to one or the other. She comes with boldness, and risks her fair name upon the result. So with Esther going in to Ahasuerus (Est. 4:15), So with the woman (Luk. 8:43) approaching Christ, upheld by a similar ground of hope, and a like conviction that help lay in Him. Note. How brave and trusting it such an approach (Wordsworth). This confidence itself is the earnest of success. The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, etc.

So, as between Israel and God, the very same idea is used to convey the idea of covenant relationships recognised as toward His own. I have spread my skirt over thee, is equivalent to I have made thee my wife (Eze. 16:8).

II. She asks protection and help. Rest under the guardianship of a husband, one of the underlying ideas of the whole book. The covering of the bridegrooms bed called a wing among the Hebrews (cf. Deu. 22:30). In word and in symbolical action alike Ruth refers to this fact. Note. Husbands are or should be a protection to their wives.

These natural relationships have their spiritual analogies. The figurative representation of God in this attitude, as one protecting with outstretched wings, is a common and familiar one in Scripture. [See on The Sheltering wings, Rth. 2:12, pp. 119, 120.] We have here

(1) a cry for shelter,

(2) a claim for assistance. Means take my all under thy care. So sinners come to Christ.

Rock of ages cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

III. She renounces all else to make this claim (Rth. 3:10). Her near relationship, her encouragementshe takes Boaz for better or worse. And she does all this with abundant and evident humility, self-abasement, and self-renunciation [cf. on Rth. 2:10, page 111.]

IMPROVEMENT.

(1) What a lowly attitude.
(2) What a significant one. So the Syrophenician woman came to Christ, content to touch the hem of his garment unobserved. So the Gentile Church comes to Christ, humbly, faithfully, and lovingly (Wordsworth).

In the present day, at a Jewish marriage, they always take up the corner of the plaid or cloak of the bridegroom, and spread it over the head of the bride. I saw in the Roman Catholic Church of Notre Dame a marriage, at which they seemed to retain a fragment of the ancient usage; after the parties were married, and the priest was pronouncing the benediction, he spread a robe over the heads of botha memorial of the ancient Jewish usage. Spread thy skirt over me.Cumming.

It is our melancholy and miserable misapprehension, that we fancy there is some reluctance on Christs part that needs to be overcome, some repulse in His mind that we need to do away with, and that we have to persuade and urge Him to do what we yearn to have done, to forgive us all our sins, and to blot out all our iniquities. This is a great mistake; ten thousand times more willing is Christ to receive you, than ever you were to make application to Him.Ibid.

Thou art he that has a right to redeem a family and estate from perishing, and therefore let this ruin be under thy hand; and spread thy skirt over mebe pleased to espouse me and my cause. Thus must we, by faith, apply ourselves to Jesus Christ as our next kinsman, that is able to redeem us; come under His wings, as we are invited (Mat. 23:37), and beg of Him to spread His skirt over us. Lord Jesus, take me into Thy covenant and under Thy care. I am oppressed, undertake for me.Matt. Henry.

Marriage is a resting place. The wife finds rest under the protection of her husband, as Israel finds it under the overshadowing wing of Jehovah. Even until the latest times, the figurative representation of God as the living Bridegroom of His people, continues instructively and sublimely, to run through Scripture and tradition. Christ says, (Mat. 23:37), How often, etc. Israel has rest (menuchah) when God spreads out His wings over them. The Psalmist prays to be covered by the shadow of Jehovahs wings. Boaz says to Ruth (Rth. 2:12), May thy reward be complete, since thou hast come to take refuge under the wings of Jehovah, the God of Israel. That which Ruth there did with respect to the God of Boaz, she now asks to be permitted to do with respect to Boaz himself. The husband gives rest to the wife by spreading out his wings over her.Lange.

Under the shadow of Thy throne

Thy saints have dwelt secure;

Sufficient is Thy arm alone,

And our defence is sure.Watts.

These times were not delicate. This man, though great in Bethlehem, lays himself down to rest upon a pallet, on the floor of his barn. When he awakes at midnight, no marvel if he were amazed to find himself accompanied. Yet though his heart were cheered with wine, the place solitary, the night silent, the person comely, the invitation plausible, could he not be drawn to a rash act of lust, his appetite could not get the victory of reason, though it had wine and opportunity to help it. Herein Boaz showed himself a great master of his affections that he was able to resist a fit temptation. It is no thanks to many that they are free of some evils. Perhaps they wanted not will, but convenience. But if a man, when he is fitted with all helps to his sin, can repel the pleasure of sin out of conscience, this is true fortitude.Bishop Hall.

Rth. 3:10-11

ThemeVIRTUE RECOGNISED AND BLESSED

A good mans prayers

Will from the deepest dungeon climb to heavens height,
And bring a blessing down.Joanna Baillie.

Blessed be thou of (he Lord, etc. For thou hast shown more kindness, etc. All the city [gate] doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.

A good man will not lightly condemn the virtuous for some show of evil (Bernard). Boaz instead of blaming Ruth blesses her, and praises her virtue, a significant fact to those who question her conduct. Makes no complaint of being disturbed in the night, nor of too great importunateness (Lange). On the other hand entertains no thought of abusing her confidence (Ibid). Note (a) Actions are often to be estimated from the character of the actor (Lawson). Some unknown cause may explain away everything that otherwise might seem suspicious. (b) Piety prevails even in a situation like this. She calls herself his handmaid, he calls her his daughter, and the actions of both are in keeping with this.

Dwell

I. On the benediction. [cf. on ii:4, p. 100; ii:12, p. 116; also on i:8, 9 p. 38]. May be looked upon either

(1) a petition.
(2) An expression of good wishes, the opposite of cursing.
(3) An affirmation. Note. The godly although poor may be blessed (Bernard).

Implies (a) Piety. Fervent prayer, even when a mere ejaculation or the expression of benevolent desire, rests upon belief in God and His willingness to bless. (b) Deference to the Divine Will. Bows to that and is in harmony with that. If the words are a mere salutation, they imply sympathy and express friendly and benevolent feelings. How much of the joy and pleasantness of life depends upon a word fitly spoken! These courtesies of life not to be neglected by the true Christian. Boaz did not forget them even in such a trying situation. They are everywhere sanctioned by Scriptural usage.

II. The Reasons for this expression of goodwill.

(1) Thou hast showed more kindness at the latter end, etc. The virtuous are better at last than at first (Bernard). Thus love grows stronger as difficulties abound; not only begins, but continues its ministry and its mission. So with Ruth. Her affection for the dead Mahlon to be seen in her present act [See on kindness to the dead ii:20]. Note. Apostates like Judas, Demas, Alexander (the coppersmith) were truly good at the firstgrow more evil at the last just because of this (Bernard).

(2) All the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. A great recommendationher virtue manifest, known, seen, acknowledged. Graces may exist and yet be hidden. Here they shine forth conspicuous, resplendent. A stranger, a Moabitess, yet not only escaping calumny, but winning favour. Such was Ruth. Note. Virtue makes even the poor to become famous.

Her virtue manifested in her circumspect conduct towards the aged and the young, rich and poor alike. Manifested everywhere, recognised of all. All the city [gates.] Note. Character tells everywhere (Statham). The price of such above rubies (Pro. 31:10-31). Her works to praise her in the gates

(31).

IMPROVEMENT.(a) Virtue

(1) recognised
(2), received
(3), rejoiced over
(4), rewarded by the godly. Note. Virtue a means of preferment, a source of praise, Blessed be, &c. (b) See how completely Boaz turns what would have been the hour of temptation to many, into a time when his gifts and graces shine out the more conspicuously. What wise counsel, what just and appropriate speech, what careful thoughtfulness for others, what gentleness, courtesy, and benevolence! Note. Good men praise virtue where others would practise vice. Its spell holds them in the extremest moments of temptation.

She calleth herself his handmaid; he calleth her his daughter. There is nothing lost by humility. The humble shall have riches, and honour, and life (Pro. 23:4).Trapp.

How blessed is a man the moment his thought has come into the realisation of this God, who is to-day and to-morrow, night and day, at home and abroad, everywhere, thinking of him and interested in him! Not of a God who is penned up behind marble laws; not a God who is afar off, and who requires that some one shall ascend into the heaven and bring him down; but a God with us; a God in us; a God for us.Beecher.

Exemplary virtue ought to have its due praise (Php. 4:8), and it will recommend both men and women to the esteem of the wisest and best. Ruth was a poor woman and poverty often obscures the lustre of virtue: yet Ruths virtue, even in a mean condition, were generally taken notice of and could not be hid: nay, her virtues took away the reproach of her poverty. If poor people be but good people they shall have honour from God and man. Ruth had been remarkable for her humility, which paved the way to this honour. The less she proclaimed her own goodness the more did her neighbours take notice of it. In the choice of yolk-fellows, virtue should especially be regarded, known approved virtue. Let religion determine the choice, and it will certainly crown the choice and make it comfortable.Matt. Henry.

Instead of touching her as a wanton, he blesses her as a father, encourages her as a friend, promiseth her as a kinsman, rewards her as a patron, and sends her away laden with hopes and gifts; no less chaste, but more happy than when she came. Oh, admirable temperance, worthy the progenitor of Him in whose lips and heart was no guile!Bishop Hall.

A mans nature is best perceived in privateness, for there is no affectation; in passion, for that putteth a man out of his precepts; and in a new case or experiment for there custom leaveth him.Bacon.

A noble mind!
With this and pleasures under ban,
True faith and holy trust in God,
Thou art the peer of any man.

Gallagher.

Rth. 3:12-13

ThemeCARE FOR THE CLAIMS OF OTHERS

Ah me! How dark the discipline of pain,
Were not the suffering follow by the sense
Of infinite rest and infinite release!
This is our consolation!Longfellow.

Rth. 3:12-13. l am thy near kinsman [redeemer], howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. If he will perform, etc. [lit. if he will redeem thee], but if not then I will, etc.

Ruths recompense and rest begins from this hour. The word of an honorable man is pledged. Fear not, I will do to thee etc., and she may repose in confidence upon that. Note. Where a godly and honest man makes a promise there is little fear of failure. With such to say is to do.

There is a difficulty, however, in the way, of a technical kind indeed, but none the less a difficulty because of that. Evident that Ruth had impressed Boaz favourably, that inclination pointed in the direction outward circumstances and claims were pointing. Note (a) The most subtle and dangerous temptations come in this way. Come as angels of light, etc. We persuade ourselves we are even serving others and not ourselves. (b) How good men act under such circumstances. Boaz remembers even in this hour that there is another and a nearer kinsman. Yields the preference to duty, not to inclination.

Suggests

I. Care for the claims of othersrespect for their rights. Note. Conscientiousness a characteristic of good men always. Justice to give every one his own, to do to others as we would they should do to us.

(a) The danger comes from our feelings and desires in such moments. We naturally seek our own interest, and we are right in doing this, so long as they do not intrude into the sphere sacred to our fellows. Note. The more ardent the man the more earnest the pursuit, and therefore the best of men sometimes feel this temptation to step beyond their own sphere the strongest.

(b) These feelings and desires need to be continually watched. Very easy to wrong others even in our acts of charity and kindness, much more then in pursuit of our own gratification. Note.

(1) Those nighest to a right are first to be preferred.

(2) Personal feelings always increase the urgency of the claims of selfishness.

(3) Grace can conquer even these tendencies in a good man.

II. Promptness to respond to claims upon ourselves. This request of Ruths cannot be gainsaidBoaz does not leave her a moment in doubt. Acknowledges her at once as a kinswoman, and poor as she is, responds to her demand so far as it falls upon him. He himself will prosecute the matter (Lange).

(1) How easy to evade responsibility. A natural sloth and lethargy of soul towards duty in most men. The priest and the Levite pass by on the other side, leaving the poor wounded and bleeding ones to perish. (Luk. 10:31-32.)

(2) How natural to let it rest upon others, to lay it upon them, and to criticise them if they fail to respond to it. Note (a) The man who most respects the claims of others is generally the readiest to respond to those upon himself. Boaz an instance of this: tender, true, conscientious all round. (b) Piety, high principles, true nobility in men run contrary to nature in these things; make us careful where we are inclined to be careless [in regard to others] and the reverse.

(3) Goodness should show itself in actions, faith be seen in works, kindliness of heart be manifested in deeds.

Then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee. [Then will I redeem thee] as the Lord [Jehovah] liveth.

The law made it incumbent on the nearest kinsman to marry the childless widow (Deu. 25:5.) so as to redeem the inheritance and prevent the name of the dead husband being forgotten or blotted out. Boaz acknowledges that Ruths claim cannot be gainsaid. What an encouragement this to the humble seeker I Her rights deferred, not denied.

The Goel or Redeemer here.

(1) Responds to the first application. No importunity needed. The seeker met half way. The burden and responsibility accepted at once.

(2) Conditionally promises all that is asked. No right to expect more than a conditional promise. Other rights beyond our own in the universe.

(3) Does so on the existence of God. As Jehovah livetha solemn oath, not to be lightly taken, not to be easily put aside. Note. How strong the hope that is built upon such. [On the Kinsman Redeemer, see Rth. 4:9-10, p.]

When Alexander the Great took Tyre he was informed of a young prince who had obtained a high character for virtue, and offered him the crown. The young prince refused it, because he had an elder brother who had a better title than himself to the royal dignity, for they were of the ancient blood of the Tyrian kings. Boaz deserves no less praise than this Tyrian prince. Such a wife as Ruth would have been preferred by Boaz to a royal diadem; yet he would not take her to himself to wife whilst there lived another man who had a preferable claim to her, if he was willing to make use of his right. We ought to look every man not on his own things only but every man also on the things of others.Lawson.

Howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. There are different degrees of relation, all of which have their respective duties, and their respective rights belonging to them. We sin either by neglecting any of the duties to these relations, or by arrogating the rights peculiar to nearer relations. Boaz would do everything to serve Ruth that became her nearest relation, but one; and this one thing he declined, because he had no right to do it. He would not intrude into the rights of another man till they were voluntarily surrendered. As every man ought to abide in his own calling, so we all ought to keep our own places in society. Much of the unhappiness, and many of the sins of social life originate in that assuming and meddling disposition, which renders some people a pest to their neighbours and still more to themselves.Ibid.

What true Christian chivalry born of faith, there was in the heart of this Bethlehem yeoman. He was not only sternly honest, but sensitively honorable, bearing his escutcheon without a sinister brand on it. We trace the same quality in some of the most memorable passages in the early life of his illustrious descendant, the greatest of Israels kings. David knew from the prophet Samuel that he was divinely selected for the throne of the Hebrew Commonwealth. The life of Saul was more than once in his power, and the unrelenting persecution with which he pursued him and sought to destroy him, would have seemed to a conscience that was less informed and scrupulous, almost to warrant his taking his life, and seizing the sceptre as it fell from his hands. But he will not so much as lift up his finger against the Lords anointed, or ascend to a throne by steps that are stained with blood. He dare not force Providence, or enjoy a blessing while sitting on the grave of a murdered duty. To wait Gods time, is to prove that We believe in God, is not only an article in our creed, but an active principle in our Christian life.Thomson.

A godly life includes every form of moral virtuetemperance, wisdom, fortitude of every kind, moralities, whether on a low scale of individual interest, on a higher scale of society relations, or in the highest form to which patriotism inspires. All these are included in religionBeecher.

He is an Israelite, not only before men, but also before God alone. And it was because he did not forget, what man is naturally so prone to forget, that God sees him, that he is so mindful of his duty. Hypocrites, when alone are different from what they appear in company. Israelites like Boaz feel and act in the presence of the all-knowing God alone not otherwise than they would if all the stars of heaven and all the creatures of earth could testify against them. Boaz showed an active faith when he gave no place to temptation. Pious and offenceless as he was when Ruth came to claim the right of the poor, he is equally so now when she asks for her right of redemption. Then the question was only about a few ears of grain, now it involves his own person and estate. Then he was kind in the presence of Ruths humility, now he is humble in the presence of her claim to be righted. Then he forgot herself in the fact that she had ever owned another law than that of Israel. Then his tender delicacy made Ruth assured of her safety in his fields; now that same delicacy understands that since she has come to him the right she claims must be fulfilled. He might have released himself by the letter of the law to which she appealsthere was a nearer relative; but his faith is an active faith. The question was one of right, not of ingenious play with the letter. The claimant must be satisfied. And he does what he promised to do.Lange.

According to its derivations, goel means one who unlooses, unlooses that which has been bound, and restores it to its original position. The goel did his duty, for example, if he redeemed a promissory note by paying it and handing it back to the man who had given it; or if he had redeemed a piece of land by paying off the liens upon it and restoring it to its original owner; or if he redeemed a captive by paying his ransom and setting him free. So that the fundamental idea of a goel was that of a man who redeemed, or set loose, that which had in any way been bound.Cox.

It is easy to understand, how, in process of time, this title came to be applied both to Jehovah and to Jesus. Jehovah was the Redeemer of Israel; for, again and again, he interposed to save them from captivity, or to ransom them when they had been carried away captives and to preserve them a name and a place in the earth. Jesus is the Redeemer of the whole world; for when we were captives to divers lusts, and groaning under the oppressions of evil, the Son of Man proved Himself our true kinsman by paying a ransom for us and setting us free from our intolerable bonds.Ibid.

Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell

7. When Boaz had eaten This was the evening meal, taken after the labours of the day were over.

His heart was merry He was cheerful and happy over a bountiful harvest, and probably also with the drinking of wine.

At the end of the heap of corn The winnowed grain was left over night lying in a heap, and this exposed the threshingfloors to the danger of being robbed. See 1Sa 23:1. “We have on various occasions,” says Thomson, “seen the summer threshingfloors in the open country, and the owners sleeping at them to prevent stealing.” And Captain Postans remarks: “Natives of the East [usually] care little for sleeping accommodations, but rest where weariness overcomes them, lying on the ground. They are, however, careful to cover the feet, and to do this they have a sheet of coarse cloth that they tuck under the feet, and, drawing it up over the body, suffer it to cover the face and head. An oriental seldom changes his position, and we are told that Boaz did so because he was afraid; the covering of the feet in ordinary cases is consequently not disturbed. I have frequently observed, when riding out in a native city before dawn, figures with their feet so covered, lying like monumental effigies in the pathway, and in the open verandahs of the houses.”

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

‘ And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain, and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid herself down.’

There would be a good number of people present for the threshing, and all these would join in the feasting, and then seek out a place to sleep on the threshingfloor, probably a little merry from the wine. Boaz in his turn, once he had eaten and drunk also sought out a place to sleep, and he chose to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Observing this, Ruth gave him time to settle and fall asleep, and then approached him softly, uncovered his feet, and laid herself down under that portion of his robe. It should be noted that she would remain fully clothed.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Rth 3:7. He went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn It seems as if this were a temporary kind of rest, and that Boaz reposed here only a short time upon the present occasion; lying down in his clothes, and not going, as usual, to his house, and bed: and, possibly, Naomi, knowing this to be the custom, might therefore make choice of the present opportunity. In this situation Ruth came to him, and, dressed as she was in her best raiment, Rth 3:3 laid herself down at his feet.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Rth 3:7-18

Innocence and Piety

7And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry [cheerful], he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn [-sheaves]: and she came softly,9 and uncovered [the place at] his feet, and laid her down. 8And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid [startled], and turned himself [bent himself over]: and behold, a woman lay at his feet. 9And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt [wings]10 over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman [a redeemer]. 10And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord [Jehovah], my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning,11 inasmuch as thou followedest not [didst not go after] young men, whether poor or rich. 11And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest [sayest]: for all the city [gate] of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous [brave]12 woman. 12And now it is true13 that I am thy near kinsman [a redeemer]: howbeit there is a kinsman [redeemer] nearer than I. 13Tarry14 this [to] night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman [redeemer; lit. if he will redeem thee], well; let him do the kinsmans part [let him redeem]: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee [shall not be inclined to redeem thee], then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee [then will I redeem thee], as the Lord [Jehovah] liveth: lie down until the morning. 14And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before15 one [a man] could know another [recognize his friend]. And 15[For] he said, Let it not be known that a [the] woman came into the floor. Also he said, Bring the vail [mantle]16 that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she [he]17 16went into the city. And when [omit: when] she came to her mother-in-law, [and] she [i.e. the mother-in-law] said, Who art thou, my daughter? and she told her all that the man had done to her. 17And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother-in law. 18Then said she, Sit still [Remain quiet], my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in [omit: be in] rest until he have finished the thing this day.

TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL

[1 Rth 3:7.: not secretly (Keil), which would be superfluous here; but as in Jdg 4:21, quietly, softly, so as not to wake the sleeperin a muffled manner, cf. Lex. s. v. .Tr.]

[2 Rth 3:9. must be regarded as dual, with the suffix defect, written (Ges. 91, 2, Rem. 1); for as the word does not stand in pause, the seghol cannot be a mere lengthened sheva (Ges. 29, 4, b). The Masoretic tradition, therefore, understands wings here, and not skirt, or coverlet, in which sense the word is always used in the singular. The covering wing is a favorite emblem of protection in the psalms and elsewhere, and is here far more beautiful and suggestive than skirt or coverlet, even though the translation of the metaphor into the language of action did carry with it an actual spreading of the skirt over one, cf. the commentary. The rendering wings is also adopted by Bertheau, Keil, Wright, etc.Tr.]

[3 Rth 3:10.Dr. Cassel: du hast deine Liebe, die sptere, noch schner gemacht, als die erste; or, as Dr. Wordsworth very happily, as well as literally renders: thou hast bettered () thy latter loving kindness above the former. The comparison is not as to quantity, but as to quality.Tr.]

[4 Rth 3:11. : lit. a woman of strength. Dr. Cassel here renders it (with DeWette) by wackres Weib, brave, valiant woman, while he afterwards (see foot-note on p. 43) substitutes braves Weib, i.e. good, excellent woman (so also Keil). Others: capable woman. All these renderings, including that of the E. V. (which is not to be taken in the restricted sense of chaste, but in that of its Latin original), agree much better than they seem to do. They are all embraced in , which is here manifestly used of moral strength, cf. Pro 12:4; Pro 31:10. A morally strong person is brave and good, capable in the noblest sense; in a word virtuous, possessed both of virtue and of virtues.Tr.]

[5 Rth 3:12. before , in order to strengthen the assurance: and now, truly indeed, cf. Job 36:4. Beside the Kethibh , we have here, as in 2Sa 13:33; 2Sa 15:21; Jer 39:12, the Keri . After the asseverating , occurs in Job 12:2, as elsewhere after an oath, Gen 22:16 f.; 2Ki 3:14 : but occurs also in such a position, 2Sa 15:21 (Kethibh); 2Ki 5:20; Jer 51:14, cf. Ew. 356 b.; and there is therefore no ground for preferring the easier reading of the Keri, especially as excludes from the assurance the opposite of what forms its object yet more decidedly than the simple , thus: truly, indeed, only a goel am I = truly, I am certainly a goelI am that and nothing else. (Bertheau.) Keil also thinks that the meaning of is to be explained from its use in the sense of nisi, cf. Lex.Tr.]

[6 Rth 3:13.. The MSS. have here either a large or a large . The Masora parva remarks that the Oriental (i.e. Babylonian) Jews, especially preserve the large . Many conjectures as to the meaning of the large letter are clearly wide of the mark. The ground of such majuscul is undoubtedly to be sought in the purpose of ancient transcribers (as Le Clerc rightly intimates), to direct the attention of the reader to facts or thoughts which to them appeared especially noteworthy. Thus in Ecc 7:1, where the first letter of is a majuscula. The value of a good name impressed itself here. So also in Ecc 12:13, where the in is written large. The fidelity of later transcribers, unwilling to obliterate any, even subjective marks, has preserved such peculiarities. With doctrine or any special exegesis, these letters have nothing to do. Thus, in Est 1:6, the transcriber, wishing to direct attention to the splendor of the royal banquet, the description of which beings with , wrote large. And so in our passage, it seemed important to the pious transcriber (as Buxtorf not without reason indicates), to call the readers attention to the language and moral conduct of Boaz.]

[7 Rth 3:14.Instead of the usual , we have here, and only here, in Kethibh. The pointing was occasioned by the endeavor to derive the word from a specifically Hebrew root. I hold the form ,, to be itself original. Comparative philology satisfactorily explains the word. It belongs to , , primus, parama, Goth. fruma (as belongs to purus, to paries, etc.), and is not at all to be explained from the Hebrew. The Midrash (Ruth Rabba 34 d.) has also noted the reading , and in its usual way explains the added of six hours, which Ruth spent in the threshing-floor. [According to Bertheau is a later Aramaic form for the old, genuine Heb. , and is by Aram, analogy to be pronounced . Not likely; as is not found in Aram. Frst derives it from (, an unused root, meaning to wait) with the termination =. Ewald seems to regard as a shortened (?) form of , which he derives from , an unused root, meaning to be fresh, cf. Lehrb. 337 c.Tr.]

[8 Rth 3:15..(milel), as it is written in most MSS., is the second per. sg. fern, imperat. of , to give, cf. Ges. 69, 3, Rem. 2. The reading , found in some MSS. is either for (i.e. the hiph. inf. const. of used imperatively, like an infin. absol.), or better for , second fem. imper., cf. Green, Gram. 164, 2.On the , Wright quotes the following explanation from Schroeder, De Vest. Mul. Heb.: Quia adeo ampla erant veterum pallia, ut pars in humerum rejiceretur, altera brachio subduceretur, Rutha, prehendens aliquam partem ejus sinu oblatas a Boaso fruges excepit. Imo aliam vestem quam pallium ne admittere quidem ipse textus videtur. Nam ex verbis , da vestem qu est super te, haud obscure colligitur, vestem intelligendum esse totum corpus tegentem; quoniam alias pro genio linguae Hebraeae, specialius membrum corporis cui illa applicata fuisset, expressis potius verbis fuisset nominatum. Accedit quod aliud quodcunque tegumentum, nonnisi uni corporis parti, v. g. capiti, destinctum, ad usum, quem volebat Boasus, fuisset ineptum. Neque insolitum id veteribus fuit, ut in sinu vestimenti exterioris aliquid deportarent.Tr.]

[9 Rth 3:15., and he went. Wright proposes to read , and she went, on the ground that many MSS. have this reading, and that there seems to be no reason why Boaz should go to the city at so early an hour. The MS. authority, however, loses all its force when the strong probability is considered that the reading is only a conjectural emendation. Wrights other ground is by no means decisive. The simple idea is, that Boaz, after he had dismissed Ruth, also went to the city, probably to his house, whence afterwards he went up (, expressive of the reverence with which the mind regards the place of judgment, cf. Deu 17:8), to the gate, Rth 4:1. So Keil; but cf. Dr. Cassel on Rth 4:1.Tr.]

EXEGETICAL AND DOCTRINAL

Rth 3:7. And Boaz ate and drank, and was cheerful. It illustrates the simplicity of ancient patriarchal times and manners, that Boaz, the wealthy proprietor of a great estate, himself keeps watch on his threshing-floor, works till late, and then betakes himself to rest in the solitude of the open field.18 It is clear that he did not do this every day; for the well-informed Naomi says, to-night he winnows barley. It is probable that this night he relieved his overseer. The remark, that his heart was cheerful, is not added without a reason. It is not, however, intended to indicate that this was why Ruth was directed to present her petition after he had eaten and drunk. It is true, indeed, that it was a current and probably well-founded maxim among the ancients that requests should not be made of great men before, but after eating (cf. Est 7:3), they being then more kindly disposed. But Ruth made no use of this post-prandial benevolence, for she allowed Boaz to betake himself to rest before she approached him. These words are rather designed to point out the danger encountered by Ruth on the one hand, and the virtue of Boaz on the other.

Rth 3:8. And it came to pass at midnight, etc. Boaz had laid himself down; it had become dark. Thereupon Ruth had come, and had laid herself softly down at his feet, drawing over herself a part of the cover under which he lay. The simple narrative paints most beautifully. It was midnight, when, perhaps, by a movement of his foot, bringing it in contact with the person of Ruth, he was startled out of his sleep. He bends himself forward19 in order to see what it is he touches, and lo, a woman lies at his feet! He says, Who art thou? and she answers:

Rth 3:9. I am Ruth thine handmaid; spread thy wings over thy handmaid, for thou art a redeemer. Ruth had been sent to demand the fulfillment of an ancient right. This right, peculiar as it was, had its symbol, under which it was claimed. We are made acquainted with it by the words addressed by Ruth to Boaz, and by her action in drawing an end of his coverlet over herself. The words are not contained in the instructions of Naomi to Ruth, as to what she is to do; but the action taught her, necessarily presupposes them. Marriage is a resting-place. The wife finds rest under the protection of her husband, as Israel finds it under the overshadowing wing of Jehovah. Even until the latest times, the figurative representation of God as the loving Bridegroom of his people, continues, instructively and sublimely, to run through Scripture and tradition. Christ says (Mat 23:37): How often would I have gathered you, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings. Israel has rest (menuchah) when God spreads out his wings over them. The psalmist prays to be covered by the shadow of Jehovahs wings. Boaz says to Ruth (Rth 2:12): May thy reward be complete, since thou hast come to take refuge under the wings of Jehovah, the God of Israel. That which Ruth there did with respect to the God of Boaz, she now asks to be permitted to do with respect to Boaz himself. The husband gives rest to his wife by spreading out his wings over her. For this reason the covering of his bed, under which he took the wife, was designated by the beautiful term, wing (cf. Deu 23:1 [E. V. Deu 22:30], etc.). Very attractive is the use of this expression, with figurative application to God, in Ezekiel, when Jehovah, speaking through the prophet, says (Eze 16:8): Behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread out my wing over thee, and covered thy nakedness, and entered into a covenant with thee. As the chicken takes refuge under the wings of the hen, so Ruth hid herself under a corner of the coverlet of Boaz. It was the symbol of the right which she had come to claim. Spread out thy wings over thy handmaid; for thou art a redeemer (goel). It is because he is a blood-relative that she can make this demand. Hence, she does not say, I am Ruth, the Moabitess; but, I am Ruth, thy handmaid. Here, where she lays claim to an Israelitish right, she drops all remembrance of Moab. And has he not himself received and treated her as an Israelitish maiden?

Undoubtedly this symbolical method of claiming the most delicate of all rights, presupposes manners of patriarchal simplicity and virtue. The confidence of the woman reposes itself on the honor of the man. The method, however, was one which could not easily be brought into operation. For every foreknowledge or pre-intimation of it would have torn the veil of silence and secrecy from the modesty of the claimant. But when it was once put into operation, the petition preferred could not be denied without disgrace either to the woman or the man. Hence, we may be sure that Naomi did not send her daughter-in-law on this errand without the fullest confidence that it would prove successful. For it is certain that to all other difficulties, this peculiar one was added in the present case: namely, that Boaz, as Ruth herself says, was indeed a goel, but not the goel. The answer of Boaz, also, suggests the surmise that such a claim was not wholly unexpected by him. Not that he had an understanding with Naomi, in consequence of which he was alone on the threshing-floor; for the fact that he was startled out of his sleep, shows that the night visit was altogether unlooked for. But the thought that at some time the claim of Ruth to the rights of blood-relationship might be addressed to himself, may not have been strange to him. Even this conjecture, however, of what might possibly or probably take place, could not be used to relieve Ruth of the necessity of manifesting her own free will by means of the symbolical proceeding. The ancient usage spoke a discreet language, with which not even a certain mutual understanding would have dispensed. For the rest, how truly the action of Ruth, far from clouding her womanly delicacy, was a new evidence of the nobility, purity, and genuine love that ruled her, is unequivocally testified to by the answer of Boaz.

Rth 3:10. Blessed be thou of Jehovah, my daughter! Thou hast made thy latter kindness even more beautiful than the former. This answer also opens to our view the simple, unassuming soul of Boaz, whose modesty and sincere heartiness are truly admirable. He makes no complaint of being disturbed in the night, nor of the too great importunateness, as another might have deemed it, with which the request is made. On the one hand, he entertains no thought of abusing the confidence of the woman, nor on the other does he play the modern conserver of virtue, who loudly blames another because he distrusts himself. He has only words of divine benediction for the blameless woman, so attractive in her naive humility. He knows how to value her act in its purely objective character, apart from every consideration of its relation to himself, as only a heart trained by the word of God could do. He blesses Ruth, whom like a father he addresses as my daughter, because he found her present kindness yet nobler and more beautiful than the former. But how is that to be understood? Ruths former kindness approved itself, when, after the death of her husband, she left parents and home in order to console and take care of her mother-in-law, unmoved by the certainty of misery and humiliation in a foreign land. What does she now? Young, comely, and favorably known, she might before this have looked out a husband according to her wish, rich or poor, from among the young men of Israel. Did she do it? By no means; she subordinates every such possibility to her mother-in-law and the usages of Israel. Instead of preferring the love of a young man, as were natural,says Boaz,thou comest to assert thy right with one more advanced in life, solely because he is a goel. Thou askest him for the protection of his wings, in order that a blood-relative may again raise up a name for thy husband and mother-in-law in Israel. In this, also, thou offerest thine own heart and happiness as a sacrifice of love to thy family! It is indeed possible that as Boaz intimates, Ruths present act of kindness was even a severer test of her love than the earlier. For those, done in the time of sorrow and mourning, were for that very reason easier than this, rendered at a time when perhaps a new life and fresh joy had been offered her. But the modesty of Boaz was too great. It is doubtless correct to think of him as a contemporary of Elimelech, and consequently no longer young. But in ancient as in modern times, a woman like Ruth will find a more engaging rest with a man like Boaz than she would find among thousands of young men.

Rth 3:11. And now, my daughter, fear not. Trembling with excitement, Ruth had done as she had been directed; and in the darkness of the night, the tremulous tones of her voice had informed Boaz of her anxiety. What he had hitherto said, contained no decision, but only praise. She, however, trembles for the answer to her prayer, on which so much depended. Hence, he says, again addressing her by the kindly name of daughter, fear not. As above he invoked on her, in Jehovahs name, a full reward, because, led by love to Israel, she had trustfully come to take refuge under the wings of Israels God, so he will not deny her who has come to himself to ask for the protection of his resting-place. Her Moabitish nationality can offer no obstacle, since he has already commended her to the blessing of Jehovah. She has shown no Moabitish morals. There exists no ground whatever for denying her the rights of Israel. For the whole gate of my people knows that thou art a brave woman. In the words my people, he hints at the sole reason on which a refusal could base itself. But there is no Israelite among us in Bethlehem, who does not know how good thou art.20 Whatever thou hast a right to claim, can be unhesitatingly done for thee, for thou art loved by all.

Rth 3:12. But yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.21 These words teach us that what Ruth demanded was an actual objective right, which belonged to her. Although Boaz perhaps surmised that, apart from the consideration of her right, she applied with special confidence to himself for the boon desired, he modestly and considerately decides only on the question of her formal right. Her proceeding receives its unimpeachable justification only when putting aside every personal inclination, it simply regards the matter of right. Thy claim, he says, cannot be gainsaid; but I am not the one to whom it is to be directed in the first instance. There is another, who is more nearly related to Elimelech. But he does not leave her a moment in doubt, whether this be not an excuse for refusing her petition. If that other person prove not able to fulfill his duty, then he himself will do it. This he confirms with an oath by the living God. Nor will she be required to repeat the proceeding of this night. A noble, womanly heartthis is what his tenderness impliesdoes not dare to undertake such a mission more than once. He himself will prosecute the matter. The symbolic act with which she came to him, addressed itself not so much to him, individually, as through him to the whole family. Perhaps he knew very well that Naomi had for good reasons sent Ruth to his threshing-floor,that the other relative would not be able to act as redeemer; but it is best for both Ruth and himself that due regard be had to formal right.

Rth 3:13 ff. Abide here to-night; lie down until the morning. He repeats the same injunction twice. He cannot send her away in the darkness of night; nor is he afraid to let her remain. She, for her part, hears his words, and obeys, with equal confidence. But she is only to remain till earliest dawn. Before it was possible to recognize each other clearly,22 both were up; that it might not be known that the woman came into the floor.23 By an early departure, he hopes that Ruth may escape meeting with any one, who might put injurious suspicions into circulation. He undoubtedly speaks of the woman, with special emphasis. It would have been very unpleasant to Boaz to have people connect himself with any woman in a suspicious way; but scandalous rumors of this kind, with Ruth for their object, would have been exceedingly injurious. To say nothing of the fact that an undeserved stain would have been fixed on the good name of Ruth, it would have rendered it very difficult for him to prosecute her claims in Bethlehem.24

But as she is about to go, he bids her first spread out her cloak or shawl, into which he empties six measures of barley,25 to be carried home to her mother-in-law. What is his intention in this act? That, as he says, she come not empty to her mother-in-law. A mere sign of his friendly disposition, it cannot have been; for Ruth will tell her all that he has said. He must have had other reasons for not wishing her to go away empty. If notwithstanding every precaution, Ruth was recognized when she returned from the threshing-floor, her appearance, laden with grain, would be less suspicious, than if she were met dressed up as a fine lady. Thus laden, it was usual to see her come from the fields of Boaz. Thus, the last occasion of possible suspicion was cut off. Still, the whole significance of the proceeding is not exhausted with this. Decided stress is laid on the fact that he gave her six measures of barley. When Ruth comes home, and Naomi asks, Who art thou, my daughter, i.e. how comest thou? as one whose claim has been acknowledged, or otherwise? she informs her mother-in-law of all that Boaz said, and expressly adds, what the reader has already been informed of, and what if only the liberality of the giver came into consideration, Naomi could see without being told: these six measures of barley gave he me. She evidently deems it important that Naomi should know, that he gave her just six measures of grain. The old Jewish expositors have made all sorts of allegorical attempts with this six. They are undoubtedly so far right, that apart from the friendly custom of sending visitors away enriched with gifts for their families, Boaz, on this occasion, meant to give a hint to Naomi of the result of Ruths application. This result was, that in any event Ruth would obtain a resting-place. The number six is the symbol of labor and service, which is followed by seven, the time of rest. Whoever has served six years, is released in the seventh. Naomi receives what she may take as an intimation that the time has come, when after long labor she must let Ruth go out free. The day of rest is at hand.

Rth 3:18. And she said, Remain quiet [cf. Gen 38:11], my daughter. Ruth is to remain at home, like an affianced bride. From both words and actions of Boaz, Naomi perceives that he will not rest, until he makes good his promise. This very day will decide the issue of the matter. And whatever that issue may be, it will not be without a blessing. The man will not rest, until he have provided for thee a resting-place.

HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL

And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou sayest. The faith of Boaz is such as leads to action. He not only instructs, by his prophetic words to Ruth (Rth 2:12), and by the pious spirit that breathes in his intercourse with his servants; he not only gives, moved by sympathy sprung from faith; he not only enters into the necessities and anxieties of Ruth; but he has also a clean heart, in which no impure thought arises, and stands as firm in the hour of temptation and secrecy as when the eyes of all Bethlehem are upon him. He is an Israelite not only before man, but also before God alone. And it was because he did not forget, what man is naturally so prone to forget, that God sees him, that he is so mindful of his duty. Hypocrites, when alone, are different from what they appear in company; Israelites like Boaz feel and act in the presence of the all-knowing God alone, not otherwise than they would if all the stars of heaven and all the creatures of earth could testify against them. Boaz showed an active faith when he gave no place to temptation. Pious and offenseless as he was when Ruth came to claim the right of the poor, he is equally so now when she asks for her right of redemption. Then the question was only about a few ears of grain, now it involves his own person and estate. Then he was kind in the presence of Ruths humility, now he is humble in the presence of her claim to be righted. Then he forgot herself in the fact that she had left the land of Moab, now he forgets that she had ever owned another law than that of Israel. Then his tender delicacy made Ruth assured of her safety in his fields; now that same delicacy understands that since she has come to him, the right she claims must be fulfilled. He might have released himself by the letter of the law to which she appeals,there was a nearer relative; but his faith is an active faith. The question was one of right, not of ingenious play with the letter. The claimant must be satisfied; and he does what he promised to do. Freely and purely, full of that love which is the characteristic of faith, he keeps himself and keeps his word. People speak of a mans word of honor; it were more correct to speak of the word of a Christian, the word of a confessor of God. For only the Christian does not walk in the crooked ways of intrigue and false advocates.

Starke: Christian, behold the kindness and gentleness of Boaz! Will it then be possible that God, when thou art in need, will send thee empty away? Never! his generous hand is never closed. Only open Him thy heart, and divine gifts flow in upon thee, without any action on thy part.

The same: A Christian must be upright in word and deed.

Footnotes:

[9][Rth 3:7.: not secretly (Keil), which would be superfluous here; but as in Jdg 4:21, quietly, softly, so as not to wake the sleeperin a muffled manner, cf. Lex. s. v. .Tr.]

[10][Rth 3:9. must be regarded as dual, with the suffix defect, written (Ges. 91, 2, Rem. 1); for as the word does not stand in pause, the seghol cannot be a mere lengthened sheva (Ges. 29, 4, b). The Masoretic tradition, therefore, understands wings here, and not skirt, or coverlet, in which sense the word is always used in the singular. The covering wing is a favorite emblem of protection in the psalms and elsewhere, and is here far more beautiful and suggestive than skirt or coverlet, even though the translation of the metaphor into the language of action did carry with it an actual spreading of the skirt over one, cf. the commentary. The rendering wings is also adopted by Bertheau, Keil, Wright, etc.Tr.]

[11][Rth 3:10.Dr. Cassel: du hast deine Liebe, die sptere, noch schner gemacht, als die erste; or, as Dr. Wordsworth very happily, as well as literally renders: thou hast bettered () thy latter loving kindness above the former. The comparison is not as to quantity, but as to quality.Tr.]

[12][Rth 3:11. : lit. a woman of strength. Dr. Cassel here renders it (with DeWette) by wackres Weib, brave, valiant woman, while he afterwards (see foot-note on p. 43) substitutes braves Weib, i.e. good, excellent woman (so also Keil). Others: capable woman. All these renderings, including that of the E. V. (which is not to be taken in the restricted sense of chaste, but in that of its Latin original), agree much better than they seem to do. They are all embraced in , which is here manifestly used of moral strength, cf. Pro 12:4; Pro 31:10. A morally strong person is brave and good, capable in the noblest sense; in a word virtuous, possessed both of virtue and of virtues.Tr.]

[13][Rth 3:12. before , in order to strengthen the assurance: and now, truly indeed, cf. Job 36:4. Beside the Kethibh , we have here, as in 2Sa 13:33; 2Sa 15:21; Jer 39:12, the Keri . After the asseverating , occurs in Job 12:2, as elsewhere after an oath, Gen 22:16 f.; 2Ki 3:14 : but occurs also in such a position, 2Sa 15:21 (Kethibh); 2Ki 5:20; Jer 51:14, cf. Ew. 356 b.; and there is therefore no ground for preferring the easier reading of the Keri, especially as excludes from the assurance the opposite of what forms its object yet more decidedly than the simple , thus: truly, indeed, only a goel am I = truly, I am certainly a goelI am that and nothing else. (Bertheau.) Keil also thinks that the meaning of is to be explained from its use in the sense of nisi, cf. Lex.Tr.]

[14]Rth 3:13.. The MSS. have here either a large or a large . The Masora parva remarks that the Oriental (i.e. Babylonian) Jews, especially preserve the large . Many conjectures as to the meaning of the large letter are clearly wide of the mark. The ground of such majuscul is undoubtedly to be sought in the purpose of ancient transcribers (as Le Clerc rightly intimates), to direct the attention of the reader to facts or thoughts which to them appeared especially noteworthy. Thus in Ecc 7:1, where the first letter of is a majuscula. The value of a good name impressed itself here. So also in Ecc 12:13, where the in is written large. The fidelity of later transcribers, unwilling to obliterate any, even subjective marks, has preserved such peculiarities. With doctrine or any special exegesis, these letters have nothing to do. Thus, in Est 1:6, the transcriber, wishing to direct attention to the splendor of the royal banquet, the description of which beings with , wrote large. And so in our passage, it seemed important to the pious transcriber (as Buxtorf not without reason indicates), to call the readers attention to the language and moral conduct of Boaz.]

[15][Rth 3:14.Instead of the usual , we have here, and only here, in Kethibh. The pointing was occasioned by the endeavor to derive the word from a specifically Hebrew root. I hold the form ,, to be itself original. Comparative philology satisfactorily explains the word. It belongs to , , primus, parama, Goth. fruma (as belongs to purus, to paries, etc.), and is not at all to be explained from the Hebrew. The Midrash (Ruth Rabba 34 d.) has also noted the reading , and in its usual way explains the added of six hours, which Ruth spent in the threshing-floor. [According to Bertheau is a later Aramaic form for the old, genuine Heb. , and is by Aram, analogy to be pronounced . Not likely; as is not found in Aram. Frst derives it from (, an unused root, meaning to wait) with the termination =. Ewald seems to regard as a shortened (?) form of , which he derives from , an unused root, meaning to be fresh, cf. Lehrb. 337 c.Tr.]

[16][Rth 3:15..(milel), as it is written in most MSS., is the second per. sg. fern, imperat. of , to give, cf. Ges. 69, 3, Rem. 2. The reading , found in some MSS. is either for (i.e. the hiph. inf. const. of used imperatively, like an infin. absol.), or better for , second fem. imper., cf. Green, Gram. 164, 2.On the , Wright quotes the following explanation from Schroeder, De Vest. Mul. Heb.: Quia adeo ampla erant veterum pallia, ut pars in humerum rejiceretur, altera brachio subduceretur, Rutha, prehendens aliquam partem ejus sinu oblatas a Boaso fruges excepit. Imo aliam vestem quam pallium ne admittere quidem ipse textus videtur. Nam ex verbis , da vestem qu est super te, haud obscure colligitur, vestem intelligendum esse totum corpus tegentem; quoniam alias pro genio linguae Hebraeae, specialius membrum corporis cui illa applicata fuisset, expressis potius verbis fuisset nominatum. Accedit quod aliud quodcunque tegumentum, nonnisi uni corporis parti, v. g. capiti, destinctum, ad usum, quem volebat Boasus, fuisset ineptum. Neque insolitum id veteribus fuit, ut in sinu vestimenti exterioris aliquid deportarent.Tr.]

[17][Rth 3:15., and he went. Wright proposes to read , and she went, on the ground that many MSS. have this reading, and that there seems to be no reason why Boaz should go to the city at so early an hour. The MS. authority, however, loses all its force when the strong probability is considered that the reading is only a conjectural emendation. Wrights other ground is by no means decisive. The simple idea is, that Boaz, after he had dismissed Ruth, also went to the city, probably to his house, whence afterwards he went up (, expressive of the reverence with which the mind regards the place of judgment, cf. Deu 17:8), to the gate, Rth 4:1. So Keil; but cf. Dr. Cassel on Rth 4:1.Tr.]

[18][The same practice is still continued in Palestine, cf. Rob. ii. 83; Thomson, ii. 511. Its design is, of course, to keep the grain from being stolen. Thomson says, that it s not unusual for husband, wife, and all the family to encamp at the threshing-floors, and remain until the harvest as over.Tr.]

[19] , as it is said of Sampson, Jdg 16:29, that he bent over the pillars, .

[20]All know that thou art a good woman. The LXX., with singular literalness, render by .

[21]The Midrash (Ruth Rabba, p. 34 b), which would fain hold fast to the letter of the law, which speaks only of the brother as goel, thinks that the name of the nearer relative was Tob (cf. Rth 3:13). As if Boaz had intended to say: If Tob will redeem thee, let him redeem. But Ibn Ezra already found this unsuitable, and Ruth 4 makes it wholly impossible.

[22]The Talmud (Berachoth, p. 9 a) teaches how to measure the break of day. The Mishna had decided day-break to begin when it becomes possible to distinguish between white and blue; R. Mair, when a wolf and a dogR. akiba, when an ass and a wild asscould be distinguished. But others said, when one sees and recognizes another person at the distance of four ells.

[23][Wright. These words express Boazs opinion, which he had previously intimated to Ruth; for the use of the article (the i.e. this woman) forbids us to suppose that they were actually addressed to Ruth. The Targumist, probably influenced by this reason, and considering it un likely that Boaz should have been alone in the threshing floor, renders: and Boaz said to his young men, etc.Tr.]

[24]The Mishna (Jebamoth, ii. 8) determined that one suspected of previous intercourse with a foreigner, even though she were a convert, was not allowed to perform the duty of levirate marriage.

[25]The measure is not given; the expression is simply six of barley. It made a considerable load, for he had to put it on her. The allegorical interpretation of the Midrash (in the Targum) brings out six descendants of Ruth, namely, David, Daniel, the companions (Dan 1:6) and the king, Messias. Ruth Rabba, p. 34 a, counts eight descendants with six prominent characteristics. In this case, Hezekiah and Josiah are added to the others already named.

Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange

And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.

An ordinary Reader might be tempted to conceive unfavorably of Boaz from this account; but the expressions here used concerning Boaz, favour no such ideas. It should be recollected, that in the seasons of harvest in those warm countries, it was very common to sleep in booths and tents, to avoid the excessive heat. Boaz doing this in his corn chamber, corresponded to the same. And that he had committed no excess in his supper seems evident from what is said soon after, that he blessed the Lord. Indeed the expression, that his heart was merry, means no other than that his heart was cheerful. The Chaldee paraphrase translate it that his heart was good, meaning that he was cheerful in his own mind, and thankful to the Lord for the plenty of his harvest.

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

Rth 3:7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.

Ver. 7. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk. ] More freely than ordinary; as at such a feast he might. God alloweth his people an honest affluence, and “there is a time to be merry.”

And his heart was merry. ] Heb., Good; that is, frolic and free from cares.

At the end of the heap of corn. ] See Trapp on “ Rth 3:4 “

And she came softly, and uncovered his feet. ] Or, Lifted up the clothes that were at his feet.

“ O prisca simplicitas!

Integritas ubi prisca! profana o tempora! ”

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

his heart: Gen 43:34, Jdg 16:25, Jdg 19:6, Jdg 19:9, Jdg 19:22, 2Sa 13:28, Est 1:10, Psa 104:15, Ecc 2:24, Ecc 3:12, Ecc 3:13, Ecc 8:15, Ecc 9:7, Ecc 10:19, 1Co 10:31, Eph 5:18
went to lie: Such was the simplicity of those early times, that the most wealthy persons looked after their own affairs, both at home and in the field. These threshing-floors were covered at top to keep off the rain, but lay open on all sides, that the wind might come in freely, for winnowing the corn; which being done, it is probable they were shut up at night, with doors fitted to them, that if any one lay there he might be kept warm, and the corn be secured from robbers.
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Rth 3:7. And his heart was merry Hebrew, , iitab, libbo, his heart was good, that is, cheerful and thankful for the plenty which the Lord had sent. He went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn In his clothes, doubtless; not going as usual to his house and bed, but reposing himself here, for the sake of taking a little temporary rest, probably on the straw in the floor where his corn had been winnowed, to secure it from thieves till it could be laid up in his garner. For such was the plain way of living in those ancient times, that the most wealthy persons looked after their own business, both in the field and at home. And she came softly
So that none perceived her, and, when he was asleep, lay down at his feet, in her clothes, which we have no reason to think she put off, as her intention was only to put him in remembrance of what the law required of him.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

3:7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his {c} heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
(c) That is, he had refreshed himself among his servants.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

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