Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you? Now isn’t Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he will be winnowing barley tonight on the threshing floor. Therefore wash yourself, anoint yourself, get dressed, and go down to the threshing floor; but don’t make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. It shall be, when he lies down, that you shall note the place where he is lying. Then you shall go in, uncover his feet, and lay down. Then he will tell you what to do.”
She said to her, “All that you say, I will do.” She went down to the threshing floor, and did everything that her mother-in-law told her. When Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. She came softly, uncovered his feet, and laid down. At midnight, the man was startled and turned himself; and behold, a woman lay at his feet.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 7, 8 Meaning, that she would provide her of an husband,…
Meaning, that she would provide her of an husband, with whom she might live quietly.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–8 Rth 3:1 Then Naomi her mother in law said…
Rth 3:1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
Ver. 1. Shall I not seek rest for thee?] There is in most a propension to the nuptial conjunction. Requirit vir costam suam, requirit faemina sedem suam, say the Rabbis. The man misseth his rib; the woman would be in her old place again, under the man’s arm or wing. Non est requies mulieri donec nupserit, saith Aben Ezra. The unmarried life is trouble and disquietment. Hence marriage is called Portus iuventutis, the haven of young folk, who are usually tossed by lustful lingerings, as a ship is with waves; hence the Greeks call young men ηιθεοι of αιθω to burn, and αιζηοι of ζεω to boil. Hence they are called upon to put away evil from their flesh, {Ecc 11:10} that is, to mortify fleshly lusts: and admonished by the apostle, that "it is better for them to marry than to burn." {1Co 7:9} Marriage being God’s medicine, which, if rightly applied, will cool and heal unruly lusts that war against the soul.
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That it may be well with thee.] That thou mayest arrive at those fair havens of a happy match: that marriage may be to thee a merry age. At Athens the bridegroom was wont to sing,
“εφυγον κακον, ευρον αμεινον.”
I have changed a worse estate for a better. It was as it proved; for of some it may be said as it was of Sulla, that they had been happy, if they had never married: but this is from man’s corrupt heart, that like a toad, turneth all it taketh into rank poison. "It is not good for man to be alone." Indeed, those that will marry shall be sure of "trouble," and that "in the flesh" too: {1Co 7:28} but as it is said of Egypt, that as no country hath more venemous creatures, none more antidotes; so marriage hath many troubles, but with it many helps against trouble.
“Coniugium humanae divina Academia vitae.”
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 Rest, i.e. a life of rest, and comfort, and…
Rest, i.e. a life of rest, and comfort, and safety, under the care of a good husband. The question supposeth an affirmative answer: I will seek it, as my duty binds me.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 6 Here is, I. Naomi's care for her daughter's comfort…
Here is, I. Naomi's care for her daughter's comfort is without doubt very commendable, and is recorded for imitation. She had no thoughts of marrying herself, Rut 1:12. But, though she that was old had resolved upon a perpetual widowhood, yet she was far from the thoughts of confining her daughter-in-law to it, that was young. Age must not make itself a standard to youth. On the contrary, she is full of contrivance how to get her well married. Her wisdom projected that for her daughter which her daughter's modesty forbade her to project for herself, Rut 3:1. This she did 1. In justice to the dead, to raise up seed to those that were gone, and so to preserve the family from being extinct. 2. In kindness and gratitude to her daughter-in-law, who had conducted herself very dutifully and respectfully to her. "My daughter" (said she, looking upon her in all respects as her own), "shall I not seek rest for thee," that is, a settlement in the married state; "shall I not get thee a good husband, that it may be well with thee," that is, "that thou mayest live plentifully and pleasantly, and not spend all thy days in the mean and melancholy condition we now live in?" Note, (1.) A married state is, or should be, a state of rest to young people. Wandering affections are then fixed, and the heart must be at rest. It is at rest in the house of a husband, and in his heart, Rut 1:9. Those are giddy indeed that marriage does not compose. (2.) That which should be desired and designed by those that enter into the married state is that it may be well with them, in order to which it is necessary that they choose well; otherwise, instead of being a rest to them, it may prove the greatest uneasiness. Parents, in disposing of their children, must have this in their eye, that it may be well with them. And be it always remembered that is best for us which is best for our souls. (3.) It is the duty of parents to seek this rest for their children, and to do all that is fit for them to do, in due time, in order to it. And the more dutiful and respectful they are to them, though they can the worse spare them, yet they should the rather prefer them, and the better.
II. The course she took in order to her daughter's preferment was very extraordinary and looks suspicious. If there was any thing improper in it, the fault must lie upon Naomi, who put her daughter upon it, and who knew, or should know, the laws and usages of Israel better than Ruth. 1. It was true that Boaz, being near of kin to the deceased, and (for aught that Naomi knew to the contrary) the nearest of all now alive, was obliged by the divine law to marry the widow of Mahlon, who was the eldest son of Elimelech, and was dead without issue (Rut 3:2): "Is not Boaz of our kindred, and therefore bound in conscience to take care of our affairs?" This may encourage us to lay ourselves by faith at the feet of Christ, that he is our near kinsman; having taken our nature upon him, he is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. 2. It was a convenient time to remind him of it, now that he had got so much acquaintance with Ruth by her constant attendance on his reapers during the whole harvest, which was now ended; and he also, by the kindness he had shown to Ruth in smaller matters, had encouraged Naomi to hope that he would not be unkind, much less unjust, in this greater. And she thought it was a good opportunity to apply to him when he made a winnowing-feast at his threshing-floor (Rut 3:2), then and there completing the joy of the harvest, and treating his workmen like a kind master: He winnoweth barley tonight, that is, he makes his entertainment tonight. As Nabal and Absalom had feasts at their sheep-shearing, so Boaz at his winnowing. 3. Naomi thought Ruth the most proper person to do it herself; and perhaps it was the usage in that country that in this case the woman should make the demand; so much is intimated by the law, Deu 25:7-9. Naomi therefore orders her daughter-in-law to make herself clean and neat, not to make herself fine (Rut 3:3): "Wash thyself and anoint thee, not paint thee (as Jezebel), put on thy raiment, but not the attire of a harlot, and go down to the floor," whither, it is probable, she was invited to the supper there made; but she must not make herself known, that it, not make her errand known (she herself could not but be very well known among Boaz's reapers) till the company had dispersed and Boaz had retired. And upon this occasion she would have an easier access to him in private than she could have at his own house. And thus far was well enough. But, 4. Her coming to lie down at his feet, when he was asleep in his bed, had such an appearance of evil, was such an approach towards it, and might have been such an occasion of it, that we know not well how to justify it. Many expositors think it unjustifiable, particularly the excellent Mr. Poole. We must not to evil that good may come. It is dangerous to bring the spark and the tinder together; for how great a matter may a little fire kindle! All agree that it is not to be drawn into a precedent; neither our laws nor our times are the same that were then; yet I am willing to make the best of it. If Boaz was, as they presumed, the next kinsman, she was his wife before God (as we say), and there needed but little ceremony to complete the nuptials; and Naomi did not intend that Ruth should approach to him any otherwise than as his wife. She knew Boaz to be not only an old man (she would not have trusted to that alone in venturing her daughter-in-law so near him), but a grave sober man, a virtuous and religious man, and one that feared God. She knew Ruth to be a modest woman, chaste, and a keeper at home, Tit 2:5. The Israelites had indeed been once debauched by the daughters of Moab (Num 25:1), but this Moabitess was none of those daughters. Naomi herself designed nothing but what was honest and honourable, and her charity (which believeth all things and hopeth all things) banished and forbade all suspicion that either Boaz or Ruth would attempt any thing but what was likewise honest and honourable. If what she advised had been then as indecent and immodest (according to the usage of the country) as it seems now to us, we cannot think that if Naomi had had so little virtue (which yet we have no reason to suspect) she would also have had so little wisdom as to put her daughter upon it, since that alone might have marred the match, and have alienated the affections of so grave and good a man as Boaz from her. We must therefore think that the thing did not look so ill then as it does now. Naomi referred her daughter-in-law to Boaz for further directions. When she had thus made her claim, Boaz, who was more learned in the laws, would tell her what she must do. Thus must we lay ourselves at the feet of our Redeemer, to receive from him our doom. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? Act 9:6. We may be sure, if Ruth had apprehended any evil in that which her mother advised her to, she was a woman of too much virtue and too much sense to promise as she did (Rut 3:5): All that thou sayest unto me I will do. Thus must the younger submit to the elder, and to their grave and prudent counsels, when they have nothing worth speaking of to object against it.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–8 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her,....…
Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her,.... After the harvests were over, and so gleaning likewise; when Naomi and Ruth were together alone in their apartment, the mother addressed the daughter after this manner:
my daughter, shall I not seek for thee, that it may be well with thee? that is, in the house of an husband, as in Rut 1:9 her meaning is, to seek out for an husband for her, that she might have an house of her own to rest in, and an husband to provide her; that so she might be free from such toil and labour she had been lately exercised in, and enjoy much ease and comfort, and all outward happiness and prosperity in a marriage state with a good husband. This interrogation carries in it the force of a strong affirmation, may suggest that she judged it to be her duty, and that she was determined to seek out such a rest for her; and the Targum makes her way of speaking stronger still, for that is,"by an oath I will not rest, until the time that I have sought a rest for thee.''
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 8 The directions Naomi gives to Ruth, ver. 1-5. Her…
The directions Naomi gives to Ruth, ver. 1-5. Her punctual observance of them, ver. 6, 7. The honourable treatment which Boaz gave her, ver. 8-15. Her return to Naomi, ver. 16-18.
Rest - A life of rest, and comfort, and safety, under the care of a good husband.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 Naomi's advice to Ruth, how to procure herself a…
CHAPTER III
Naomi's advice to Ruth, how to procure herself a marriage with
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Boaz, 1-5.
She acts according to her mother-in-law's direction, and is
kindly received by Boaz, who promises to marry her, should
her nearer kinsman refuse, 6-13.
He gives her six measures of barley, and sends her away
privately to her mother-in-law, who augurs favourably of
the issue of the plan she had laid, 14-18.
NOTES ON CHAP. III
Verse 1. Shall I not seek rest for thee] That is, Shall I not endeavour to procure thee a proper husband? See Ru 1:9, and the observations at the end of that chapter.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 7, 8 Rth 3:1-2. Shall I not seek rest for thee?…
Rth 3:1-2. Shall I not seek rest for thee? — A settlement in a house of thy own, and thereby rest in comfort and safety, under the care of a good husband. He winnoweth barley to-night — This, it is probable, was commonly done in the evening, when the heat of the day was over, and cool breezes began to rise; in the thrashing-floor — Which was in a place covered at the top, but open elsewhere, whither Ruth might easily come. And this work of winnowing corn was usually ended with a feast.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv2, 4, 8 Behold, he winnoweth barley ... - The simple manners…
Behold, he winnoweth barley ... - The simple manners of Boaz and his times are here before us. This “mighty man of wealth” assists personally in the winnowing of his barley, which lies in a great heap on the floor Rth 3:15, and sleeps in the open threshing-floor to protect his grain from depredation.
Tonight - For the sake of the breeze which springs up at sunset, and greatly facilitates the “cleansing” (separation) of the grain tossed up across the wind.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 I will. Hebrew and Septuagint may be read with…
I will. Hebrew and Septuagint may be read with an interrogation in the same sense. "Shall I not seek rest?" (Haydock) --- By this expression she means a husband, chap. i. 9. Marriage fixes the unsettled condition of women. (Calmet) --- Noemi being apprised of the law, entertained hopes that she could engage Booz to marry Ruth. (Haydock) --- Thus her penury would cease, and she would perhaps have children, as she earnestly desired. (Menochius)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On vv1, 7 Obedience in Innocence
CHAPTER THIRD
Rth_3:1-6
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Obedience in Innocence
1Then [And] Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek 2rest [a resting-place] for thee, that it may be well with thee? And now is not Boaz of our kindred [lit. our acquaintance, i.e. relative], with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing floor. 3Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put1 thy [best] raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto [suffer not thyself to be perceived by] the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. 4And it shall be when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover [the place at] his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. 5And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me2 I will do. 6And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[1 Rth_3:7.—בַּלָּט: not “secretly” (Keil), which would be superfluous here; but as in Jdg_4:21, “quietly,” “softly,” so as not to wake the sleeper—in a muffled manner, cf. Lex. s. v. לוּט.—Tr.]
[2 Rth_3:9.—כְּכָפֶךָ 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.]
EXEGETICAL AND DOCTRINAL
Rth_3:1. Shall I not seek a resting-place for thee? The peculiar proceeding which these words introduce, may appear somewhat surprising when viewed from the standpoint of modern social life and relations. At all events, this explains why its psychological significance has not yet been properly appreciated. But the narrative of the fortunes of Ruth is so deeply embedded in the characteristic life of Israel, that in order to appreciate its full beauty, it is indispensable to enter thoroughly into the spirit of that life. Perhaps no history teaches more clearly than this, that when love and trust, in their childlike and therefore divine strength, first suffer and then conquer, there is a presentation in actual history of that which the highest works of the imagination present only in idea.
That which made the fate of the daughter of Jephthah so sad, was that she never found a “resting-place” in the house of a husband. With regard to woman, marriage was viewed as the natural fulfillment of her calling, without which her life was helpless and defenseless, as that of a people without a God. Hence the prayer of Naomi, when about to part from her daughters-in-law, that they may find “rest” in the house of a husband. Orpah returns because she fears never to find it in Israel. Ruth goes with her, because she places her love for Naomi above all other considerations. Then, indeed, the hearts of them all were filled with sorrow. But since then God’s mercy has again become manifest. New hope has dawned upon their tears. What a beautiful and happy contrast presents itself now! The same mother-in-law who formerly, in her self-forgetfulness, bade her daughters-in-law return to Moab and find resting-places for themselves, is now in a position, self-forgetful as ever, to seek for Ruth the Moabitess a place in Israel, where it may be well with her. And what was the force that brought about this beautiful revolution? The love of Ruth which seeks not her own, the faithfulness of Naomi which deserved such love.
The understanding of what chap. 3 relates will be chiefly facilitated by a comparison with the beginning of chap. 2. While the women are in distress, it is Ruth who takes the initiative; now, when hope grows large, it is Naomi. When hardship was to be endured, the mother submitted her will to the daughter,—for Ruth was not sent to glean, she went of her own accord; now, when the endeavor is to secure the joy and happiness held out in prospect, the daughter yields in all things to the direction of the mother. The thought of labor for the mother originates with the daughter; but it is the mother who forms plans of happiness for the daughter. On both occasions, Ruth undertakes a mission. The first time she sets out, a stranger, without a definite place in view, and dressed in the garb of toil and mourning; the second time, with a definite plan, encouraged by the former success, and decked in holiday attire. And yet the second undertaking was not less hard than the first. Humiliation which she had to fear on the first, might also befall her on the second. Indeed, anything that might have befallen her on her first expedition, had not God ordered her goings, would have been far less wounding to her, the foreign and needy woman, than that which on this second expedition might pierce her sensitive heart. The first undertaking was more sorrowful, the second more delicate. At the first she could act openly, at the second only secretly. Then the worst risk she ran was to suffer hunger, now her honor is at stake. The faithfulness to Naomi which she then showed was not greater than the obedience which she now manifests.
And yet Naomi is as little to be reproached for sending Ruth on this second mission, as she was for accepting her proposal to go on the first. On the contrary, her course rather shows that she did not bear her name, or had won such love among strangers, for nothing.
Neither journey of Ruth, taken with the approbation of Naomi, can be measured by modern measuring-rules. They are not attempts at speculative adventure. In both cases, what was done was in accordance with unimpeachable rights afforded by Israelitish law and custom.
When Ruth went to the field to glean, she only asked a right guaranteed to the widowed and the poor. To deny her the privilege of gleaning would have been to deprive her of her right; to injure or put her to shame in the exercise of it, would have been to diminish it. True, the liberal treatment she received from Boaz was no longer a right to be claimed, but the expression of good-will and kindness. Naomi recognized in this the providential arrangement of God. And it is precisely this also that gives courage to Ruth to claim for herself and for Naomi the second right to which she is entitled.
It was an ancient law in Israel, sanctioned by the Mosaic legislation (Deu_25:5), that when a man died without issue, his brother was bound to marry his widow. This is a right of the woman. She can demand it of him, and if he refuses, put him openly to shame. How early and deeply this usage was rooted in Israel, may be seen from Genesis 38, where the death of Onan is ascribed to his refusal to marry the widow Tamar. The significance of this usage is clear. It is also found among other nations, although distorted and rendered impure. It rests on the historical feeling of the nations, which leads them to attach importance to the preservation not only of the national spirit, but also of the national body, by propagation. In the first psalm, the pious man is compared with a tree whose leaf never withers. And the tree is, in fact, the image best adapted to explain the reason of the usage in question. It is not without reason that the founder of a people is called its stammvater [stem-father, trunk-father, cf. the Heb. terms מַטֶה and שֵׁבֶת shoot, sprout, branch, used for “tribe.”—Tr.]. United about this common trunk, the ancient peoples distinguished themselves nationally (from nasci) very sharply from those who were not his offshoots.3 The different families are the branches of this tree. But the head of a family is in his turn a stem, putting forth boughs, as a tree puts forth branches.
The withering of the tree is the image of death. As no branch in the tree, so no member in the family, should perish. Now, the nation lives in its families. Hence, if a man dies without children, it is as if a branch withered in the tree. To remedy this, a new branch is, as it were, engrafted on the tree. This is done when the brother marries the widow, and regards the son she bears as heir to the name and possessions of the deceased husband. But what if there be no brother? Is the name then to be after all extinguished and the branch to be forever wanting? The law, as given in Deu_25:5 ff., does not indeed declare it, but it is an inference in accordance with its spirit, that in that case the obligation passes over to the nearest relatives of the deceased. Every family—such is manifestly the idea of the usage—must take care that no member in it dies out. What the brother is to the brother, that, when he has no brother, his more distant blood-relatives must be. The letter of the law, it is true, did not command this; but, as the narrative of our Book shows, the spirit of that usage which the law sanctioned, required it. Naomi, by way of explaining to her daughter-in-law her joy over the way in which God had ordered her steps, says, Boaz is related (קָרוֹב, like propinquus) to us, he belongs to our goelim (גֹּאֵל). The word gaal (גָּאַל), to which goel belongs, is philologically and in its original signification one and the same with the Greek λύω, “to loose.”4 It is not to be ascribed to the same root with the similarly sounding גָּעַל, although it is true that, owing to the well-known interchange of א and ע, it sometimes occurs instead of it.5 The latter word means, “to pollute;” and is related to the former as the Latin luo, pollute (cf. lutum, pol-luo), to the Greek λύω, “to loose.” The correspondence of the ideas “to redeem” and “to loose,” in their external relationship, testifies, both in Hebrew and in Indo-germanic, to their internal mutual connection. The idea currently attached in Israel to the term gaal, “to loose,” is everywhere definitely determined by the conception of the people as an historical organism. By this it was defined mainly as a “redeeming” [einlösen, “inloosing,” from ein, “in,” and lösen, “to loose;” i.e. a loosing of that which has been bound, by means of which it is brought back into its original position (e.g. a captive into his home, a slave into his freedom) or ownership (e.g. a piece of land, a promissory note, etc.).—Tr.].6 According to the social philosophy of the Mosaic law, no member of the national organism was to perish, no branch of the tree was to wither. Whatever had been dislocated by natural events was to be re-set; whatever had been alienated must be redeemed. This applied, as an example in our Book itself teaches, 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. Hence also the transition of the idea of goel into that of blood-relative was perfectly natural. Properly speaking, there could be no redeemer who was not a blood-relative. The meaning of the word is profoundly set forth in the various grand historical unfoldings of its idea. For every redemption [einlösung, “inloosing,”] has always been a setting free [lösung, “loosing”], albeit not always without security. The Greek λύω also passes over into the idea of “setting free,” “releasing.” Dionysos, in his character as god of the spring-season, is called Lysios, the Liberator. The Liberator of Israel is God. He frees out of and from servitude. For that reason, the Messiah who delivers Israel is especially called Goel. When he appears, he will come as Israel’s blood-relation and brother, as Christ was. The dismal counterpart of the goel as redeemer and deliverer, is the goel as blood-avenger. He owes his origin to the opinion, which slowly and painfully disappeared in Israel,7 but which is still partially prevalent in the East, and inspires many current superstitions, that the blood of the slain cannot be put to rest and liberated, until his murderer has been killed. The duty of this blood-revenge rests upon the blood-relatives, not only on the brother, strictly so called, but on the nearest relative, whoever he may be. So far this terrible usage becomes instructive with reference to the beneficent national custom which made it the duty of the blood-relative not to let the house of his kinsman die out; for this also was a blood-redemption, not unto death, however, but unto happiness and peace. The goel was no judge—as also the greatest Goel came not to judge the world—but a comforter, a dispenser of life and love.
Rth_3:2. Is not Boaz of our kindred? By these words Naomi explains to Ruth the right she has to engage in the undertaking she is about to recommend. His relationship gives her a right to apply to him for a performance of its duties. It is not to be thought singular that, if Ruth had this right of marriage, the first motion toward its fulfillment did not come from Boaz. In the first place, it was in accordance with ancient usage to leave the assertion of a right with its possesson. It was not the duty of a landowner, for example, to go after the poor, and make them glean; but it was his duty not to forbid them, when they came. In the next place, however, we learn farther on that Boaz was not the nearest relative. The objection which Ruth in her humility might find in her Moabitish nationality, or which she might entertain even without reference to that fact, is met by Naomi in the words: “with whose maidens thou wast.” She thus reminds Ruth that Boaz, so far from slighting her on account of her nationality, has distinguished her, and put her on perfect equality with his Israelitish work-people.
Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.8 This remark shows that since Ruth’s participation in the harvest of Boaz, Naomi must have come into closer connection with her relative. She is minutely informed of what he does and where he is. We must also suppose that it had not escaped her how much kindness Boaz had shown to Ruth. She could not but feel sure that the claim which Ruth was to prefer, would not be addressed to a hard and unsympathetic heart. On the other hand, it was natural to think that although Boaz was an elderly man, Ruth must be heartily attached to him. It was he, whose kindliness fell like a first beam of light on her sadness. Such an impression, after scenes and moods like those through which Ruth had passed, is never lost. She went forth on her first undertaking at the beginning of barley-harvest; she enters on the second, when the barley is winnowed on the threshing-floor. Between the two there lies an interval of time sufficient to explain how Naomi could have the courage and the information necessary to send her daughter on such an errand.
Rth_3:3 ff. But let not thyself be perceived by the man. Ruth was directed to pay special attention to the adornment of her person, to which, to this extent at least, she had since the death of her husband been a stranger. She is to lay aside the weeds of mourning and the garments of toil, and after bathing and anointing, don the festive garb; for the expedition on which she goes is of a joyous, bridal nature. All this, however, is not done in order to win Boaz by external beauty; for she is specially cautioned against allowing him to see her by day. But why this caution? Boaz was a believing Israelite, and therefore also a man of strict morals. It would have perplexed and displeased him to think that anybody else had seen Ruth, and might suspect both her and himself of an illicit meeting on the solitary threshing-floor. He would have scarcely listened to her, but removed her at once. The purpose for which she came had also an appropriate symbolism, which any previous meeting would have disturbed. By whatever means, Naomi knew that this night—for it was in the night that Ruth was to present her petition—Boaz was to be alone on the threshing-floor. The floor, albeit not entirely closed in, may have been partially surrounded by some sort of fencing, by means of which Ruth could conceal herself until the proper time, and within which Boaz ate and drank. Most probably the grain-heaps themselves formed the natural boundaries, between which, accordingly, Boaz also betook himself to repose.
Rth_3:6. And did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her. Ruth was to do something a little beyond what the prudence and delicacy of a woman ordinarily permitted. For that reason, it is expressly repeated that she did as her mother-in-law directed her. She was justly confident that the latter would order nothing that could injure her. True love, such as Ruth cherished for Naomi, always includes perfect obedience. It was not in Ruth that the thought of a new marriage had originated. Her heart had no other thought than to serve Naomi like a dutiful child. But Naomi, equally self-forgetful, busied herself with plans for a “resting-place for her child.” She, too, thought not of herself only, but of Ruth. She had undoubtedly done all that was in her power by way of preparation, before she directed Ruth to take the decisive step. From that step she could not save her, for custom devolved it on her. It is the beauty of the present instance, that this custom compelled Ruth to nothing that was against her will. For although she acted in a matter regulated by law, it was not settled in this case that Boaz was the right man. So much the more essential was it that, by Ruth’s personal action, the perfect freedom and inclination of the woman should be manifested. The greater the stress that was laid on this by the whole symbolical proceeding, the more significant is the remark that Ruth “did everything, as her mother-in-law commanded her.”
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
“Go down to the threshing-floor.” Love speaks only of duties, not of rights. Ruth offered to go to the field and glean; but of the right of redemption which she had, she said nothing. She thought of the duties that devolve on the poor, but not of her right to marriage. In going to Boaz, she manifested the obedience of love, the most difficult of all love’s performances. It is much to toil for a loved one, to humble one’s self, to give up everything, and to forget the past; but the hardest thing for a woman is to conquer the fears of feminine delicacy, to quiet the apprehensions of the heart, and that not by boldly transgressing moral law, but by virtue. Ruth’s visit to Boaz in the night was harder for her, than it is for a young girl to leave home and enter service. Her obedience in this matter was the utmost sacrifice she could make. She risked her womanly feelings; and that to a virtuous woman is more than to risk life. She claimed a right, to claim which was more painful than the heaviest duties. But her self-forgetful love pours an auroral glow of divine purity over everything. Her love was not the sensual love of romances. She loved Naomi, her mother; and in order to procure honor and love in Israel for this mother, and to save the name of her deceased husband from extinction, she does what only a chaste woman, inspired by the obedience of love dare do, and what the polluted eyes of impure souls never understand. Vanity and self-interest had found but a slight trial in her undertaking. To virtue and ancient patriarchal manners, the visit of Ruth to Boaz was the utmost of womanly endurance. It was harder for Ruth to don her best attire for this purpose, than to go about in her working clothes. For virtue would rather put on sackcloth and ashes, than the garments of a joy which may easily be misconceived. It is more of a martyrdom to face the possibility of appearing as a sinner, than to suffer punishment for the sake of virtue. But the chaste love of obedience succeeds in everything. Ruth conquers, and is neither seen nor misapprehended. She receives the crown of love and faith.
Sailer: Galleries of beautiful pictures are precious; but virtuous young men and maidens are more precious than all the picture-galleries of the world.
Starke: The bride of Christ is pleasing to her Bridegroom only when anointed with the Spirit and clothed in the garments of salvation.
Footnotes:
[1][Rth_3:3.—On וְשַׂמְתִּי and וְיָרַדְתִּי, cf. Ges. 59, 1, c. They are older forms of the second per. fem., and there is no occasion to substitute the keri for them. Another instance occurs in Rth_3:4.—Tr.]
[2][Rth_3:5.—אֵלַי, supplied by the Masorites, is unnecessary, cf. Rth_3:11 (where, however, Wright also inserts it on the authority of versions and some MSS.). The same remark is applicable to the case in Rth_3:17. So Bertheau and Keil. Dr. Cassel omits it here, but retains it in Rth_3:17.—Tr.]
[3]The sensual abuse into which the practice of levirate marriage is said to have fallen among the Nairs of Malabar, has extinguished the family proper among them. All are blood-relatives. They are a tree without branches. The correction of many of the views of Bohlen, altes Indien, ii. 142, however much they need it, cannot here be undertaken.
[4]Fürst (Concordantiœ, s. v. גאל) has truly remarked that גָּאַל was lengthened from גָּל, as לָאַט from לָט. This גָּל, originally related to both λύω and luo, has retained its g, which in the ancient languages has been frequently thrown off. The copious discussion of Benfey, Gr. Gram. ii. 119–124, should be compared.
[5]The few instances, Isa_59:3; Isa_63:3, Zep_3:1, Mal_1:7; Mal_1:12, Lam_4:14, in which גַּאַל—i. q. גָּעַל written with an א—occurs in the sense “to pollute,” should not have been placed under גָּאַל, “to loose,” in the concordance [cf. Fürst]. No one would identify luo (polluo) with λύω in that way.
[6]Our lösen, “to loose,” also, has in M. H. Germ. the sense of einlösen, “to redeem,” “to ransom,” sc. a pledge, land, etc. It occurs in this sense in poets and documents, especially Low German, cf. Riedel, Cod. Brand, i. 2, Ruth 207: “van den droszten dat land losete.” In another document Herr Heinrich von Mecklenburg is to “ledegen und losen (einlösen) alle hus und stede und de land;” cf. Kröcher, Urkundenbuch zur Gesch. des Geschlechts, i. 172; also, i.
[7]My observations in my treatise on “den armen Heinrich,” will hereafter, D. V., be further elaborated. Cf. the article of J. G. Hoffmann on Blutrache, in the Hallischen Encykl.
[8][Winnowing is done by tossing the mingled grain and chaff up into the air, when the chaff is blown away to a distance, while the heavier grain falls straight down. Hence, the evening and early night when a cool wind frequently arises after hot, sultry days (cf. Gen_3:8), was taken advantage of by Boaz for this work. For “to-night,” the Targum has, “in the night wind.” On threshing and threshing-floors, cf. Reb. i. 550; Thomson, ii. 314—Tr.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On v4 go in, and uncover his feet and lay thee…
go in, and uncover his feet and lay thee down--Singular as these directions may appear to us, there was no impropriety in them, according to the simplicity of rural manners in Beth-lehem. In ordinary circumstances these would have seemed indecorous to the world; but in the case of Ruth, it was a method, doubtless conformable to prevailing usage, of reminding Boaz of the duty which devolved on him as the kinsman of her deceased husband. Boaz probably slept upon a mat or skin; Ruth lay crosswise at his feet--a position in which Eastern servants frequently sleep in the same chamber or tent with their master; and if they want a covering, custom allows them that benefit from part of the covering on their master's bed. Resting, as the Orientals do at night, in the same clothes they wear during the day, there was no indelicacy in a stranger, or even a woman, putting the extremity of this cover over her.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 1. Naomi… said — All through that memorable barley…
1. Naomi… said — All through that memorable barley harvest, from the evening when Ruth showed her the results of her first day’s gleaning in the field of Boaz until the time of this utterance, had the now hopeful Naomi been planning that to which she here advises her daughter in law.
Seek rest — See note on Rth_1:9.
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Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 Ch. 3. Ruth appeals to Boaz to do the…
Ch. 3. Ruth appeals to Boaz to do the kinsman’s part
1. seek rest] a resting place marg.; see on Rth_1:9. All arrangements for a marriage were made by the parents (cf. Jdg_14:2 f.); hence it was Naomi’s duty to provide for Ruth’s future. How this was done is told with fine simplicity.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 8 (1) Rest.—Although Naomi had already (Rth_1:12) repudiated any thought…
(1) Rest.—Although Naomi had already (Rth_1:12) repudiated any thought of marriage for herself, still she felt it her duty to do what she could to provide a home for the daughter-in-law who had so loyally followed her, lest her own death should leave her young companion specially unprotected and friendless. But there is clearly a second thought. The marriage of Boaz and Ruth will not only ensure rest for the latter, but will also raise up the seed of her dead son and preserve the family name.
That it may be well with thee.—The object of the marriage is for Ruth’s good, and thus should it be with every marriage; it must be for the good, and comfort, and abiding peace, not of the body only, but of the soul.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–8 And Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, My daughter,…
And Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, My daughter, shall not I seek out for thee a rest, that it may be well with thee? When Ruth had nothing more to do on the harvest-fields, where Boaz appeared daily, and was unremittingly gracious to her, she may have fallen into a pensive mood. Naomi was quick to note the varying nuances"of feeling, and said My daughter, shall I not seek out for thee a rest?" The expression rest, or resting-place , though in itself of generic import, was, when used in such circumstances as environed Ruth, quite specific in application, and would be at once understood. It was a home to which Naomi pointed, a home for her daughter"s heart. In such a home, if warm and pure, there would be repose for the affections. "That it may be well with thee," or, "which shall (or may) be good for thee." Either translation is warrantable and excellent. The latter is the most simple, and is given by Carpzov and Rosenm but the former is in accordance with a frequent idiomatic use of the expression, in which there is a change from the relative in result to the relative in aim, so that bfyyi rva is equivalent to bfyyi ml. (see Deu_4:40 Deu_6:3, 18 10:11) Naomi did not distinguish between rests that would be "good," and other rests which would not be "good." Nor did she moralize on the idea of a rest, and affirm that it would be "good" for her widowed daughter-in-law. She assumed that every true rest was "good," and, on the basis of that assumption, she sought out one for her devoted Ruth. Hence the superiority of the rendering that expresses aim to that which expresses the mere prediction of result.
Deu_25:5-10) But if it should happen to be the case that his feelings were the reverse of repugnance, then the act of compliance would be at once the highest mead of respect which could be paid to the memory of the deceased, and the greatest gratification that could be enjoyed by the living. In the case of Ruth and Boaz, two just conclusions had been arrived at by Naomi. One had reference to Ruth, and was to the effect that, while it would be impossible for her to initiate action that might be regarded as terminating on herself, it would yet be both possible for and becoming in her to undertake the initiation of action that had for its aim what was due to the name and honor of her deceased husband. The other had reference to Boaz, and was to the effect that his diffidence, otherwise unconquerable, would be conquered if he were put upon his honor, and saw his way clear to discharge a duty to a deceased kinsman.
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4. We must, in addition, suppose that Naomi, in making arrangement for the midnight interview, had unfaltering confidence in the incorruptible innocence of Ruth, and in the incontaminable purity of Boaz.
5. We are likewise entitled to assume that the method of claiming a kinsman"s interposition, which she laid down for her daughter-in-law"s guidance, was no gratuitous invention of her own. It is natural to regard it as having been the normal and accredited formula of procedure that was in use in "society," for the initiation of such measures as were requisite in the application of the Levirate law.
6. It is on this assumption alone that we can account for the fact that no apology was made by Ruth, and that no surprise was expressed by Boaz. Instead of surprise, there was only devout admiration of Ruth"s entire demeanor in relation to her deceased husband. He said, "Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter; thou hast made thy latter kindness better than the former, in not going after any young man, whether poor or rich." It is her kindness to the deceased, not her kindness to himself, of which he speaks. The kindness she was showing after her husband"s decease was, in Boaz"s estimation, still greater than the kindness she had showed him, or had been able to show him, during his life. A woman, so attractive and so capable as she, might have readily found among the young men many open doors to rest, and ease, and affluence. But she did not for one moment wish to avail herself of any of these openings. She wished to do honor to the name and memory of her lamented Machlon, more especially in her capacity as the prospective heiress of his property.
7. We may be sure, however, that Naomi would never have availed herself of the customs that had got fixed by "use and wont" in relation to the Levirate law, unless she had been certain that it would be in accordance with the deepest desires of both her friends that they should get together in life. In the light of these remarks we may now re-read the entire chapter, interposing, as we go along the successive verses, whatever expository or practical remark may seem to he called for.
There is something radically wrong in every home which is not a "rest" to its inmates; and life without a home is emphatically a life of unrest.
HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON Ver. 1. Marriage, a woman"s rest.
If Ruth was unselfish, so also was Naomi. The mother-in-law acted towards the young Moabitess as if she had been her own daughter. In seeking a husband for her daughter-in-law Naomi followed the customs of her country and her age. (Our English custom is intermediate between the French custom, according to which the husband is provided by the negotiations of the parents, and the American custom, which leaves daughters to select for themselves.) The case before us was not an ordinary one. For whilst marriage was almost universally looked forward to by Hebrew youths and maidens, there were very special reasons why Naomi should seek a husband for Ruth. As is implied in the text, Naomi desired that her daughter-in-law might find in marriage with Boaz
I A HOME, which should be a rest from her wanderings.
II A PROVISION, which should deliver her from the misery and the temptations of poverty.
III HAPPINESS, which should compensate her for the sorrows of her widowhood.
IV PIOUS COMPANIONSHIP, which should be a relief from long friendlessness. Lessons:
1. Parents should take thought for their children, and not leave them to choose companions and friends and life-associates by chance. Nothing could be more disastrous than such neglect and thoughtlessness.
2. Marriage should be thought of with deliberation and prayer, both by the young, and by their parents or natural guardians.
3. Those who have found rest and prosperity in marriage should not omit the duty of gratitude and praise for the care and direction of Divine providence. T.
HOMILIES BY W.M. STATHAM Ver. 1. Thoughtful love.
"Shall not I seek rest for thee?" How natural. We cannot ever be with those we love. Marriage is God"s own ideal, and it is the happiest estate if his fear dwells in our hearts.
I THERE IS NO EARTHLY REST LIKE THE REST OF HOME. Judges, warriors, statesmen enjoy the honors of life, and are conscious of pleasure in promotion and distinction, but their biographies tell us how they turn to home as the highest joy of all. Yes! Nothing can compensate for the loss of a happy home, and we should seek in every way to make it a refreshment and a delight by doing our best to promote its peace and purity.
II THE EARTHLY HOME IS A PARABLE OF HEAVEN. Our Savior touches our hearts at once when he says, "My Father"s house," and when he speaks the exquisite parable of the prodigal son. No analogies of city or temple are so powerful in their influence over us as the analogy of home. W.M.S.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1, 3, 4 Shall I not seek rest for thee?
Rth_3:1
Shall I not seek rest for thee?
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Rest for Ruth
I. the object of Naomis solicitude. Poor Ruth: a destitute, forlorn, bereaved, homeless, portionless widow. Think of the destitute circumstances of a bereaved sinner, when awakened to find out how deplorably he is ruined and utterly undone under the fall. She was between the two countries. Just the position of a soul awakened. Yet further, see the character of Ruth portraying thy condition yet more strongly. You remark, that she had escaped from Moab and refused to go back again. There was a decision of character, there was a distinction, there was the plain mark of belonging to God. Do mark, I beseech you, here, the importance of steadfast perseverance in the Christian character.
II. the nature of Naomis solicitude. It was rest she wanted for her daughter-in-law: Shall I not seek rest for thee? I wish to give some description of this rest.
1. And the first idea is tranquillity; a sacred calm, a blessed believing satisfaction. For when the poor soul is first awakened by the Spirit of God there is anything but tranquillity; it is tossed to and fro in a state of uncertainty, a state of perplexity, a state of wretchedness. Shall I not seek rest for thee? Shall I not tell thee where it is to be had? Shall I not point out the fact that it is to be found only in Ruths determination--Thy God shall be my God, a covenant God--Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Get to know Him, get to serve Him with decision, and thou shalt have tranquillity.
2. But I pass on to mark, in addition to the tranquillity sought, it was desired that she should have an inheritance, and an inheritance of great value too. Now what says the apostle to this? Blessed be God,we have got an inheritance.
III. the end of this solicitude. And a very blessed one it was. (J. Irons.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Ruth 3
THE HAZARDOUS PLAN
Ruth 3
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HOPE came to Naomi when Ruth returned with the ephah of barley and her story of the rich mans hearty greeting. God was remembering His handmaiden; He had not shut up His tender mercies. Through His favour Boaz had been moved to kindness, and the house of Elimelech would yet be raised from the dust. The womans heart, clinging to its last hope, was encouraged. Naomi was loud in her praises of Jehovah and of the man who had with such pious readiness befriended Ruth. And the young woman had due encouragement. She heard no fault finding, no complaint that she had made too little of her chance. The young sometimes find it difficult to serve the old, and those who have come down in the world are very apt to be discontented and querulous; what is done for them is never rightly done, never enough. It was not so here. The elder woman seems to have had nothing but gratitude for the gentle effort of the other. And so the weeks of barley harvest and of wheat harvest went by, Ruth busy in the fields of Boaz, gleaning behind his maidens, helped by their kindness-for they knew better than to thwart their master-and cheered at home by the pleasure of her mother-in-law. An idyl? Yes, one that might be enacted, with varying circumstances, in a thousand. homes where at present distrust and impatience keep souls from the peace God would give them.
But, one may ask, why did Boaz, so well inclined to be generous, knowing these women to be deserving of help, leave them week after week without further notice and aid? Could he reckon his duty done when he allowed Ruth to glean in his fields, gave her a share of the refreshment provided for the reapers, and ordered them to pull some ears from the bundles that she might the more easily fill her arms? For friendships sake even, should he not have done more?
We keep in mind, for one thing, that Boaz, though a kinsman, was not the nearest relation Naomi had in Bethlehem. Another was of closer kin to Elimelech, and it was his duty to take up the widows case in accordance with the custom of the time. The old law that no Hebrew family should be allowed to lapse had deep root and justification. How could Israel maintain itself in the land of promise and become the testifying people of God if families were suffered to die out and homesteads to be lost? One war after another drained away many active men of the tribes. Upon those who survived lay the serious duty of protecting widows, upholding claims to farm and dwelling, and raising up to those who had died a name in Israel. The stress of the time gave sanction to the law; without it Israel would have decayed, losing ground. and power in the face of the enemy. Now this custom bound the nearest kinsman of Naomi to befriend her and, at least, to establish her claim to a certain "parcel of land" near Bethlehem. As for Boaz, he had to stand aside and give the goal his opportunity.
And another reason is easily seen for his not hastening to supply the two widows with every comfort and remove from their hearts every fear, a reason which touches the great difficulty of the philanthropic, -how to do good and yet do no harm. To give is easy; but to help without tarnishing the fine independence and noble thrift of poorer persons is not easy. It is, in truth, a very serious matter to use wealth wisely, for against the absolute duty of help hangs the serious mischief that may result from lavish or careless charity. Boaz appears a true friend and wise benefactor in leaving Ruth to enjoy the sweetness of securing the daily portion of corn by her own exertion. He might have relieved her from toiling like one of the poorest and least cared for of women. He might have sent her home the first day and one of his young men after her with store of corn and oil. But if he had done so he would have made the great mistake so often made nowadays by the bountiful. An industrious patient generous life would have been spoiled. To protect Ruth from any kind or degree of insolence, to show her, for his own part, the most delicate respect-this Boaz could well do. In what he refrained from doing he is an example, and in the kind and measure of attention he paid to Ruth. Corresponding acts of Christian courtesy and justice due from the rich and influential of our time to persons in straitened circumstances are far too often unrendered. A thousand opportunities of paying this real debt of man to man are allowed to pass. Those concerned do not see any obligation, and the reason is that they want the proper state of mind. That is indispensable. Where it exists true neighbourliness will follow; the best help will he given naturally with perfect taste, in proper degree and without self-sufficiency or pride.
A great hazard goes with much of the spiritual work of our time. The Ruth gleaning for herself in the field of Christian thought, finding here and there an ear of heavenly corn which, as she has gathered it gives true nourishment to the soul-is met not by one but by many eager to save her all the trouble of searching the Scriptures and thinking out the problems of life and faith. Is it wrong to deprive a brave self-helper of the need to toil for daily bread? How much greater is the wrong done to minds capable of spiritual endeavour when they are taught to renounce personal effort and are loaded with sheaves of corn which they have neither sowed nor reaped. The fashion of our time is to save people trouble in religion, to remove all resistance from the way of mind and soul, and as a result the spiritual life never attains strength or even consciousness. Better the scanty meal won by personal search in the great harvest field than the surfeit of dainties on which some are fed, spiritual paupers though they know it not. The wisdom of the Divine Book is marvellously shown in that it gives largely without destroying the need for effort, that it requires examination and research, comparison of scripture with scripture, earnest thought in many a field. Bible study, therefore, makes strong Christians, strong faith.
As time went by and harvest drew to a close, Naomi grew impatient. Anxious about Ruths future she wished to see something done towards establishing her in safety and honour. "My daughter-in-law," we hear her say, "shall I not seek rest-a menuchah or asylum for thee, that it may be well with thee?" No goal or redeemer has appeared to befriend Naomi and reinstate her, or Ruth as representing her dead son, in the rights of Elimelech. If those rights are not to lapse, something must be done speedily; and Naomis plot is a bold one. She sets Ruth to claim Boaz as the kinsman whose duty it is to marry her and become her protector. Ruth is to go to the threshing floor on the night of the harvest festival, wait until Boaz lies down to sleep beside the mass of winnowed grain, and place herself at his feet, so reminding him that if no other will it is his part to be a husband to her for the sake of Elimelech and his sons. The plan is daring and appears to us indelicate at least. It is impossible to say whether any custom of the time sanctioned it; but even in that case we cannot acquit Naomi of resorting to a stratagem with the view of bringing about what seemed most desirable for Ruth and herself.
Now let us remember the position of the two widows, lonely, with no prospect before them but hard toil that would by and by fail, unable to undertake anything on their own account, and still regarded with indifference, if not suspicion, by the people of Bethlehem. There is no asylum for Ruth except in the house of a husband. If Naomi dies she will be worse than destitute, morally under a cloud. To live by herself will be to lead a life of constant peril. It is, we may say, a desperate resource on which Naomi falls. Boaz is probably already married, has perhaps more wives than one. True, he has room in his house for Ruth; he can easily provide for her; and though the customs of the age are strained somewhat we must partly admit excuse. Still the venture is almost entirely suggested and urged by worldly considerations, and for the sake of them great risk is run. Instead of gaining a husband Ruth may completely forfeit respect. Boaz, so far from entertaining her appeal to his kinship and generosity, may drive her from the threshing floor. It is one of those cases in which, notwithstanding some possible defence in custom, poverty and anxiety lead into dubious ways.
We ask why Naomi did not first approach the proper goel, the kinsman nearer than Boaz, on whom she had an undeniable claim. And the answer occurs that he did not seem in respect of disposition or means so good a match as Boaz. Or why did she not go directly to Boaz and state her desire? She was apparently not averse from grasping at the result, compromising him, or running the risk of doing so in order to gain her end. We cannot pass the point without observing that, despite the happy issue of this plot, it is a warning not an example. These secret, underhand schemes are not to our liking; they should in no circumstances be resorted to. It was well for Ruth that she had a man to deal with who was generous, not irascible, a man of character who had fully appreciated her goodness. The scheme would otherwise have had a pitiful result. The story is one creditable in many respects to human nature, and the Moabite, acting under Naomis direction, appears almost blameless; yet the sense of having lowered herself must have cast its shadow. A risk was run too great by far for modesty and honour.
To compromise ourselves by doing that which savours of presumption, which goes too far even by a hairs breadth in urging a claim, is a bad thing. Better remain without what we reckon our rights than lower our moral dignity in pressing them. Independence of character, perfect honour and uprightness are too precious by far to be imperilled even in a time of serious difficulty. Today we can hardly turn in any direction without seeing instances of risky compromise often ending in disaster. To obtain preferment one will offer some mean bribe of flattery to the person who can give it. To gain a fortune men will condescend to pitiful self-humiliation. In the literary world the upward ways open easily to talent that does not refuse compromises; a writer may have success at the price of astute silence or careful caressing of prejudice. The candidate for office commits himself and has afterwards to wriggle as best he can out of the straits in which he is involved. And what is the meaning of the light judgment of drunkenness and impurity by men and women of all ranks who associate with those known to be guilty and make no protest against their wrong doing?
It would be shirking one of the plain applications of the incidents before us if we passed over the compromises so many women make with self-respect and purity. Ruth, under the advice of one whom she knew to be a good woman, risked something: with us now are many who against the entreaty of all true friends adventure into dangerous ways, put themselves into the power of men they have no reason to trust. And women in high place, who should set an example of fidelity to the divine order and understand the honour of womanhood, are rather leading the dance of freedom and risk. To keep a position or win a position in the crowd called society some will yield to any fashion, go all lengths in the license of amusement, sit unblushing at plays that serve only one end, give themselves and their daughters to embraces that degrade. The struggle to live is spoken of sometimes as an excuse for women. But is it the very poor only who compromise themselves? Something else is going on beside the struggle to find work and bread. People are forgetting God, thrusting aside the ideas of the soul and of sin; they want keen delight and are ready to venture all if only in triumphant ambition or on the perilous edge of infamy they can satisfy desire for an hour. The cry of today, spreading down through all ranks, is the old one, Why should we be righteous over much and destroy ourselves? It is the expression of a base and despicable atheism. To deny the higher light which shows the way of personal duty and nobleness, to prefer instead the miserable rushlight of desire is the fatal choice against which all wisdom of sage and seer testifies. Yet the thing is done daily, done by brilliant women who go on as if nothing was wrong and laugh back to those who follow them. The Divine Friend of women protests, but His words are unheard, drowned by the fascinating music and quick pulsation of the dance of death.
To compromise ourselves is bad: close beside lies the danger of compromising others; and this too is illustrated by the narrative. Boaz acted in generosity and honour, told Ruth plainly that a kinsman nearer than himself stood between them, made her a most favourable promise. But he sent her away in the early morning "before one could recognise another." The risk to which she had exposed him was one he did not care to face. While he made all possible excuses for her and was in a sense proud of the trust she had reposed in him, still he was somewhat alarmed and anxious. The narrative is generous to Ruth; but this is not concealed. We see very distinctly a touch of something caught in heathen Moab.
On the more satisfactory side of the picture is the confidence so unreservedly exercised, justified so thoroughly. It is good to be among people who deserve trust and never fail in the time of trial. Take them at any hour, in any way, they are the same. Incapable of baseness they bear every test. On the firm conviction that Boaz was a man of this kind Naomi depended, upon this and an assurance equally firm that Ruth would behave herself discreetly. Happy indeed are those who have the honour of friendship with the honourable and true, with men who would rather lose a right hand than do anything base, with women who would die for honours sake. To have acquaintance with faithful men is to have a way prepared for faith in God.
Let us not fail, however, to observe where honour like this may be found, where alone it is to be found. Common is the belief that absolute fidelity may exist in soil cleared of all religious principle. You meet people who declare that religion is of no use. They have been brought up in religion, but they are tired of it. They have given up churches and prayers and are going to be honourable without thought of God, on the basis of their own steadfast virtue. We shall not say it is impossible, or that women like Ruth may not rely upon men who so speak. But a single word of scorn cast on religion reveals so faulty a character that it is better not to confide in the man who utters it. He is in the real sense an atheist, one to whom nothing is sacred. About some duties he may have a sentiment; but what is sentiment or taste to build upon? For one to trust where reputation is concerned, where moral well being is involved, a soul must be found whose life is rooted in the faith of God. True enough, we are under the necessity of trusting persons for whom we have no such guarantee. Fortunately, however, it is only in matters of business, or municipal affairs, or parliamentary votes, things extraneous to our proper life. Unrighteous laws may be made, we may be defrauded and oppressed, but that does not affect our spiritual position. When it comes to the soul and the souls life, when one is in search of a wife, a husband, a friend, trust should be placed elsewhere, hope built on a sure foundation.
May we depend upon love in the absence of religious faith? Some would fain conjure with that word; but love is a divine gift when it is pure and true; the rest is mere desire and passion. Do you suppose because an insincere worldly man has a selfish passion for you that you can be safe with him? Do you think because a worldly woman loves you in a worldly way that your soul and your future will be safe with her? Find a fearer of God, one whose virtues are rooted where alone they can grow, in faith, or live without a wife, a husband. It is presupposed that you yourself are a fearer of God, a servant of Christ. For, unless you are, the rule operates on the other side and you are one who should be shunned. Besides, if you are a materialist living in time and sense and yet look for spiritual graces and superhuman fidelity, your expectation is amazing, your hope a thing to wonder at.
True, hypocrites exist, and we may be deceived just because of our certainty that religion is the only root of faithfulness. A man may simulate religion and deceive for a time. The young may be sadly deluded, a whole community betrayed by one who makes the divinest facts of human nature serves his own wickedness awhile.
He disappears and leaves behind him broken hearts, shattered hopes, darkened lives. Has religion, then, nothing to do with morality? The very ruin we lament shows that the human heart in its depth testifies to an intimate and eternal connection with the absolute of fidelity. Not otherwise could that hypocrite have deceived. And in the strength of faith there are men and women of unflinching honour, who, when they find each other out, form rare and beautiful alliances. Step for step they go on, married or unmarried, each cheering the other in trial, sustaining the other in every high and generous task. Together they enter more deeply into the purpose of life, that is the will of God, and fill with strong and healthy religion the circle of their influence.
Of the people of ordinary virtue what shall be said-those who are neither perfectly faithful nor disgracefully unfaithful, neither certain to be staunch and true nor ready to betray and cast aside those who trust them. Large is the class of men whose individuality is not of a moral kind, affable and easy, brisk and clever but not resolute in truth and right. Are we to leave these where they are? If we belong to their number are we to stay among them? Must they get on as best they can with each other, neither blessed nor condemned? For them the gospel is provided in its depth and urgency. Theirs is the state it cannot tolerate nor leave untouched, unaffected. If earth is good enough for you, so runs the divine message to them, cling to it, enjoy its dainties, laugh in its sunlight-and die with it. But if you see the excellence of truth, be true; if you hear the voice of the eternal Christ, arise and follow Him, born again by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv1, 7 CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.—Then [and] Naomi … said. The…
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.—Then [and] Naomi … said. The plan had matured itself slowly in her mind during the harvest season, now comes the proposal. Boaz, by his kindness and attention to Ruth, has evidently removed whatever difficulties she has felt heretofore [cf. on Rth_1:11-13 : p. 47]. Shall I not seek? I must seek rest for thee. הֲלֹא as usual an expression of general admission or of undoubted certainty, in the sense of “Is it not true I seek for thee?” It is my duty to seek for thee (Keil). The obligation to enforce the claims of a Levirate marriage lay on the side of Naomi and Ruth. In accordance with ancient usage to leave the assertion of a right with its possessor (Lange), the widow could demand her rights of the nearest relative, and if refused, put him openly to shame (Ibid). Rest [a resting place, Num_10:33] for thee. A secure life, under the guardian care of a husband (Rossenmuller) Cf. on Rth_1:9 as to this “rest in the house of a husband;” with the respect and protection it implied. That which made the fate of the daughter of Jephthah so sad was, that she never found a resting place in the house of a husband (Lange). That it may be well with thee. Which shall be good for thee (Carpzov Rosen.) That marriage may be to thee a merry-age (Trapp). She assumed that every true rest was good (Morison.)
Rth_3:2. And now is not Boaz of our kindred? Our relation (Keil). Our acquaintance, i.e., relative (Lange). Hence the justness of the claim. Is he not therefore thy husband according to the law (Wordsworth). Cannot reasonably suppose that a pious woman would counsel against the law of God or the moral sense of good men, such as Boaz. To do so, would have alienated and repelled him, and so have frustrated her own purpose (Ibid). With whose maidens thou wast. A delicate reminder that Boaz has himself placed her on a level with his own Israelitish people [cf. on Rth_3:13-14]. Behold he winnoweth barley to-night. Naomi must have come into closer connection with her relative. She is minutely informed of what he does, and where he is (Lange). The claim which Ruth had to make, could hardly be urged by her publicly in the harvest field, in the light of day (Wordsworth). He winnoweth barley. Literally, he is winnowing the threshing-floor of barley. He is winnowing the barley floor (barley on the threshing-floor) (Keil). Performed by tossing up the grain against the wind with a fork (Jer_4:11-12). Shows the simple manners of the times. This “mighty man of wealth” assisted personally (Speakers’s Com.). It is not unusual for the husband, wife, and all the family, to encamp at the baiders, or threshing-floors, until the harvest is over (Dr. Thomson). o night. Chosen for the advantage of the breeze which blew then (Gen_3:8). In the night wind (Targum). Much agricultural labour of various kinds performed on bright nights (Kitto). In the threshing-floor. Nothing more than a level place in the field, under the open heavens (Keil). Constructed of a circular form, perhaps 50 feet in diameter, merely by beating down the earth hard (Robinson) [cf. Thomson 2:314]. Both the threshing and winnowing are done in the open air, rain in harvest time being almost unknown (Wordsworth) [cf. Jdg_6:37; 2Sa_6:6.]
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Rth_3:3. Wash thyself therefore and anoint thee. Not done in order to win Boaz by external beauty; for she is especially cautioned against allowing him to see her by day (Lange). Yet she is to go as a bride adorned for her husband, appropriately and symbolically dressed. And put thy [best] raiment upon thee. And ornament thyself with thy garments (Syr. Arab). Use all lawful means to ingratiate (Trapp). And get thee down to the floor. Bethlehem situated on a hill (Stanley), cf. on Rth_2:4; p. 101. Serve God’s providence by demanding marriage of him, which in those days, and in Ruth’s case, was neither unlawful nor immodest (Trapp). Consilium hoc est re legitimum specie inhonestum (Junius). Nothing in these directions which was considered improper under the special and peculiar circumstances of the case (Kitto). This was a bold expedient, but it must be remembered that it was undertaken at the instigation of an aged and pious woman, and simply to remind Boaz of the relative positions in which they stood to each other. Make not thyself known unto. Suffer not thyself to be perceived by (Lange). The grain heaps probably surrounded the threshing floor, and would offer a chance for concealment, even though the place itself was under the open heavens. Until he shall have done eating and drinking. Until the moment of leisure and ease. Men more disposed to listen attentively then.
Rth_3:4. Thou shalt mark. For the sake of finding it in the darkness coming on. And uncover his feet. Rather the place of his feet, the foot of his bed, as we should say (Sp. Com.). Sleep at his feet (Syr. Arab). Boaz probably slept under a rug, sheep skin, or thick quilt, and was covered with another, or by his cloak (Kitto). In Palestine men lay down with their clothes on, but are careful to cover their feet with a long mantle now called the Chudda, a wrapper of coarse cloth (Postans). All that thou sayest. Her consent that of faith and obedience, the conduct of one conscious of her own purity of purpose, and willing to encounter suspicion in the exercise of duty (Wordsworth). Unto me. Omit (Cassel, Bertheau, Bellamy, &c.) I will do. Evident that inclination, judgment, and all that she had seen of Boaz came in to enforce Namoi’s advice. His age and his character probably shrinking and diffident, yet pious and honourable, encouraged her in obedience.
Rth_3:6. And she went down unto the floor. Probably while it was yet light.
Rth_3:1
Theme—ONE SEEKING REST FOR ANOTHER
“As if with marriage came the end,
The entrance into settled rest,
The calm to which love’s tossings tend,
The quiet rest.”—Jean Ingelow.
“Whatever hypocrites austerely talk
Of purity, and place, and innocence,
Defaming as impure what God declares
Pure, and commands to some, leaves free to all,
Our Maker bids increase.”—Milton.
Shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
All Scripture given by inspiration of God and profitable (2Ti_3:10). That is when rightly understood and intrepreted. Some passages however peculiarly liable to misunderstanding (Thomson). Divine ways often strange at first sight, and seemingly unsatisfactory to first judgments. We have to look at them as a whole before we can see them aright. So with the Divine Word. Parts which a false delicacy would expunge and which would never have appeared had the Bible been a merely human book. To understand them aright you must look (a) at their scope, (b) at the motive (c) at the underlying principle. Theend aimed at right, the spirit which prompts the aim right, rest assured that the means employed will fall under the same great law. This true
(1) of the Divine doings however mysterious,
(2) of the doings of all who are truly led of Him.
See how this is illustrated here.
I. Naomi’s motive is right.
(1) Justice to the dead. The law of Israel was that no branch of the family tree should be allowed to become extinct. The dead Mahlon had claims upon Boaz, and only the fact that Ruth was of Moab, had prevented these claims being enforced earlier. At first the claim seemed a hopeless one (Rth_1:11-13). Now thanks to the kindness of Boaz, Naomi sees light beginning to break in upon their gloomy prospects;
(2) Justice to the living. Not merely kindness to Ruth and not merely gratitude, although these motives must have moved Naomi powerfully, but a deeper feeling—that instinctive sense of right, which overleaps such petty boundaries as nationalities. Her feelings as an Israelite, exclusive, conservative, unyielding may find expression i:9–14; now comes out the deeper feelings of a woman and a mother. Hence her wisdom projected for her daughter, that which her daughter’s modesty forbade her to project for herself.
Anxiety, solicitude for the settlement of a daughter pardonable, even commendable, so that modesty be not overstepped. Naomi of the same opinion as Paul as to the true sphere of woman: “I desire therefore that the younger widows marry,” &c. (1Ti_5:14). Too old to marry herself, she by no means placed the same restriction upon those younger than herself. Such prudery is often only disguised selfishness and callousness of heart. Note. Age must not make itself a standard for youth. Naomi’s care without doubt commendable and recorded for imitation (M. Henry). Analagous to the conduct of a gospel church. Jerusalem always tender towards her daughters (Macgowan).
II. Naomi’s principle is right. That one may seek rest for another—that one may, and ought to forward the well-being of others the essential principle of the gospel itself (Luk_19:10). So Christ sought not his own (Joh_5:30; Joh_8:28; Joh_8:50). So charity seeketh not her own” (1Co_13:5). So Paul “not seeking mine own profit,” he says, “but the profit of many” (1Co_10:33). Note. Bearing one another’s burdens we “fulfil” the law of Christ (Gal_6:2; 1Co_10:24; Php_2:20-21).
Again, could Naomi do otherwise for one so near and dear as Ruth. She fulfils not only a religious but a natural duty. The young have claims upon the aged, upon their experience, foresight, judgment, &c. As wrong to withhold these, as to withhold more natural and apparent benefits. Eli doubtless gave his children bread, but seems to have withheld instruction, direction, reproof, restraint, and so came under the anger of God (Jas_3:12-13). Note. Few greater responsibilities in life than this of providing for the future well-being of children. “Shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee”—the burden of many a parent’s heart and prayers.
Once more mark the kind of “rest” Naomi sought for Ruth—home rest, household well-being, that which is the purest of earth’s pleasures and the foretaste of heaven’s joys. Note. The inspired idea of marriage is, that it is and ought to be “a rest.” “Not good for man to be alone” (Gen_2:18), much less woman, naturally weaker and more defenceless than man: still less a stranger like Ruth. [cf. on Rth_1:9; p. 36.] With regard to woman marriage was viewed as the natural fulfilment of her calling, without which her life was helpless and defenceless as that of a people without a God (Lange).
The principle true to-day. Where love, patience, unselfishness, &c. are found; married life as much like “rest” as can be discovered in this world (Braden). Of course, cares, anxieties, difficulties are to be expected. As it is said of Egypt no country hath more venomous creatures, none more antidotes; so marriage hath many troubles, but withal many keeps against trouble (Trapp). Note. Those are giddy indeed that marriage does not compose (M. Henry).
Naomi’s plan is right—judged by the time and circumstances. Involved no impropriety (Binney). The face, the worst piece of it, the heart was sound (Bishop Hall.) Certainly it was a bold expedient but not necessarily the worse because of that. She knew the piety and chastity of Boaz and Ruth (Trapp). The customs of the age and country were simpler, freer, but not less pure than the more formal customs of our own land and age (Braden).
Dr. Thomson and others however only vindicate the intentions, while they censure the measures, acquit of designing evil, but blame Naomi for not “abstaining from all appearance of evil.” Too much cuuning and stratagem, and forcing of Providence about the whole transaction (Thomson). Ran the hazard of sacrificing a good name in the use of a too bold and perilous artifice (Ibid). Note. Every action that is reported is not straightway allowed (Bishop Hall). If every act of a holy person should be our rule, we should have crooked lives (Ibid).
IMPROVEMENT.—
(1) Rest a natural desire of all men. David would flee away into the wilderness, leave the city and camp far behind, and be at rest (Psa_55:6). Take the broad sense of the word and this is what all men are seeking. Recognised by Christ as a necessity. “Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place and rest awhile (Mar_6:31). This desire satisfied in Christ (Mat_11:28-29; Heb_4:3. We which have believed, &c). Note. Rest is a thing to be sought.
(2) Thoughtful love a common thing in human history. We cannot always be with those who are dear to us—we may provide for their welfare, however, in that future when we are with them no longer. Bernard on this:—
Shall I not seek. It is the parents’ duty to provide matches for their children. So did God, the general Father, for His son Adam, Abraham for Isaac, Isaac for Jacob. Samson entreated his father and mother to get him a wife (Jdg_14:1-2).
Rest for thee. So she called the married estate. The word is “a place of rest” to settle in. Note. The married estate is an estate of rest.
That it may be well with thee. Marriage is for the well-being of such as enter into the holy estate. Doth not God say, “It is not good for man to be alone”? It is the estate in which the holiest have lived, and in which Christ Himself would be born. St. Paul indeed commended single life, but not simply but with respect unto the then present times, full of troubles and persecutions.
While the women are in distress it is Ruth who takes the initiative [Rth_2:2.]; now, when hope grows large, it is Naomi. When hardship was to be endured, the mother submitted her will to the daughter—for Ruth was not sent to glean, she went of her own accord; now, when the endeavour is to secure the joy and happiness held out in prospect, the daughter yields in all things to the direction of the mother. The thought of labour for the mother originates with the daughter; but it is the mother who forms plans of happiness for the daughter.—Lange.
Luck is ever waiting for something to turn up. Labour, with keen eyes and strong will, will turn up something. Luck lies in bed, and wishes the postman would bring him the news of a legacy. Labour turns out at six o’clock, and, with busy pen or ringing hammer, lays the foundation of a competence. Luck whines. Labour whistles. Luck relies on chance. Labour on character.—Cobden.
This word “menuchah” is used in many weighty sentences in the Old Testament Scriptures. It is used to designate the asylum of honour and freedom which a Hebrew found in the home of her husband, her secure refuge from servitude, insolence, and neglect. It is also used to denote the asylum of freedom and repose on which the Hebrew race entered when it gained full possession of the promised land, when in the days of Solomon, every man might sit under his vine or his fig tree, none daring to make him afraid, It was used by the Prophets in a still higher sense; with them God was the true menuchah or rest of His people, nay, of the whole world; to them it was revealed that only when the Immanuel came, the God-with-us, would the golden days of Paradise return; and the world enter into its final and glorious rest. So that those who first listened to our Saviour’s gracious invitation (Mat_11:28-30), those on whose weary and fevered spirits His promise of “rest” first fell, would understand that He was offering them an asylum of repose, honour, and freedom, such as the Hebrew wife found in her husband’s house, such as the Hebrew race found in the sacred land when it was wholly their own, such as the Hebrew Prophets had found in God in the moments of their loftiest aspirations.—Cox.
This is Naomi’s conception of wedded life. Very beautiful, but how many realise it in their experience? Have we not heard multitudes of people declare that marriage was the real beginning of their troubles? Then anxiety about providing and regulating a household has commenced; then business and domestic cares have taken away all expected pleasure; then tempers are tried as never before; then disputes and bickerings arise that destroy all peace; then the beautiful illusions of youth have given place to thehard and stern practicalities of maturing life.—Braden.
The estate of holy matrimony is well called a state of rest, for the natural affections and propensities instinctively yearn for it, and in it alone find their lawful gratification. The Rabbin’s say: “The man is restless while he misses the rib that was taken out of his side; and the woman is restless till she gets under the man’s arm, from whence she was taken.”—Steele and Terry.
“I, as a Protestant have been accustomed to assert the purity and dignity of the offices of husband, wife, and parent. Have I ever examined the grounds of my own assertion? Do I believe them to be as callings from God, spiritual, sacramental, divine, eternal? Or am I at heart regarding and using them, like the Papist, merely as heaven’s indulgences to the infirmities of fallen man?”.… Those miserable dilettanti, who in books and sermons are whimpering meagre secondhand praise of celibacy, depreciating as carnal and degrading those family ties to which they owe their own existences, and in the enjoyment of which they themselves all the while unblushingly indulge—insulting thus their own wives and mothers—nibbling ignorantly at the very root of that household purity which constitutes the distinctive superiority of Protestant over Popish nations.”—Kingsley.
Christianity, be it remembered, proposes not to extinguish our natural desires, but to bring them under just control and direct them to their true objects.—Wilberforce.
Rth_3:2-4
Theme—AN IMPORTANT REMINDER
“The grey old man was honoured there,
The matron’s words were cherished,
And honesty in youthful hearts
By age’s word was nourished.”—Nichol.
(2) Is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Naomi has laid hold of the fact that they are entitled to use a certain amount of freedom in the affair—
(1) because of kinship;
(2) because of the kindness Boaz has already shown to Ruth. The allowing Ruth to glean under especially favourable circumstance [see on Rth_2:8; Rth_2:13-16] not without a meaning. Note. We more readily ask favours from those who have already shown us kindness. In the nature of such to grow and become the foundation of our future actions.
I. An encouraging reminder. We need to put each other in mind, as well as recall to our own memories the thought of our claims and privileges. Naturally
(1) apt to forget;
(2) apt to delay action even when remembering;
(3) apt to re member and yet not realize. “I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things,” says the Apostle Peter, “though ye know them.” This a favourite idea of the Apostle’s in his old age [cf. 2Pe_1:12-13; 2Pe_1:15; 2Pe_3:1, &c.]. So Paul writing to Timothy [1Ti_4:6; 2Ti_1:3; 2Ti_1:6; 2Ti_2:14].
II. An implied argument, viz., that he is bound in conscience to take care of our affairs (M. Henry). Is he not our kinsman? How much a kindred question implies to the believer in Christ’s proper humanity.
(1) Can we fear to approach?
(2) Can we do other than expect a welcome? [On the Kinsman Redeemer, see Rth_4:9-10; Rth_2:20-21].
III. A duty beginning to unfold itself. Why not bring the claim to the notice of Boaz? The obligation lay upon them to take initiative [see Crit. and Exeg. Notes]. Time and place, both opportune now that the harvest is ending. Note. A well-chosen season is one of the best advantages of any action (Trapp).
So in spiritual things we must seek, knock, ask, &c. In one sense Christ woos, in another He waits to be wooed. No presumption in seeking his feet.
“From labour health, from health contentment springs,
Contentment opes the source of every joy.”—Beattie.
Rth_3:2. Behold he winnoweth, &c.
Not ashamed to do this himself—lived in the days of ancient simplicity (Lawson). Not too idle to deny himself of sleep that it might be done properly—a model farmer [cf. on Rth_2:2; Rth_2:4, p. 93, 100].
See here,
I. Work associated with the character and position of a gentleman. Boaz was this, yet he labours with his own hands. Modern refinements and etiquette give no more pleasure to the fashionable gentleman than honest industry gave to this grandson of a famous prince (Lawson). Camillus, Fabricius, and other famous Roman consuls held the plough. Edmund Burke, in the very height of his fame, farmed his own lands near Beaconsfield. Note, (a) Labour the law of God (Gen_2:15; Gen_3:19). All are to work, some with hand, some with brain. (b) A false pride that dislikes handwork (Radford Thomson).
II. Work associated with the character and position of a man of God. The claims of the higher life do not exempt us from the calls and cares of the lower. Christ Himself doubtless laboured in the carpenter’s shop at Nazareth. And it was while doing so that it was written of Him that He “increased in wisdom and stature and in favour with God and man.”
Rth_3:3. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee. Ruth must seek to make herself attractive; even though the coming interview is to be in the dark—a duty always. Preparation necessary even for a duty like this. Note. Cleanliness enforced in the Scriptures as well as godliness; comes down to the lowest duties of life. Much that inspiration takes notice of, which men count mean and unworthy of attention. These trifling details, however correct from an artistic point of view, heighten the effect of the whole picture, suggest the truthfulness of the narrative, &c.
IMPROVEMENT.—
(1) The Bride of Christ is pleasing to her Bridegroom only when anointed with the Spirit and clothed in the garments of salvation (Starke).
(2) We may use all lawful means to ingratiate, &c., if our purpose be right. If decency of apparel is not a virtue, slovenliness is at least an approach to vice (Lawson).
Bernard on this (condensed):—
A true friend is not in show only, or in well wishes, but in devising how to bring to pass what they desire. So Jonathan with David (1Sa_19:2-3; 1Sa_20:12-13), Abraham with Lot (Genesis 14) Note. Godly parents seek to match their children where God alloweth. Naomi’s ground was the law of God, as she thought.
Behold he winnoweth barley to-night. See and consider the providence of God! It is as one would wish, it falleth out opportunely. Warrant from God, experience of the love of man, and fit occasion to effect a matter, are strong inducements to attempt the same. So Esther going in unto Ahasuerus (Est_5:1-8). Note. It is no unseemliness for men of birth, of place, of wealth, sometime to follow in their own person mean labours of their calling.
Rth_3:3. Wash thyself, therefore. Outward cleanliness is praiseworthy. Our Christian profession is pure and holy, which outward cleanliness well befitteth. And seeing it is of good report, we are to observe it. And anoint thee. Christians may lawfully use God’s creatures for outward comeliness, and to preserve that seemliness which is God’s own work in us (Psa_114:5). And put thy raiment upon thee. Touching this necessity of wearing apparel, nature teacheth it, and need enforceth it.
Get thee down to the floor. The widow woman allowed by the law of Moses to claim marriage of the next kinsman. No more immodest for women to claim that right then, than now for one betrothed to challenge the man for her husband. Where God alloweth the thing it taketh away the scandal and the offence. But make not thyself known to the man until he shall have done eating and drinking. Men are more apt to speak freely then and to promise their goodwill than at other times. Note. Her mind must be showed in private, and to him alone. The night and in private make modest persons utter more freely their thoughts than otherwise they would in the light and before company.
When he lieth down. Rest follows after labour, and the night is appointed for the same. So the Psalmist teaches (Psa_104:13), and Jacob practised (Gen_18:2). This the right use of time.
Thou shalt mark the place. Careful observation prevents error. Shows also that in those times they had no set place to lie down.
Uncover his feet. Aims at making Ruth his yokefellow, yet teaches her to proceed in humility, to go to his feet. Note. Humility not any hindrance, but the way to advancement.
“Let us look into providences; surely they mean somewhat. They hang so together; have been so constant, so clear, so unclouded.”—Cromwell.
“Perhaps the assurance, which long trial has given her of the good government and firm chastity of her daughter-in-law, together with her persuasion of the religions gravity of Boaz, made her think that design safe, which to others had been perilous, if not desperate. But besides that, holding Boaz next of blood to Elimelech, she made account of him as the lawful husband of Ruth; so as there wanted nothing but a challenge of a consummation, nothing was abated but some outward solemnities, which though expedient for the satisfaction of others, yet were not essential to marriage; and if there were not these colours for a project so suspicious, it would not follow that the action were warrantable because Naomi’s. Why should her example be more safe in this than in matching her sons with infidels, than in sending back Orpah to her father’s gods.”—Bishop Hall.
“Labour is the law of man’s life, in contrast to the creatures Because man became a sinner and God cursed him with it, says a large school of theologians. Because man was a child of God, and the Father worketh hitherto, and the Son also worketh, say others, and, I think, wiser and more far-sighted men. These daily tasks are the dignity and glory of our nature, as sons under discipline.”—Baldwin Brown.
“Naomi’s solicitude for her devoted daughter-in-law is beautiful and motherly. But the form into which it ran and took shape can never recur in the midst of the culture and customs of European society. Even the method of winnowing the golden grains of the harvest field is antique and obsolete. So, too, is the method which Boaz adopted to watch over his cereal treasures. He constituted himself his own watchman and policeman.”—Pulpit Com.
“Ruth was directed to pay special attention to the adornments of her person, to which, to this extent at least, she had been a stranger since the death of her husband. She is to lay aside the weeds of mourning and the garments of toil, and, after bathing and anointing, don the festive garb, for the expedicion on which she goes is of a joyous, bridal nature. All this, however, is not done in order to win Boaz by external beauty, for she is specially cautioned against allowing him to see her by day. But why this caution? Boaz was a believing Israelite, and therefore also a man of strict morals. It would have perplexed and displeased him to think that anybody else had seen Ruth, and might suspect both her and himself of an illicit meeting on the solitary threshing-floor. He would have scarcely listened to her, but removed her at once. The purpose for which she came had also an appropriate symbolism which any previous meeting would have disturbed.”—Lange.
“The church must put on her best attire when she comes to Christ. She is brought to the King in raiments of needlework, in the Psalms (Psa_45:14); she puts on her beautiful garments, in Isaiah (Isa_52:1); she is adorned as a bride for her husband in raiment pure and white, in the Apocalypse (Rev_21:2).”—Wordsworth.
“She was to discover nothing of her intention to Boaz when she went to the feast, but rather to avoid any particular notice, that he might entertain no suspicion of what was to follow. Concealment of intentions may be very proper and very consistent with uprightness in some cases. But we must beware of doing anything that will not bear the light, or using those arts of concealment in transacting lawful affairs that may be attended with bad effects upon our character. It was perfectly consistent with uprightness in Samuel to conceal his chief intention when he came to Bethlehem to anoint David; and in Solomon, when he commanded a sword to be brought and his guards to slay the living child about which the two harlots contended.”—Lawson.
“Seek him in private when no eye but that of heaven is upon thee; come secretly to his feet, and lay thy helpless, desolate state open before his seat of mercy; freely confess the baseness of thine original; he will not despise thee on account of the hole of the pit from whence thou wast digged.”—Macgowan.
Rth_3:5-6
Theme—OBEDIENCE IN INNOCENCE
“Age, by long experience well informed,
As time improves the grapes authentic juice
Mellows and makes the speech more fit for use,
And claims a reverence in its shortening day,
That ’Tis an honour and a joy to pay.”
All that thou sayest unto me I will do. And she went, etc.
Ruth once more a model of filial obedience, and that when called upon to discharge a difficult and delicate mission, one which must have been trying to her modesty as a woman. She errs, if at all, by excess of complaisance. The errors of young people are commonly of an opposite kind (Lawson).
If anyone is to be blamed it must be Naomi. Her acquaintance with the laws and customs of Israel are her defence. Ruth, as a foreigner, was dependent upon her for instruction in these things. She obeys, although she might very naturally shrink from the task. Gratitude, respect for Naomi, as well as reason led her. Goes freely and without fear. Hesitates not, doubts not.
Three things exemplified and enforced here—
I. Humble trustfulness on the part of the young.
(1) On the lowest ground a duty.
(2) On higher ground to be cultivated as a virtue.
(3) On highest, as its own reward, a pleasure. The sequel proves that this obedience of Ruth was not tempting Providence—rather it was acting upon faith. The trust that has brought her so far sustains her now. Goes with unshrinking confidence.
II. Deference to the opinions and judgment of the aged. An important lesson. Note. These more likely to be correct than those of the young. More experienced.
III. That cheerful compliance which adds grace to obedience. The way we obey is something as well as the act itself [cf. on Rth_1:10, p. 44, Macgowan].
Note, (a) Ruth not only promised but performed. Contrasts with many who say, and do not; or who will not say, and yet do. More, (b) she carries out her obedience to the slightest details of the project. “All that thou sayest I will do.” How important is this that obedience should be thorough [through out]. The fortune of things of the greatest importance often hangs upon the doing or leaving undone a thing which seems very small (Guicciardiani).
“That the conduct of Ruth was in accordance with the law under which she lived cannot be doubted. See Deu_25:5-10, where no option seems left to the woman. The demand was a duty which she owed to the memory of her dead husband, whose name she was to continue; to that husband’s mother, who was more than a parent to her, and whom she might rescue from indigence and misery; to the nation whose tribes and law of inheritance were thus appointed to be preserved; and to God, whose mandates were thus obeyed, and who held out to her the propect that Messiah possibly might, as we find he actually did, spring from this union.”—Macartney.
“Abraham equivocated; David doubly sinned; Peter denied his Lord; Paul was not faultless; Aaron enticed to idolatry; Moses spoke unadvisedly with his lips; in fact every vessel in the sanctuary has been flawed; only one has been pure, perfect, spotless, unimpeachable; that we may all feel how true is that word, ‘If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves,’ and by the contrast how magnificent is that character which was holy, harmless, and undefiled, and separate from sinners. Suppose, then, Naomi’s advice does not commend itself to you as proper even in these circumstances; let it be regarded as wrong; yet the record of what an individual does in the inspired page, is not, therefore, the justification of his conduct.”—Cumming.
“Tempting God ordinarily is either by acting presumptuously in carnal confidence, or in unbelief through diffidence.… Not the encountering difficulties therefore makes us to tempt God; but the acting before and without faith. If the Lord has in any measure persuaded His people, as generally He hath, of the lawfulness, nay, of the duty, this persuasion prevailing upon the heart is faith; and acting thereupon is acting in faith, and the more the difficulties are, the more the faith.”—Cromwell.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
F. W. Grant 1903 · Public Domain On v1 Section 3. (Rth 3:1-18; Rth 4:1-22.)
Section 3. (Rth 3:1-18; Rth 4:1-22.)
Redemption realized.
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All is now to be changed for Ruth; and thus, also, for Naomi. What follows is based upon two laws in Israel: the law as to the redemption of an inheritance (Lev 25:25), and that of raising up a brother’s name on his inheritance (Deu 25:5-12), -things which are here brought together, and which in application to Israel belong clearly together. Heir and inheritance, in their case, need alike to be redeemed; yea, and the name of the dead raised up, which is accomplished for Israel by a true spiritual resurrection, the breath of a new life breathed into them, as in Ezekiel’s vision of dry bones (Eze 37:1-28). In Ruth the story is, indeed, differently told, but it is essentially the same, and here has a tenderness and beauty all its own.
(1) In this section we find Ruth no longer a gleaner. She is putting forth new claims and cherishing high aspirations. And here her mother-in-law is her instructor once more. She has already pointed out Boaz as a kinsman of Elimelech, and one of their redeemers, but for some time this seems to have no practical significance for either of them. Now she is full of a new interest. Ruth must have a resting-place for herself, and to find it she must seek it. Very simply and naturally her mind turns to Boaz: ignorantly, indeed, and yet with a knowledge such as the heart teaches, and which in the end proves right. Ruth is bidden by her to put forth a personal claim upon Boaz, according to the law of Deuteronomy, and this she does, -to find in the first place that she has made an apparent mistake, but which in the end proves none. It is only upon the failure of a nearer kinsman than himself that Boaz can act. Naomi herself has called him one of their redeemers. It must be proved satisfactorily if there is more than one.
The remnant (whom Ruth represents) learns, first of all, from the nation (which is Naomi) certain lessons as to redemption, which personal experience, however, alone can interpret, and get right. The only religion that avails anything is that of experiment: in making which both heart and conscience get searched out, their needs thoroughly explored, and then met. The believing that avails for us is one that shows itself in coming to Him; yet the soul coming may find at first disappointment. The power of the "nearer kinsman" must be thoroughly and practically understood before Christ can show His power.
"Rest" can only come from a Redeemer. Naomi makes no mistake there. When Christ says, Come unto Me, and I will give you rest," He is declaring Himself this; and it is as such -the only and all-sufficient One -that He will or can give it to us. This we must learn aright. Thank God, He has proved His power to fulfill this word of His, all the centuries down.
Boaz is winnowing barley at night in the threshing-floor. And Israel is such a floor, which the Lord is going to purge, according to the Baptist’s testimony. (Mat 3:12.) A night of affliction is coming for them, in which He will winnow the chaff from the grain, that He may gather to Himself that which has value for Him. "The fan is in His hand." Judgment, alas, must come; but He means by it to take forth the precious from the vile. And this is the very time when the remnant, therefore, in the darkness of as black a night as the earth has ever seen, shall creep to His feet, and claim Him as their own. Assuredly it will be a bold act then, if even Ruth’s seems so; yet this grace has been dawning upon them, and His voice has seemed to speak amid the voices of the prophetic promises, yet but beginning to be intelligible. At midnight, suddenly, just at the darkest, comes His voice with a question -how necessary a one, when it is redemption that is to be realized -"Who art thou?" How blessed to know that the right answer is but to own, "I am Ruth, thy handmaid," for this is the name of the barren woman whose natural hopes are dead. To such an one it is that the law applies and pledges itself: no other has any claim. "Spread, then, thy wing over thy handmaid," -this soul with its need of shelter, -"for thou art a redeemer."
But not yet can the prayer be answered fully. Always is there, indeed, encouragement for the needy from these lips that speak here. Still she must await the morning. She is to be answered; some way redemption will surely come: so much she knows, but is he -will he be -the redeemer? This question, is it not answered for the remnant also only fully in the "morning," -a morning which He makes by His own coming, the glory of His presence. Ministered to they are, sustained by His hand, still sent back, as Ruth to her mother-in-law, to await the morning!
Ah, but His heart will not have its rest till the matter is finished, and redemption is found for Ruth, -"shepherd-tended" Ruth!
(2) Now we are to be introduced to the other kinsman: there is but one other in the story; and strange it is, when we know our Boaz, that he should have the prior claim! Is there, then, another redeemer? Does the word of God give any ground for such a supposition? Yes, as a supposition. Hypothetically, there is a mode of salvation other than by Christ: test it, and you find by experience (once more the teacher) that there is, and can be, only one.
"When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive." This is the voice of God by the prophet Ezekiel (18: 27), and every word of God shall stand. It is a way of salvation, too, that is declared, -not simply of a righteousness that needs none. It is the wicked man who is spoken of, -the man who can already be called that, and who as that needs salvation. Forgiveness of sins is announced for him: "All his transgressions that he has committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he path done he shall live" (v. 22). Thus the mercy of God is pledged to a returning soul: and, of course, one must say, in all sincerity and truth, or it could not be from Him.
Yet this is not the salvation which we find in Christ. Its condition is not of faith in Him but of works: to obtain it one must have a righteousness which is of works. And these two principles -of faith and of works -are principles that cannot be united together, so that it will not do to say that although faith in Christ is not here formally made mention of, it must in fact be found. On the contrary, it is most certain that the principle here declared excludes faith in Christ in any evangelic sense. "For if it be of grace," says the apostle, "it is no more of work, otherwise grace is no more grace." (Rom 11:6.) As surely, then, as the principle here is that of righteousness by work, so surely is it not a righteousness by faith: it is contrastive and contradictory to faith.
It is the principle of the law as given the second time, after the people had sinned and made a golden calf. It is not pure law, but law modified and tempered by mercy, so as to give man as failed the means of self-recovery, if self-recovery were possible. But it was not possible for them, and is not possible for any. Of this law the mediator was Moses, and not Christ; and so entirely unavailing was it, that the very mediator of the law becomes of necessity the accuser of the people: "there is one that accuseth you," says the Lord to Israel, "even Moses, in whom ye trust." (Joh 5:45.)
Thus we see the redeemer who is not Boaz, but the redeemer who cannot redeem. The law is, indeed, the nearest kinsman that man has, and the one to which, apart from the teaching of divine grace, man naturally turns. One of the reasons of the delay in Christ’s coming was that the law should first of all be tried; for this is but the trial of man’s righteousness. And so in the history of a saved soul, the law’s claim must first be set aside, that Christ may not be to it as "one of our redeemers," but the only Redeemer possible, the Boaz "in whom is strength."
It is a matter for judgment, and therefore Boaz goes up to the gate, where causes were habitually tried. Presently, behold, the redeemer of whom he had spoken passes by. Notice, the man is quite indifferent: he has none of the loving interest that we find in the heart of Boaz: he would pass by, as the priest and Levite did the man on the road to Jericho. And such is the heartlessness of the legal method. Law has no personal interest, and cannot have. It speaks in the third person: if one comes under the rule, be it so; this is its impartiality, its indifference. But thus it cannot represent the heart of God.
Boaz calls the man, and he sits down; then ten men of the elders of the city are called, and they sit down; the ten commandments are our Boaz’s witnesses that the law is incompetent to do aught for a sinner’s salvation. How soon and simply could the case be settled, if always the ten and no others were witnesses! But people make this great mistake, that, because, in fact, God is merciful, He will not require the righteousness which the law requires, which the ten commandments specify, but something, they know not how much, under this. Whereas, though He may be patient and give time, and give repeated opportunities, He never lowers His demand, never can accept less than what is lawful and right." Above all, He has never proposed Christ as a makeweight for our deficiencies. "If righteousness come by the law," says the apostle, "then Christ is dead in vain."
Boaz begins with the question of inheritance: "Naomi, who is returned from the country of Moab, has sold the allotment of the field that was our brother Elimelech’s. . . . If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it. . . . And he said, I will redeem it." We see here the connection between the land and the people of Israel. In fact, how carefully has the land been guarded for them, keeping sabbath while the heirs are exiled! God has given it by absolute promise to the seed of Abraham, and that according to the flesh. But here is the difficulty: "And Boaz said, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou buyest it also of Ruth, the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance. And the redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar mine own inheritance."
Elimelech is dead, that is Israel looked at as identified with the faith of God as King; yet Israel, in fact, remains, though as Naomi, widowed and destitute. But there is a young life, a new generation, through whom the name of the dead may be raised up. Yet these are as the Moabitess’ whom the law cannot bring in, but must keep out: for it is written that "a Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of Jehovah forever." Well may the kinsman fear, therefore, lest in taking Ruth he should mar his own inheritance.
Throughout the story this is the title that everywhere comes into prominence. Despite all Ruth’s attractiveness and piety, she is always spoken of, emphatically, as Ruth, the Moabitess. And the law, in presence of this conceded truth, can make no exception in her favor. The law is against her wholly, -accuses, convicts, and cannot justify. So hopeless is Israel’s case in the hands of Moses.
If we look at the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ in the gospel of Matthew, we shall find there, without the stigma of her origin, the name of Ruth. She is the third of four women only who stand exceptionally in the record there. At a first glance, we might think, uselessly. also: for of what use are they in establishing His title to be David’s Son? None, clearly; and so they must have another purpose: for everything has purpose in the word of God; yet what purpose in a genealogy?
But the genealogy is not merely His as Son of David; the title of it adds to this that it is Christ’s as Son of Abraham. And the three names that end with Ruth are in this part, as we see: can they have part, then, in showing that Christ is Son of Abraham?
Now here light breaks in at once: for the Seed of Abraham is He in whom all families of the earth are to be blessed, -Gentile as well as Jew; while these three names are Gentile. How vain, then, to think of denying the Gentiles their part in Christ!
But more: in each of these names we may discern what might be easily taken as a blot upon the genealogy. What was Tamar? what Rahab? what even Ruth, the Moabitess? But does not this, then, show us all the more the Seed of Abraham, the blesser of the nations? Yes, and each name tells out, and in perfect order, the reality of grace. Tamar, whose sin alone brings her into the list, begins the story; for sin is the fundamental fact for the gospel; and our sin owned gives us title to the Saviour of sinners. But then Rahab (no less the sinner) shows us faith, a faith that separates from judgment and brings into blessing: that is as clearly the second foundation.
What, then, does the name of Ruth emphasize in this series? Can it be anything but this, that the law therefore is not the way of blessing, does not furnish the redeemer, but grace only does? -for Ruth the Moabitess is debtor to the grace of Boaz! Here, surely, all is consistent, all is harmony. And how Ruth’s character, so different from that of those who precede her in this list, assures us that not those whom men would class as sinners, but those also whom they might class as saints, are all together by the law convicted and condemned, and that for all who receive salvation grace must reign!
No, assuredly the law cannot raise up the name of the dead on his inheritance. The power of God in grace can alone meet the need that is here symbolized. The kinsman passes his shoe the sign of entering upon possession -to him in whom power is. The law testifies and yields its rights to Christ, and He is declared the only possible Redeemer. Such will the remnant find Him in the day that comes.
(3) Boaz proclaims his title and his grace. The inheritance becomes his by purchase; and Ruth also, once more and for the last time spoken of as the Moabitess, he acquires for himself. Israel’s land is yet to be known as Immanuel’s, for indeed He has bought it at its full value. The people, also, are the purchased of His love. In Ruth’s case the figure falls necessarily short, and the word used does not positively convey the idea of purchase. All types must, indeed, fall short, whether as picturing our need or the way that He has met it. This we are prepared for. The outline may be slight, but is sufficient. When it is followed up in the day to come, how it will be seen that here is One who has strength in Ephratah, and His name in Bethlehem; and how will the remnant "break forth" like the house of Pharez, "breaker forth," as it is written, "For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shalt inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited, . . . for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more." And how Ruth’s story is transfigured here! "For thy Maker is thy husband, Jehovah of hosts is His name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel: the God of the whole earth shall He be called." (Isa 54:3-5.)
Naomi, therefore, is built up by Ruth, and her son becomes (in another sense, of course,) her redeemer, the restorer of her life, and the support of her old age. For the son’s name is Obed, the "servant," and the sweet adoring service of the new generation of Israel will be in those days the restoring of life indeed. Fit it is that the "women, her neighbors," should give the name to this new seed; as the nations round (then neighborly!) will speak the praise of the new nation. For then for the first time shall they completely fulfill the word: "But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away." (Isa 41:8-9.)
This is indeed a sign of perfect redemption, whatever the dispensation: "O Lord, truly I am thy servant; I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid: thou hast loosed my bonds." (Psa 116:16.) Redemption is thus the spring of service, and gives character to it; and if we are indeed in the nearer and more wonderful place of sons of God, the service of sons is only the fullest, the most joyful service. Yea, the only-begotten Son, to the wonder and delight of heaven, has come forth and served; yea, and still serves; and in that day will serve; as He has Himself said: —
"Blessed are those servants whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that He shall gird Himself, and make them sit down to meat, and will come forth, and serve them." (Luk 12:37.)
F. W. Grant, The Numerical Bible (4th ed., 1903) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Appeal to Boaz
The Appeal to Boaz
1. Marriages are always arranged by the parents in Eastern lands; here, of course, the mother-in-law must intervene.
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2-7. Grain is winnowed in the evening, to avoid the heat of the day and take advantage of the cool sea-wind, which blows in Palestine from 4 p.m. to half-an-hour before sunset. As a rule the threshing floor, which is an open space of clean, hard, dry ground, is on an elevated spot. But at Beth-lehem it was necessary to go 'down' to it, because the town is on the summit of the ridge and higher than any of the surrounding eminences. Ruth is to wash and anoint herself and put on the simlah, the long outer robe of ceremony, for this was to be a formal and important visit. Every precaution, too, was to be taken to ensure Boaz being in a genial frame of mind; the day's work was to be at an end, and he was to have eaten and drunk: cp. Gen_27:4, Gen_27:25, and David's assumption that even Nabal would be generous during the feast of sheepshearing (1Sa_25:5-8). Naomi had entire confidence in the honour of her kinsman, and although the procedure which she devised is alien to all our thoughts and customs, it is conceived and carried out without a spot of impure intention. To this day the Syrian farmer lies down under the shelter of a heap of threshed corn to protect it from thieves, or sleeps close by with his family in a little hut erected for the purpose.
8-18. At midnight the sleeper was startled. He bent forward to ascertain what was there, and the swift, curt question, Who art thou? reveals his alarm. Her request is: Spread thy skirt (or, thy wing) over thine handmaid, i.e. Become my guardian and protector by marrying me (Eze_16:8), according to the duty of a near kinsman. The law in Deuteronomy 25 required that a brother should do this, if he and the deceased had dwelt together on the land belonging to the family. The right or duty was subsequently extended to more distant relatives. Boaz looked on this appeal as an even greater loving-kindness than Ruth had shown to Naomi, seeing that he was no longer young, and younger men would willingly have married her. The Rabbinical commentary on this book goes curiously astray in fixing his age as 80 and hers as 40. All the 'gate' of his people knew that she was an 'excellent' woman. They had discussed her in the gate of the city, which was the place of concourse, consultation and gossip, like the Gk. agora (Act_17:17-18), and the forum of the Romans. But ready as he was to take up the position of Goel (see on Job_19:25), he would not encroach on the stronger claim which another man had. For this night she must remain where she was, lest mischief should befall her at the hands of some of the roisterers who were especially likely to be abroad at that season of the year (Son_5:7). Yet she must leave whilst it was still too dark for a man to discern his friend if he met him; no breath of scandal must touch their good name. Let it not be known, said Boaz, that the woman came to the threshing floor. The 'mantle' (RV) here mentioned is not the same as the simlah of Rth_3:3 most likely it was the veil of cotton cloth or coarse muslin which rests on the head and falls down the back of Bedouin and peasant women, and is often used by them for carrying such things as vegetables. The present of three-fifths of a bushel of barley is at one and the same time an outpouring of his liberality and a precaution against the suspicion which might have been roused if any one had met her; they were to be led to think that she had been to fetch grain. The AV is correct in stating that she now went into the city; he came later (Rth_4:1). It would almost seem as though her mother-in-law could not at the first moment see who she was: Who art thou, my daughter? But perhaps the question really meant, 'How, hast thou fared?'
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 CHAPTER 3 At the Feet of Boaz
CHAPTER 3 At the Feet of Boaz
1. Naomi instructs Ruth (Rth 3:1-5)
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2. At his feet (Rth 3:6-7)
3. The discovery (Rth 3:8-13)
4. The six measures of barley (Rth 3:14-17)
5. He will not rest until he have finished the thing (Rth 3:18)
What follows in the realization of redemption must be connected with Leviticus 25, the law concerning the redemption of an inheritance and the other law about the marriage of a brother-in-law as given in Deu 25:5-12. See the annotations on that passage. Naomi gives instructions to Ruth which are based upon that law. But notice it is the question of the rest. “My daughter, shall not I seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?” She then is seen resting at his feet. Blessed truth indeed which even Naomi realizes, rest can only be found at the feet of the redeemer. This truth is known to all His beloved people. He promises rest and He giveth rest. Like Mary it is the good part for us to be at His feet.
But what is Boaz’s occupation when Ruth seeks him to claim her full blessing? “Behold he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshing floor.” The winnowing is a sifting process by which the wheat is separated from the chaff. Read Mat 3:12. The threshing floor is Israel. The dark night of tribulation is coming for them, when the mighty One will do the work of separating among His people. “His fan is in His hand.” In that coming night the believing remnant will seek, like Ruth, the place at His feet and claim Him as their own redeemer. Critics and unbelievers have often sneered at this scene and suggested evil motives. They do the same with other portions of the Word of God. Only an evil mind can read evil into this beautiful scene. It was at midnight when Boaz became conscious of her presence and asked, “Who art thou?” She answered, “I am Ruth.” She owns all she is and prays that he may cover her, “for thou art a redeemer.” Notice the steps. His question--her answer and prayer because she believed in him as the kinsman redeemer.
She tarried there during the night. “And she lay at his feet till the morning.” Then she left not empty handed!
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 Ruth Lays the Matter of Redemption Before Boaz
Ruth Lays the Matter of Redemption Before Boaz
v. 1. Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said unto her. My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, a resting-place in the home of a husband, happily married, that it may be well with thee? Naomi’s former hopeless sorrow had given way to the joyful hope that Boaz, as a near relative, having taken an obvious interest in Ruth, would be willing to take upon himself the duty of redeeming her property, which she had been obliged to sell and at the same time, as the levir in the case, to enter into marriage with Ruth, Deu 25:5. For it was a custom in Israel that, if the dead husband had no brethren to undertake this duty, the nearest male relative would do so, thus keeping the inheritance in the family through the children of such a union. It was the woman’s right to ask this duty of the relative concerned, and, far from being considered indelicate, she had a right openly to put him to shame in case of his refusal. These facts must be borne in mind in order to understand the mission of Ruth in this chapter, for otherwise her behavior may seem rather strange to modern ways of thinking.
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v. 2. And now, so Naomi continues, is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? It was in favor of Naomi’s scheme that Boaz had not slighted her on account of her nationality, but placed her on an equality with his Israelitish workpeople. Behold, he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshing-floor, this work being done in the evening, after the threshing had been done by the oxen during the day, by stepping out the kernels from the husks, as the stalks of grain were scattered upon the threshing-floor.
v. 3. Wash thyself, therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, paying special attention to the adornment of her person, which she had probably neglected during her widowhood, and get thee down to the floor; but make not thyself known unto the man until he shall have done eating and drinking, she was not to let herself be seen until he had partaken of his late supper, which would probably put him into a humor to give more favorable attention to her proposition.
v. 4. And it shall be when he lieth down, for it was the custom for the master to remain on the threshing-floor all night, that thou shall mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shall go in, and uncover his feet, removing the clothes or blankets lying at his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shall do.
v. 5. And she said unto her, with the same respectful submission which had always characterized her relation toward her mother-in-law, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
v. 6. And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother-in-law bade her, especially as to keeping out of sight as long as there were other people near, lest they suspect both Boaz and her of unpermitted relations, of a clandestine meeting with impure purposes.
v. 7. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, cheerful at the prospect of a rich return for his labor, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn, of the barley stacked in sheaves at the end of the threshing-floor; and she came softly, so quietly, in fact, as not to disturb the deep slumber into which he had immediately fallen, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
v. 8. And it came to pass at midnight, when the first phase of deepest slumber was past, that the man was afraid, startled out of his sleep, perhaps by having his foot come in contact with the person of Ruth, and turned himself, bending forward in order to see what he was touching; and, behold, a woman lay at his feet.
v. 9. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth, thine handmaid; spread, therefore, thy skirt over thine handmaid, a proverbial expression by which she reminded him of the duty of marriage, in case he would consider the proposition, Deu 23:1; for thou art a near kinsman, one of those in the near relationship that had the right to redeem, namely, by repurchasing the field sold by Naomi, which included the marrying of Ruth, the widow of the rightful heir of Elimelech. Ruth did not deviate in the least from the strict path of virtue, and she had faith in Boaz, as a man of nobility and honor, that he would not take advantage of the situation.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 6, 8 Naomi is the mother of Ruth's dead husband.
mother-in-law
Naomi is the mother of Ruth's dead husband.
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My daughter
Ruth became Naomi's daughter by marrying her son and further by her actions in caring for Naomi after returning to Bethlehem.
should I not seek a place for you to rest ... for you?
Naomi uses this question to tell Ruth what she planned to do. AT: "I must look for a place for you to rest ... for you." or "I must find a husband to care for you ... for you." (See: Rhetorical Question)
a place for you to rest
Possible meanings are 1) literally in finding a house for her to live in or 2) figuratively in finding a husband to care for her. Naomi probably had both senses in mind. (See: Metaphor)
female workers you have been with
The translation can make explicit that she was working in the fields with these female workers. AT: "female workers you have been with in the fields" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
is he not our kinsman?
Naomi probably used this question to remind Ruth of something she had already told her. AT: "he is our relative." (See: Rhetorical Question)
Look
This term indicates that the following statement is very important.
winnowing
To winnow means to separate grain from the unwanted chaff by tossing both the grain and chaff into the air, allowing the wind to blow the chaff away.
translationWords
Boaz
kin
winnow
barley
thresh
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 3:1 a permanent home (literally a resting place): Naomi…
3:1 a permanent home (literally a resting place): Naomi used a related word in 1:9 when she prayed for Ruth and Orpah. Now she suggested a course of action that might encourage Boaz to act on Ruth’s behalf.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.