Ruth Works in the Field of Boaz
2:1 Now Naomi had a relative on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech.
Boaz means “to be swift." The Hebrew word for wealthy is חַ֔יִל (chayil), meaning military strength or wealth. The Hebrew word for “prominent” is גִּבּ֣וֹר (gibbor), meaning a military men of honor. Boaz may have been one of the 300 original men who attacked the Midianites under Gideon’s command. Boaz was a relative of Naomi, meaning that he could act as her kinsman redeemer. He could save her out of poverty, slavery, or become her avenger of blood.
2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields so I can gather grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” Naomi replied, “You may go, my daughter.”
Even though Ruth was a Jewish proselyte, she was still called a Moabite. According to the Bible, Jewishness has to do with race, not religion. Modern Israel will kick out bloodline Jews today if they are messianic, because the modern government views Jewishness as a religion and not as a race.
The Mosaic Law protected the poor. Landowners must leave grain on the corners and edges of the field for the poor. Landowners could only glean their fields once. The rest was to be left to the poor. Not all landowners followed this Mosaic Law. They often attempted to find ways around it. Therefore, Ruth was looking for a landowner who would be generous to the poor through this stipulation of the Mosaic Law.
2:3 So Ruth went and gathered grain in the fields behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
Ruth had no idea how God was moving in her life. She did not know the land, the people, or the customs. However, God led her to the field of Boaz, who was a kinsman redeemer of Naomi.
Boaz and Ruth Meet
2:4 Now at that very moment, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, “May the Lord bless you!”
These greetings demonstrated that Boaz was among a circle of true believers called the Remnant. While the Book of Judges concentrated on the non-Remnant, Ruth focuses on the Remnant. Because of the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant, God always preserved a Remnant throughout Israeli history.
2:5 Boaz asked his servant in charge of the harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?”
The Hebrew word for “servant” is נַ֫עַר (naar), meaning foreman. The foreman was responsible for supervising the workers, supplying provisions for the reapers, and paying his workers at the end of the day.
Boaz noticed Ruth and asked his foreman about her. The rabbis recorded that Boaz noticed Ruth, because she was different than the other Jewish female reapers. All of the other women bent down to gather the ears of corn while Ruth sat and gathered. All of the other women hitched up their skirts, but Ruth kept hers down. All of the other women flirted with the male reapers, but Ruth was quiet and reserved. All of the other women gathered from between the sheaves, but Ruth gathered from that which was abandoned. These insights could have been true, but their was no internal biblical evidence to support this rabbinic view.
2:6 The servant in charge of the harvesters replied, “She’s the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the region of Moab.
The foreman identified Ruth as a Moabite, but not as a Jewish proselyte. He reported that she came into town with Naomi. Once Naomi was mentioned, Boaz knew that he was Naomi’s kinsman redeemer.
2:7 She asked, ‘May I follow the harvesters and gather grain among the bundles?’ Since she arrived she has been working hard from this morning until now – except for sitting in the resting hut a short time.”
Ruth asked for permission to glean and gather, although this was permitted by the Mosaic Law.
2:8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully, my dear! Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside my female workers.
The Hebrew word for “my dear” is בִּתִּ֗י (bat-i), meaning my daughter. There was a large age difference between the two. Boaz gave Ruth a personal invitation to glean only in his field.
2:9 Take note of the field where the men are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers. I will tell the men to leave you alone. When you are thirsty, you may go to the water jars and drink some of the water the servants draw.”
The female workers were paid workers. They gleaned in the areas of the field where there was an abundance of wheat. This meant that Ruth would receive plenty of wheat with less work, she would be protected from rowdy men, and she would have access to a continual and fresh water supply.
2:10 Ruth knelt before him with her forehead to the ground and said to him, “Why are you so kind and so attentive to me, even though I am a foreigner?”
Ruth expected harsh treatment in this new country, but she received the opposite.
2:11 Boaz replied to her, “I have been given a full report of all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband – how you left your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously.
Boaz had never met Ruth, but he did possess prior knowledge of her situation.
2:12 May the Lord reward your efforts! May your acts of kindness be repaid fully by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection!”
Boaz prayed that God would protect Ruth just like a hen protects her chicks under her wings. Boaz did not yet understand that he was praying for himself to be Ruth’s protecter.
2:13 She said, “You really are being kind to me, sir, for you have reassured and encouraged me, your servant, even though I am not one of your servants!”
The Hebrew word for “servant” is שִׁפְחָה (shifchah), meaning a slave of the lowest social class. This type of servant was considered the owner’s property. She would perform only the most menial tasks. Ruth did not consider herself to be an אָמָה (amah), which was a servant girl who was eligible to become a concubine, a wife, or a member of the owner’s family.
2:14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have some food! Dip your bread in the vinegar!” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest.
Boaz invited Ruth to eat with himself and the harvesters. Bethlehem was known for her hospitality. Ruth must have been stunned at this type of Jewish hospitality, because she was a Moabite living in a foreign land.
2:15 When she got up to gather grain, Boaz told his male servants, “Let her gather grain even among the bundles! Don’t chase her off!
Boaz ordered his men to allow Ruth to gather as much grain as she needed.
2:16 Make sure you pull out ears of grain for her and drop them so she can gather them up. Don’t tell her not to!”
Boaz also commanded his men to intentionally drop extra grain on the field so that Ruth could pick it up.
2:17 So she gathered grain in the field until evening. When she threshed what she had gathered, it came to about thirty pounds of barley!
Ruth gathered thirty pounds of barley, which was a tremendous amount for a gleaner living in poverty.
Ruth Returns to Naomi
2:18 She carried it back to town, and her mother-in-law saw how much grain she had gathered. Then Ruth gave her the roasted grain she had saved from mealtime.
Naomi knew that Ruth had brought back much more than she should have been able to glean.
2:19 Her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you gather grain today? Where did you work? May the one who took notice of you be rewarded!” So Ruth told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked. She said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
Naomi knew that someone had taken special interest in Ruth.
2:20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be rewarded by the Lord because he has shown loyalty to the living on behalf of the dead!” Then Naomi said to her, “This man is a close relative of ours; he is our guardian.”
The Hebrew word for “guardian” is גָּאַל (gael), meaning kinsman redeemer. Naomi understood that Ruth had landed in Boaz’s field by the sovereignty of God.
2:21 Ruth the Moabite replied, “He even told me, ‘You may go along beside my servants until they have finished gathering all my harvest!’”
Ruth was still called a Moabite. So far, there were only two people who had accepted her into the Jewish society.
2:22 Naomi then said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “It is good, my daughter, that you should go out to work with his female servants. That way you will not be harmed, which could happen in another field.”
Israel was living in a time of low morals. Naomi did not want men making jeers at Ruth. Ruth would be protected in Boaz’s field.
2:23 So Ruth worked beside Boaz’s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest. After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law.
The barley harvest began with First Fruits and ended with Pentecost. The wheat harvest began with the Feast of Weeks and continued to the first part of July. Ruth worked in Boaz’s field for the next three months. She was able to get to know Boaz very well.