Ruth 2:1-23

Ruth the Gleaner

1. Boaz] ('quickness') was a kinsman of Elimelech's. We are not informed of the precise degree of relationship. Here and at Ruth 3:2 he is designated an 'acquaintance.' It is by no means certain that we are to think of him as a mighty man of wealth'; the phrase here employed sometimes points out a capable, active man (1 Kings 11:28; Nehemiah 11:14). The Targum is of course wrong in explaining it by 'a man strong in the Law'—an explanation which reminds us of Apollos, 'mighty in the scriptures' (Acts 18:24).

2, 3. Ruth will not sit with folded hands. Like any other poor person she has a right to glean (Leviticus 19:9.; Leviticus 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19), but the landowner can make the exercise of this right easier or more disagreeable. Hence she is not sure where her task will be prosecuted, and it seems a piece of rare, though undesigned, good fortune that she lights on the portion of the field which belongs to Boaz. The portions belonging to different owners were not separated by walls, hedges or ditches, but by a stone, a stoneheap, or a marked tree (Deuteronomy 19:14).

4-6. These ancient forms of salutation were distinguished by politeness, heartiness, and religious feeling (cp. Genesis 43:29; Jer 19:20f; 2 Kings 4:29; Psalms 129:7). The Arabic formula now is 'God be with you': in Egypt the first speaker cries 'Peace be on you,' and the reply comes, 'On you be peace, and the mercy of God and His blessings,' or simply 'On you be peace.'