---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Ruth 2"
description: "CHAPTER 2   :-. RUTH GLEANS
IN THE FIELD OF
BOAZ. 2. Ruth . . . said unto Naomi, Let
me now go to the field, and glean—The right of gleaning was
conferred"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/ruth/2"
---

CHAPTER 2

. RUTH GLEANS
IN THE FIELD OF
BOAZ.

**2. Ruth . . . said unto Naomi, Let
me now go to the field, and glean**—The right of gleaning was
conferred by a positive law on the widow, the poor, and the stranger
(see on and ). But liberty to glean *behind the reapers* [] was not a right that could be claimed; it was a privilege
granted or refused according to the good will or favor of the owner.

**3. her hap was to light on a part of
the field belonging unto Boaz**—Fields in Palestine being
unenclosed, the phrase signifies that portion of the open ground
which lay within the landmarks of Boaz.
. HE TAKES
KNOWLEDGE OF HER,
AND SHOWS HER
FAVOR.

**4. Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and
said unto the reapers, The Lord be with you**—This pious
salutation between the master and his laborers strongly indicates the
state of religious feeling among the rural population of Israel at
that time, as well as the artless, happy, and unsuspecting simplicity
which characterized the manners of the people. The same patriarchal
style of speaking is still preserved in the East.

**5. his servant that was set over the
reapers**—an overseer whose special duty was to superintend the
operations in the field, to supply provision to the reapers, and pay
them for their labor in the evening.

**7. she said . . . Let me glean and
gather after the reapers among the sheaves**—Various modes of
reaping are practised in the East. Where the crop is thin and short,
it is plucked up by the roots. Sometimes it is cut with the sickle.
Whether reaped in the one way or the other, the grain is cast into
sheaves loosely thrown together, to be subjected to the process of
threshing, which takes place, for the most part, immediately after
the reaping. Field labors were begun early in the morning—before
the day became oppressively hot.
**she tarried a little in the
house**—that is, the field tent, erected for the occasional rest
and refreshment of the laborers.

**8, 9. said Boaz unto Ruth, . . .
bide here fast by my maidens**—The reaping was performed by women
while the assortment of sheaves was the duty of men-servants. The
same division of harvest labor obtains in Syria still. Boaz not only
granted to Ruth the full privilege of gleaning after his reapers, but
provided for her personal comfort.

**9. go unto the vessels, and drink of
that which the young men have drawn**—Gleaners were sometimes
allowed, by kind and charitable masters, to partake of the
refreshments provided for the reapers. The vessels alluded to were
skin bottles, filled with water—and the bread was soaked in vinegar
([Ruth 2:14](../../../kjv/ruth/2/14)); a kind of poor, weak
wine, sometimes mingled with a little olive oil—very cooling, as
would be required in harvest-time. This grateful refection is still
used in the harvest-field.

**14. he reached her parched corn, and
she did eat, and was sufficed, and left**—some of the new grain,
roasted on the spot, and fit for use after being rubbed in the
hands—a favorite viand in the East. He gave her so much, that after
satisfying her own wants, she had some () in reserve for her mother-in-law.

**16. let fall also some of the
handfuls of purpose for her**—The gleaners in the East glean with
much success; for a great quantity of corn is scattered in the
reaping, as well as in their manner of carrying it. One may judge,
then, of the large quantity which Ruth would gather in consequence of
the liberal orders given to the servants. These extraordinary marks
of favor were not only given from a kindly disposition, but from
regard to her good character and devoted attachment to her venerable
relative.

**17. and beat out that she had
gleaned**—When the quantity of grain was small, it was beat out
by means of a stick.
**an ephah**—supposed to
contain about a bushel.

**20. the man is . . . one of our next
kinsmen**—*Hebrew,* "one of our redeemers," on
whom it devolves to protect us, to purchase our lands, and marry you,
the widow of his next kinsman. She said, "one of them," not
that there were many in the same close relationship, but that he was
a very near kinsman, one other individual only having the precedence.

**21. all my harvest**—both barley
and wheat harvests. The latter was at the end of May or the beginning
of June.

**22. Naomi said unto Ruth . . . It is
good . . . that thou go out with his maidens**—a prudent
recommendation to Ruth to accept the generous invitation of Boaz,
lest, if she were seen straying into other fields, she might not only
run the risk of rude treatment, but displease him by seeming
indifferent to his kind liberality. Moreover, the observant mind of
the old matron had already discerned, in all Boaz' attentions to
Ruth, the germs of a stronger affection, which she wished to
increase.

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