Ruth 3

Rth 3:1 And her mother-in-law Naomi said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for you so that it may be well with you?

Shall I not seek rest for thee - That is, Shall I not endeavor to procure thee a proper husband? 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 labor 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.

Rth 3:2 And now, is not Boaz of our kindred, he with whose maidens you were? Behold, he winnows barley tonight in the threshing-floor.

Tonight - For the sake of the breeze which springs up at sunset, and greatly facilitates the separation of the grain tossed up across the wind. It is very likely that the winnowing of grain was effected by taking up, in a broad thin vessel or sieve, a portion of the grain, 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 to 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; and as this took place in the evening only, that was the time in which they would naturally winnow their grain.

behold, he winnoweth barley tonight - which afforded a fit opportunity of meeting with him, being at night, and out of the city, from his own house, and alone, and after a feast for his reapers and threshers of corn.

he winnoweth barley tonight - The threshing-floor, which was commonly on the harvest-field, was carefully leveled with a large cylindric roller and consolidated with chalk, that weeds might not spring up, and that it might not chop with drought. The farmer usually remained all night in harvest-time on the threshing-floor, not only for the protection of his valuable grain, but for the winnowing. That operation was performed in the evening to catch the breezes which blow after the close of a hot day, and which continue for the most part of the night. This duty at so important a season the master undertakes himself; and, accordingly, in the simplicity of ancient manners, Boaz, a person of considerable wealth and high rank, laid himself down to sleep on the barn floor, at the end of the heap of barley he had been winnowing.

Rth 3:3 Therefore wash yourself, and anoint yourself, and put your clothing upon you, and go down to the floor. Do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

and put thy raiment upon thee - that is, her best raiment; for it cannot be supposed that she was now without clothes; or else her ornaments; her mother-in-law advises her to put off her widow's weed, the time of mourning for her husband being perhaps at an end, and put on her ornamental dress.

Rth 3:4 And when he lies down, you mark the place where he lies, and you shall go in and uncover his feet and lie down. And he will tell you what you shall do.

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 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 they 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.

Uncover his feet - Rather, “the place of his feet;” the foot of his bed, as we should say. It is said that women in the East, when going to the bed of their lawful husbands, through modesty, and in token of subjection, go to the bed’s foot, and gently raising the clothes, creep under them up to their place. On the whole, we must say, had not Boaz been a person of extraordinary piety, prudence, and continence, this experiment might have been fatal to Ruth. We cannot easily account for this transaction, probably Naomi knew more than she revealed to her daughter-in-law. The experiment however was dangerous, and should in no sense be imitated.

and he will tell thee what thou shall do - being a judge of Israel, and expert in the law, he would inform her whether he was the next kinsman, and had the right of redemption or not, and what methods must be taken, and what rites used, in order to her marriage with him, or another person.

Rth 3:5 And she said to her, All that you say, I will do.

Rth 3:6 And she went down to the grain floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had told her.

Rth 3:7 And when Boaz had eaten and had drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap. And she came softly and uncovered his feet, and lay down.

Rth 3:8 And it happened at midnight, the man trembled and turned himself. And, behold, a woman lay at his feet.

that the man was afraid - though a man, and a man of spirit, he was afraid, a panic seized him, not knowing who it was. About midnight the man was startled, namely, because on awaking he observed that there was some one lying at his feet; and he “bent himself” forward, or on one side, to feel who was lying there.

Rth 3:9 And he said, Who are you? And she answered, I am your handmaid Ruth. And you shall spread your skirt over your handmaid, for you are a kinsman-redeemer.

Spread thy skirt - Hebrew, Spread thy wing. The phrase indicates receiving and acknowledging her as a wife. The wing is the emblem of protection, and is a metaphor taken from the young of fowls, which run under the wings of their mothers, that they may be saved from birds of prey. The meaning here is, Take me to thee for wife. Let thy name be called on thy handmaid to take me for wife, because thou art the redeemer; i.e., thou art the goel, the kinsman, to whom the right of redemption belongs. To spread it over her as a token of his taking her in marriage, and of her being under his care and protection, and of her subjection to him. There is an allusion to this in Ezekiel 16:8 And I passed by you and looked on you, and, behold, your time was the time of love. And I spread my skirt over you and covered your nakedness. And I swore to you and entered into a covenant with you, says the Lord Jehovah. And you became Mine.

Jesus is our kinsman redeemer. This is a type depiction of the gift of salvation from our Messiah.

Rth 3:10 And he said, Blessed be you of Jehovah, my daughter. You have shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, in that you did not follow young men, whether poor or rich.

Thou hast shewed more kindness - Literally, “Thou hast made thy last kindness better than the first.” Perhaps as if he had said: Thou hast given great proof of thy piety in this latter instance, when thou hast avoided the young, and those of thy own age, to associate thyself with an elderly man, merely for the purpose of having the Divine injunction fulfilled, viz., that the brother, or next akin, might take the wife of the deceased, and raise a family to him who had died childless, that his name might not become extinct in Israel: this latter act is a greater proof of thy piety and sincerity than any thing that could be inferred from thy becoming a proselyte.

Whether poor or rich - So it appears from this that it was not to mend her condition in life that Ruth endeavored to get Boaz for her husband, for she might have had a rich young man, but she preferred the building up the house of her deceased husband.

Rth 3:11 And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do to you all that you ask. For all the city of my people knows that you are a woman of virtue.

Rth 3:12 And now it is true that I am your kinsman-redeemer. But there is also a kinsman nearer than I.

And now it is true, that I am thy near kinsman - Her husband and he being brothers' sons, so own cousins:

Rth 3:13 Stay tonight, and it shall be in the morning, if he will redeem you, well; he will redeem. And if he does not delight to redeem you, as Jehovah lives, then I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.

As the Lord liveth - Thus he bound himself by an oath to take her to wife if the other should refuse.

Tarry this day - Or lodge here tonight, where she was; this he said not from any design upon her, but for her own safety and honor, that she might not be exposed to danger or disgrace, by returning home at such an unseasonable time of night.

Rth 3:14 And she lay at his feet until the morning. And she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Do not let it be known that a woman came to the floor.

before a man could recognize his companion - meaning before dawn.

Rth 3:15 Also, he said, Bring the veil on you, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. And she went to the city.

Veil - Or, the apron.

The vail - Quite a different word from that rendered “vail,” in Gen_38:14. It seems rather to mean a kind of loose cloak, worn over the ordinary dress.

six measures – what a measure is, isn’t known, but according to the Targum, it is six seahs or bushels; twice as much as she gleaned Rth_3:17, that is too much, and more than a woman could carry; unless we suppose, with the Targum, that she had strength from the Lord to carry it, and was extraordinarily assisted by him in it, which is not very probable; rather six omers, an omer being the tenth part of an ephah, and so was a quantity she might be able to carry:.

and laid it upon her - upon her shoulder, or put it on her head, it being, no doubt, as much as she could well bear, and which required some assistance to help her up with it:

Rth 3:16 And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, Who are you, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her.

Who art thou? - as what person, in what circumstances dost thou come? The real meaning is, What hast thou accomplished? Are you my son’s widow or the wife of Boaz? Whereupon she related all that the man had done.

Rth 3:17 And she said, These six measures of barley he gave to me. For he said to me, Do not go empty to your mother-in-law.

go not empty unto thy mother in law - Ruth comes back with a present of barley. She comes back full of grain. Compare to how Naomi described her condition upon her return to Israel. Ruth 1:21 I went out full, and Jehovah has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since Jehovah has testified against me, and the Almighty has afflicted me?

Rth 3:18 And she said, Sit still, my daughter, until you know how the matter will fall. For the man will not rest until he has finished the thing today.

Until thou know how the matter will fall - That is, whether he who is nearer of kin than Boaz will take thee to wife;

do not return again till this thing is determined - Boaz lost no time to bring this to an issue, as we see in the following chapter, Ruth 4.