(KJV) Ruth 31
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⥃Ruth’s Redemption Assured
[1] Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not2 seek rest for thee, that it may be3 well with thee? [2] And now [is] not Boaz4 of our kindred, with whose5 maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth6 barley to night in the threshingfloor. [3] Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee7, and put thy8 raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: [but] make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. [4] And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet9, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. [5] And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
[6] And she went down unto the floor, and did10 according to all that her mother in law bade her. [7] And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart11 was merry, he went to lie12 down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
[8] [¶]And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. [9] And he said, Who [art] thou? And she answered, I [am] Ruth13 thine handmaid: spread therefore14 thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou [art] a near kinsman15. [10] And he said, Blessed16 [be] thou of the Lord, my daughter: [for] thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning17, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. [11] And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city18 of my people doth know that thou [art] a virtuous woman. [12] And now it is true that I [am thy] near kinsman: howbeit there is19 a kinsman nearer than I. [13] Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, [that] if he will20 perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part: but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, [as] the Lord liveth21: lie down until the morning.
[14] And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not22 be known that a woman came into the floor. [15] Also he said, Bring the vail23 that [thou hast] upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured24 six [measures25] of barley, and laid [it] on her: and she went into the city. [16] And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who [art] thou26, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. [17] And she said, These six [measures] of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law. [18] Then said she, Sit still27, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day.
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Ruth 3:1, By Naomi’s instruction; Ruth 3:5, Ruth lies at Boaz’s feet; Ruth 3:8, Boaz acknowledges the right of a kinsman; Ruth 3:14, He sends her away with six measures of barley. ↩
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It is probable that the winnowing of grain was effected by taking up a portion of the corn in a sieve, and letting it down slowly in the wind; thus the grain would, by its own weight, fall in one place, while the chaff, etc., would be carried a distance by the wind. It is said here that this was done at night; probably what was threshed out in the day was winnowed in the evening, when the sea breeze set in, which was common in Palestine. ↩
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or, lift up the clothes that are on his feet, 1Thess 5:22 ↩
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Gen 43:34; Judg 16:25, Judg 19:6, Judg 19:9, Judg 19:22; 2Sam 13:28; Esth 1:10; Ps 104:15; Eccl 2:24, Eccl 3:12-13, Eccl 8:15, Eccl 9:7, Eccl 10:19; 1Cor 10:31; Eph 5:18 ↩
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Such was the simplicity of those early times, that the most wealthy persons looked after their own affairs, both at home and in the field. These threshing-floors were covered at top to keep off the rain, but lay open on all sides, that the wind might come in freely, for winnowing the corn; which being done, it is probable they were shut up at night, with doors fitted to them, that if any one lay there he might be kept warm, and the corn be secured from robbers. ↩
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Hebrew "spread thy wing;" the emblem of protection; and a metaphor taken from the young of fowls, which run under the wings of their mother from birds of prey. Even to the present day, when a Jew marries a woman, he throws the skirts of his talith over her, to signify that he has taken her under his protection. Ezek 16:8 ↩
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Heb. gate, Prov 12:4, Prov 31:10, Prov 31:29-31 ↩
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Eccl 7:1; Rom 12:17, Rom 14:16; 1Cor 10:32; 2Cor 8:21; 1Thess 5:22; 1Pet 2:12 ↩
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or sheet, or apron, The word mitpachath has been variously rendered. The LXX translate it περιζωμα, an apron, and Vulgate, pallium, a cloak. By the circumstances of the story, it must have been of a considerable size; and accordingly Dr. Shaw thinks it was no other than the hyke, the finer sort of which, such as are still worn by ladies and persons of distinction among the Arabs, he takes to answer to the πεπλος, or robe, of the ancient Greeks. ↩
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The quantity of this barley is uncertain. The Targum renders it, shith sein, "six seahs." A seah contained about two gallons and a half, six of which must have been a very heavy load for a woman, and so the Targumist thought, for he adds, "And she received strength from the Lord to carry it." ↩
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Or, as the Vulgate renders, Quid egisti filiȧ "What hast thou done, my daughter?" Ruth 3:16 ↩