Ruth 2

Please see License for Copyright notice and Licensing information.
[ Previous | Next ]

Ruth 2

1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz.

2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.

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

4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him, The Lord bless thee.

5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this?

6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:

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

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

9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.

10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.

12 The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.

13 Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.

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

15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not:

16 And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not.

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

18 And she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.

19 And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did take knowledge of thee. And she shewed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz.

20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the Lord, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen.

21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.

22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field.

23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law.

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

<html>A kinsman. A relative; he was the son of Elimelech’s brother. Our Rabbis of blessed memory said, “Elimelech, and Salmone¹Rus 4:21. the father of Bo’az, and the anonymous kinsman,²Ibid. 4:1. and the father of Naomi,³Therefore Bo’az and Naomi were cousins. were all sons of Nachshon,⁴Shemos 6:23 and Bamidbar 10:14. the son of Aminadav.⁵Maseches Bava Basra 91a. Yet the merit of their fathers was no avail them when they left the Land [of Yisroel] to go abroad.” </html>

Verse 2

<html>Let me go now to the field. To one of the fields of the people of the city, after one of them, “in whose eyes I will find favor,” so that he will not rebuke me. And glean among the stalks, behind one in whose eyes I will find favor. After someone in whose eyes I will find favor.⁶Alternatively, after I find favor in his eyes, i.e., I will not glean in a field until I know the owner allows it. (Malbim) </html>

Verse 3

<html>So she went, and came and gleaned in the field. We find in Midrash Rus [the question is raised], “Before she had even gone she returned?” For it states, “and [she] came” and afterwards “and gleaned” [i.e., she came back before she gleaned]? Rather, [the Midrash explains] she would mark the roads before she entered the field, and she went and came and returned to the city, in order to make signs and markings so that she would not stray in the paths and she should know how to return.⁷Alternatively, Rabbi Eliezer said that she kept on coming back until she found decent people with whom to go. (Maseches Shabbos 113b). [And as Divine fate decreed] she happened. To come to the portion of the field belonging to Bo’az.</html>

Verse 5

<html>To whom does this maiden belong. Was it the practice of Bo’az to inquire about women? Rather, [because] he saw her modest and wise behavior [he was curious about her. He observed that] two ears she would glean but three she would not glean;⁸As prescribed by the Mishnah (Pe’ah 6:5). The Torah in Vayikra 19:9 awards the fallen ears of grain and forgotten sheaves to the poor. Thus her exemplary behavior and her knowledge of the law caught the attention of Bo’az and he therefore inquired about her. and she would glean the standing ears while standing and the lying ones while sitting, in order to avoid bending over.⁹Maseches Shabbos 113b. </html>

Verse 6

<html>Who returned with Naomi. The accent is at the beginning, under the shin, because it is the past tense, and not the present tense [of the verb].¹⁰See Rashi in Bereishis 29:6. </html>

Verse 7

<html>And she did say. To herself. Please allow me to glean. The gleaning of the ears. And gather among the sheaves. The forgotten sheaves.¹¹Devarim 24:19. </html>

Verse 9

<html>And when you are thirsty, go to the jugs. And if you are thirsty, do not be ashamed to go and drink from the vessels of water that the young men will draw. </html>

Verse 13

<html>I cannot even be considered as one of your handmaidens. I am not as worthy as one of your handmaidens.</html>

Verse 14

<html>And dip your bread in the vinegar. From here [we derive] that vinegar is good for the heat.¹²Maseches Shabbos 113b. It is a popular and refreshing drink for those who toil in extremely hot climates. And he handed her some roasted grain. And he extended to her. There is no similar [word] in Scripture, but only in the language of the Mishnah, “the outside, the inside and the handle [= בֵית הַצְּבִיטָה.”¹³Maseches Chagigah 3:1. </html>

Verse 16

<html>And let [some sheaves] fall for her. שֹׁל תָּשֹׁלּוּ =] you should forget; pretend as though you are forgetting.¹⁴The double verb indicates that the action was to be repeated many times. The Targum for שְׁגָגָה [=oversight], is שְׁלוּתָא,¹⁵Bamidbar 15:25. and similarly, “because of this error.”¹⁶II Shmuel 6:7. Another explanation [of שֹׁל תָּשֹׁלּוּ is “let fall”], an expression [as in,] “your olive tree will cast off [= יִשַּׁל [its fruit].”¹⁷Devarim 28:40. Bundles. Small sheaves, and there is a similar expression in the language of the Mishnah, “[If] he found them [tefillin] tied up in bundles or in packets.”¹⁸Maseches Eruvin 10:1. </html>

Verse 19

<html>Blessed be he that took note of you. [I.e.,] the owner of the field who showed you favor [and allowed you] to glean in his field.¹⁹Alternatively, the person who takes note of you and marries you will be blessed because you are a gifted person. (Gra). </html>

Verse 20

<html>With the living and with the deceased. That he feeds and sustains the living, and occupies himself with the needs of the deceased.²⁰The “needs of the deceased” refers to the kindness displayed by Bo’az to Elimelech and his sons. (Ibn Ezra) Alternatively, the “needs of the deceased” refers to the willingness of Bo’az to perform a levirate marriage and will thus do kindness to the memory of her deceased husband. (Alshich)</html>

ARC Wiki

Table of Contents

Ruth 2

Ruth 2

Notes

Cross Reference

Concordance

Commentary

Rashi

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

Verse 5

Verse 6

Verse 7

Verse 9

Verse 13

Verse 14

Verse 16

Verse 19

Verse 20