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Ruth gathers grain from Boaz's field. Ruth.2:1. Naomi had a relative by her husband, a very noble man, from the tribe of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. A new person is introduced into the narrative - a relative of the deceased Elimelech and, therefore, Naomi (Heb. moda, LXX: γνώριμος, slav.: “known husband” - actually “acquaintance”, but due to his belonging to the tribe of Elimelech - “relative” - as in Russian, cf. Ruth. 3:2). Boaz (Heb., Boaz; LXX: Βοοζ; Vulg. Booz). The Hebrew spelling of the name is the same as the name of one of the copper columns placed by Solomon in the vestibule of the church - Boaz (1 Kings 7:21; 2 Chronicles 3:17); the meaning of the name is conveyed in two ways: 1) “there is strength in it” (bo and az), or 2) from the Arabic root “dexterity, mobility” (Gesenius). In both cases, Boaz is given the epithet “isch gibborchail” (Vulg. homa potens, slav.: “a strong man,” Russian: “a very noble man”), usually denoting a rich man (1 Kings 9:1; 2 Kings 15:20) or a courageous, brave, valiant hero (Judges 6:12, 11:1; 1 Kings 11:28; Neh. 11:14). Ruth.2:2. And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “I will go into the field and glean the ears of grain from the tracks of him from whom I find favor.” She said to her: go, my daughter. Ruth.2:3. She went and came and gleaned the ears of corn in the field behind the reapers. And it came to pass that that part of the field belonged to Boaz, who was of the tribe of Elimelech. Ruth rushes to help the plight that both women find themselves in upon their arrival in Bethlehem. An ancient Jewish custom, sanctioned by law (Lev. 19:9–10, 23:22; Deut. 24:19), provided for the benefit of the poor, among other things, a certain part of the field that was left unharvested, forgotten sheaves and ears of corn that fell during the harvest. Ruth exercises this right, perhaps without knowing its legal sanction, but simply hoping for the human kindness of the reapers and masters; fortunately, “by chance” (Heb. midreh, Vulg. accidit: the concept of “chance” is extremely rare in biblical usage and worldview, belonging more to the pagans, for example, 1 Samuel 6:9) she ends up in Boaz’s field, where she began to glean the ears of grain from the reapers. Ruth.2:4. And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers: The Lord is with you! They said to him: God bless you! Boaz's greeting to the reapers is reminiscent of the Angel's greeting to Gideon (Judges 6:12); the reapers' return greeting to him is close to the goodwill at the harvest in Ps. 128:8. Boaz's greeting and the reapers' response depict an attractive simplicity and warmth in the relationship between master and servants. Ruth.2:5. And Boaz said to his servant who was assigned to the reapers: Whose young woman is this? Ruth.2:6. The servant assigned to the reapers answered and said: This young woman is a Moabite, who came with Naomi from the fields of Moab; Ruth.2:7. she said: “I will glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers”; and she came and has been here since the morning until now; She is not often at home. To Boaz’s question about Ruth, the overseer gives an answer that is favorable for her: an indication of her selfless devotion to Naomi and her extreme hard work. Ruth.2:8. And Boaz said to Ruth: Listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field and do not move from here, but be here with my maids; Ruth.2:9. let the field where they reap be in your sight, and follow them; Behold, I commanded my servants not to touch you; When you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink from where my servants draw. This puts Boaz in favor of Ruth, and he allows her to constantly gather ears of corn exclusively in his field, entrusting her with the protection of maidservants and protecting her from insults from the reapers (cf. Ruth. 2:14–15). Ruth.2:10. She fell on her face and bowed down to the ground and said to him: How have I gained favor in your eyes that you accept me, although I am a foreigner? Ruth.2:11. Boaz answered and said to her: I have been told everything that you did for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband, that you left your father and your mother and your homeland and came to a people whom you did not know yesterday and the third day; Ruth.2:12. May the Lord reward your deed for this, and may you have a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, to Whom you have come to rest under His wings! Ruth.2:13. She said: May I be in favor in your sight, my lord! You consoled me and spoke according to the heart of your servant, while I am not worthy of any of your servants. Here, Boaz’s humble gratitude to Ruth, who left everything in her homeland for the sake of Israel and her God and does not claim good deeds in Israel (vv. 10, 13), and the kindness and piety of Boaz, imbued with faith in the special providence of Jehovah for Israel (as if with wings overshadowing and protecting his people, cf. Deut. 32:11-12 and Ps. 35:8, 56:2, 90:4), not leaving without memory anyone who trusts in Him (Ps. 91:1), not excluding the “stranger in the gates of Israel” (Deut. 14:29), - accepting the sacrifice of Ruth’s selfless devotion to Naomi as a great godly act, worthy of the most complete and perfect reward from God, and ready to serve as an instrument God's mercy to the poor woman (vv. 11–12). “This blessing (of Boaz to Ruth) was fulfilled, because she received a full reward from the Lord, becoming the foremother of the Blessing of the Nations” (Blessed Theodoret, p. 315). Ruth.2:14. And Boaz said to her, It’s dinner time; come here and eat bread and dip your piece in vinegar. And she sat down near the reapers. He gave her some bread; She ate, was full, and still had some left. The image of a meal of an eastern commoner is typical. Lunch consists of pieces of bread dipped in vinegar (Hebrew chomez - a drink used in the East in hot times and now, despite the restrictions of the prohibition of wine among Muslims), this is accompanied by kali, Greek: ἄλφιτον, Slavic: "pryazmo" - dried grains (cf. Lev. 23:14). Ruth.2:15. And she got up to pick it up. Boaz gave orders to his servants, saying: Let her glean among the sheaves, and do not offend her; Ruth.2:16. Yes, and throw away the sheaves for her and leave them, let her pick [and eat], and do not scold her. The conversation with Ruth, apparently, elevated her even more in the eyes of Boaz, and he makes new orders to the reapers to assist the poor woman in collecting bread; but even now, as before, he still does not mention his relationship with Ruth’s late husband. The latter is revealed to her by Naomi upon her return on the evening of the first day of harvesting grain in the fields of Boaz (v. 20). Ruth.2:17. So she gleaned from the field until evening and threshed out what she had gathered, and it came out to about an ephah of barley. Ruth.2:18. Taking this, she went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had collected. And she took [Ruth out of her bosom] and gave her what she had left behind, having eaten herself. The daily harvest of Ruth's barley, threshed by her in the field, was equal to an ephah, Heb. epha, LXX: οιφι (οιφει), Vulg.: ephi, Slav.: “ifi”; this measure, according to Jewish tradition (Midrasch, s. 42), was equal to three sats (Vulg. tres modii); according to I. Flavius ​​(Ant. VIII, 2, 9), 72 sextars or 1 attic. μετρητὴς. Ruth.2:19. And her mother-in-law said to her: Where did you gather today and where did you work? may he who received you be blessed! [Ruth] announced to her mother-in-law for whom she worked, and said, “The man for whom I worked today was named Boaz.” Ruth.2:20. And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law: Blessed is he of the Lord because he has not deprived of his mercy either the living or the dead! And Naomi said to her, “This man is close to us; he is one of our relatives. Ruth.2:21. Ruth the Moabite said [to her mother-in-law]: He even said to me: Be with my maids until they finish my harvest. Ruth.2:22. And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth: It is good, my daughter, that you will go with his maidens, and they will not insult you in another field. The abundance of bread collected by Ruth (v. 17), the remnants of the dinner she brought (v. 18), and finally, the announcement of the name of Boaz (v. 19) - all this immediately displaces the former bitterness from the heart of pious Naomi (Ruth. 1:13, 20) and extorts from her words of thanksgiving to Jehovah and blessing to Boaz (v. 20); now she tells Ruth about Boaz’s relationship. And Ruth’s further message about Boaz’s gracious permission to be with his servants throughout the harvest (v. 21) could now prompt Naomi to think about the arrangement of the fate of her daughter-in-law (cf. Ruth. 3:1). Ruth.2:23. So she was with the maids of Boaz and gleaned until the barley harvest and the wheat harvest were over, and she lived with her mother-in-law. During the entire harvest (barley and then 2-3 weeks later wheat), i.e. For about 3 months (Midrasch, s. 44), Ruth worked in the fields of Boaz while living with Naomi. In the Vulgate, the last words of Art. 23, ch. 2: “vatteschev et – chamotag” (“lived with the mother-in-law”) are attributed to Art. 1, ch. III, beginning in the Vulgate: “postquam autem reversa est ad soream suam.” You might be interested in: