Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Ruth Chapter 3 mean?

Naomi and Ruth have lived in Bethlehem for the two months of the barley and wheat harvests. During that time, a wealthy, well-respected landowner, Boaz, made extraordinary considerations to ensure Ruth was able to glean enough grain for the women to live on for a year. Naomi’s goal for Ruth, however, was always that she find a good husband to give her “rest” (Ruth 1:9). Now, Naomi makes her move. The format of Ruth 3 is like chapter 2: the women plan what they’re going to do, Ruth interacts with Boaz, and the women live in peace confident that Boaz will continue working on their behalf.

The first section can be titled “Naomi’s Plan.” As the harvest ends, Naomi decides that Boaz would make a good husband for Ruth. She gives bold instructions to her daughter-in-law: Ruth is to go to the threshing floor and wait until Boaz has celebrated the harvest and fallen asleep. When he awakens, he will be in a good mood, and they will have chaste privacy amidst the other threshers who sleep nearby to protect the grain. Ruth will then challenge Boaz to act. Ruth agrees to the plan (Ruth 3:1–6).

The next section is “Ruth’s Plan.” Ruth does as Naomi says but adds her own spin. Naomi briefly mentioned that Boaz is a “redeemer” of her husband’s (Ruth 2:20). He can buy Naomi’s husband’s land as a kinsman-redeemer, thus giving Naomi an inheritance to live from and keeping the land in the clan. Ruth presents her marriage proposal in that context. Boaz knows what she’s really asking for (Ruth 3:6–9).

Finally, “Boaz’s Plan.” Boaz recognizes that Ruth is willing to marry him for Naomi’s sake, not her own. That doesn’t just mean buying Naomi’s husband’s land, it also means providing her with an heir to re-inherit the land when the boy comes of age. Boaz is overwhelmed by Ruth’s selflessness and agrees to her plan. There’s only one problem: Naomi’s husband has a closer relative with a stronger claim (Ruth 3:10–13).

Early in the morning, before anyone else awakens, Boaz sends Ruth back to Naomi. He does not send her empty-handed; he provides twelve gallons of barley, as a sort of bride price or as a last gesture of his respect should she marry the other man. Ruth returns to her mother-in-law and gives her a report. Naomi is pleased and assures Ruth that Boaz will resolve the issue with the closer heir quickly (Ruth 3:14–18).

Naomi is right. Later that day, Boaz tells the nearer relative that Naomi has a field to redeem. The man agrees. Then Boaz tells him he will also marry Ruth and provide Naomi an heir. The man knows Boaz is asking him to buy the field and then give it away to a son he will have in another man’s name. He politely refuses, and Boaz marries Ruth. The townspeople praise Boaz for his honorable choice, then praise God when Ruth gives birth to a son and lays him in Naomi’s lap. The book ends with the revelation that Ruth and Boaz’s son will be the grandfather of King David (Ruth 4).

Chapter Context
Ruth 3 is the wind-up to the climax of the story. Ruth and Naomi returned to Bethlehem from Moab two months prior. Boaz, a relative of Naomi’s late husband, has allowed Ruth to harvest enough grain to last the women a year (Ruth 1—2). Now that their physical needs are addressed, Naomi wants Ruth married to Boaz. Ruth wants Boaz to provide an heir for Naomi. Boaz is again impressed with Ruth’s self-sacrifice and agrees (Ruth 3). After negotiating with a closer relative, Boaz marries Ruth and gives Naomi a son. That son becomes King David’s grandfather (Ruth 4).

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?

The harvests are complete, and the women have what they need as far as food. But soon Ruth will lose her opportunity to interact with Boaz. Naomi wants more for Ruth than “enough.” She wants the young woman to find “rest” in a new family with a new husband (Ruth 1:9). When they were still in Moab, Naomi wanted her daughters-in-law to return to their mothers and find local husbands. Ruth gave up her family and her nation to follow Naomi and her God (Ruth 1:16–18). Given that Ruth was now a widowed Moabitess, it would have seemed unlikely for her to find a Jewish husband. But Naomi realizes Boaz, the man who made it possible for Ruth to collect so much grain, might be willing. It is interesting to note that Boaz’s mother was Rahab (Matthew 1:5), who was also a foreign woman who recognized the truth about God and chose to help His people and follow Him (Joshua 2:1–21; 6:22–25).

Bible scholar Robert L. Hubbard explains that “‘That it may be well with you’” is a common idiom associated with attractive benefits: bridal happiness (Jeremiah 7:23), security (Jeremiah 42:6), long life (Genesis 12:13; Deuteronomy 4:40; 5:16, 33), material prosperity (Jeremiah 40:9), and many children (Deuteronomy. 6:3).”

There’s no indication that Naomi is thinking of a levirate marriage for Ruth. Levirate marriage is when a widow marries her late husband’s brother to produce an heir for the deceased man. In this context, Naomi would have to marry Elimelech’s brother, but Naomi is past child-bearing age, and Elimelech doesn’t seem to have any brothers. Ruth could marry her late husband’s brother, but he, too, died (Ruth 1:5). Boaz, as a more-distant relative, is not required to provide either with an heir. Naomi is thinking about Ruth and her future, not Elimelech’s legacy.

That she can even do that is a miracle. Naomi lost her husband and two sons in Moab and left behind one cherished daughter-in-law (Ruth 1:1–5, 14). When she arrived in Bethlehem, she blamed God for her tragedies and accused Him of breaking His covenant oath with her (Ruth 1:20–21). Her focus on blessing Ruth is evidence that her faith in Yahweh has been restored.

Context Summary
Ruth 3:1–5 highlights Naomi’s plan. Ruth has been gleaning Boaz’s fields throughout the barley and wheat harvests. She has more than enough to feed the two women for a year. But Naomi always wanted Ruth to find rest with a new husband (Ruth 1:9). She thinks Boaz will do nicely. She tells Ruth how to approach Boaz in a way that protects both their reputations. But Naomi doesn’t quite understand that Ruth has other priorities.

Verse 2. Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.

As Naomi begins her instructions to Ruth, she identifies Boaz in two ways. The first is as “our relative.” As such, he would be responsible to buy Naomi’s husband’s field from the man Elimelech sold it to so that the land would stay in the clan and Naomi would not be destitute (Leviticus 25:25–28, 47–49).

The second is as the man who took great pains to protect Ruth as she worked. Ruth has spent the last two months in Boaz’s fields gleaning grain. This meant scavenging dropped stalks from the hired workers. Typically, a gleaner would make no more than a modern person today who collected aluminum cans from the street. But Boaz was so impressed by Ruth’s desire to provide for her mother-in-law that he told his reapers to leave extra stalks of grain for Ruth to pick up. He also fed her, arranged for her to take water with his reapers, and told her to stay close to the women he’d hired to bundle the stalks together, thus keeping her safe from any man who was tempted to harm a foreign widow (Ruth 2:8–9, 14–16).

The passage doesn’t explain why Naomi thinks Boaz will be winnowing his grain this night. It might be because it’s sufficiently windy. Or, because he has been using the communal threshing floor and town gossip has revealed he has more to do.

Winnowing is one step in processing the harvested grain. First, the grain is threshed—crushed by foot, a sledge, animal hooves, or heavy stones—to break the husks away from the kernels. Then the grain is winnowed: tossed in the air so the wind can blow away the lighter husks, leaving the kernels. The threshing season is a celebratory time, especially after such a long famine (Ruth 1:1). It’s also a time for eating, drinking, and immorality. Likely, Naomi mentions how Boaz protected Ruth to reassure them both that Boaz will not do anything to harm the young woman.

Verse 3. Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

Naomi has a problem. She wants Boaz, an older, highly honored Jewish man, to marry Ruth, her young Moabite daughter-in-law. Culturally, there is nothing about this scheme that makes sense. But Naomi knows Ruth deserves the best in life, and she’s resolved to make it happen. Naomi must balance several things all at once. She needs to figure out how Ruth can propose to Boaz while keeping safe and maintaining enough privacy that Boaz doesn’t lose face for talking with a foreign widow.

Ruth is to wash and “put on her cloak.” Naomi may be concerned Ruth stays warm, but she probably means Ruth should take off her mourning clothes and dress as a woman who is eligible to marry. But threshing floors are known for sexual decadence (Hosea 9:1), so Ruth needs to hide until everyone’s asleep. The workers will end the day with food and wine and sleep on the ground near the threshing floor to protect the grain. That will give Ruth and Boaz privacy, as everyone will be asleep, but they will be near people who can come to Ruth’s aid if something untoward occurs. Not that it will; Boaz has already proven protective of Ruth by insisting she stay with his female servants in the fields (Ruth 2:8–9).

Naomi’s care pays off. Ruth follows the instructions, including taking Boaz’s robe off his feet to gently wake him (Ruth 3:4, 7). But when he wakens, she goes off-script. Naomi wants Ruth to have a good husband. Ruth wants Naomi to have an heir. Boaz realizes what Ruth is asking and is so impressed with her lovingkindness toward her mother-in-law that he quickly agrees (Ruth 3:10–13).

The story of Ruth would have been spoken to audiences for generations. This isn’t a dry textbook of events and instruction like Leviticus. It is an exciting, suspenseful tale. As such, the storyteller approaches the line of suggestion for the sake of the narrative. Unfortunately, modern critics often miss the subtly and cross that line, making the story more salacious than it is.

The comment about “drinking” falls victim to this unfair interpretation. Ruth is a Moabitess. That means she is descended from the son that one of Lot’s daughters gave birth to after sleeping with her drunken father (Genesis 19:30–38). That does not mean that Ruth waits until Boaz gets drunk and then offers herself sexually. She needs to wait until after the party so that he and the others will be relaxed and asleep and she can talk to him privately.

Verse 4. But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”

Naomi is giving Ruth instructions. She wants her young Moabite daughter-in-law to marry Boaz, a wealthy, well-respected landowner, but they must act delicately. Ruth needs to approach Boaz near other people, for propriety’s sake, but away from listening ears, since her proposal is culturally inappropriate. Naomi’s solution is that Ruth will find him when he is asleep on the threshing floor, surrounded by other sleeping harvesters. It’s interesting that Naomi’s plan puts no pressure on Boaz, but Boaz puts the full-court press on Ruth’s other potential suitor (Ruth 4:1–9).

As with “drinking” in Ruth 3:3, “uncover his feet” has been erroneously interpreted to infer a sexual act. “Uncover” was often used in the context of “uncovering one’s nakedness” which meant shameful sex (Leviticus 20:11). The Hebrew for “feet” was associated with a man’s private parts. To “cover one’s feet” was a euphemism referring to when a man’s robes covered his feet as he squatted to go to the bathroom, thereby uncovering his privates. This phrase is the original Hebrew in 1 Samuel 24:3 when King Saul “relieved himself” in the cave where David was hiding.

That is not what Naomi is saying. The “feet” used to refer to sexual organs is the Hebrew regel (Judges 3:24; 1 Samuel 24:3). Naomi uses margelōṯ, which is better defined as “extremities.” The only other passage where the word is used is Daniel 10:6 when it describes the arms and legs (margelōṯ) of an angel. Naomi is not telling Ruth to have sex with Boaz; she’s telling her to uncover his feet to expose them to the night air so he will gently wake up without being too startled.

Even more problematically, Naomi tells Ruth to “lie down” after she’s uncovered Boaz’s feet. Despite what some critics say, Naomi was telling Ruth to lie down on the ground and wait for Boaz to wake up. Ruth would look like any other sleeper on the threshing floor, and when Boaz woke up, she wouldn’t appear as a threat. Naomi wasn’t telling Ruth to lie on top of Boaz. Naomi wants Ruth married first, not impregnated.

Boaz has always been protective of Ruth and recognizes her integrity. Naomi’s comment about how Ruth had worked with Boaz’s female servants (Ruth 3:2) refers to when Ruth first started working in his fields. He insisted she stay with the women who could protect her from the men (Ruth 2:8–9). When he awakens, Boaz asks who she is and then immediately blesses Ruth, saying, “May you be blessed by the LORD” (Ruth 3:10), precluding her from having any untoward intentions. And Boaz wouldn’t have had sex with her and then offer her to the nearer redeemer (Ruth 4:5).

Naomi’s plan doesn’t proceed exactly as she anticipates. She tells Ruth to do whatever Boaz tells her—and Ruth does, including waiting until morning to leave and taking the grain Boaz gives her (Ruth 3:13–15). But before that, Boaz agrees to do what she wants him to do (Ruth 3:9, 11). What Ruth wants is for Boaz to buy Naomi’s field, give her a son in the name of her late husband, and return the land to that son. Boaz agrees readily. Naomi has no idea that Ruth is doing all of this for her.

Verse 5. And she replied, “All that you say I will do.”

Ruth has worked in Boaz’s fields for two months. The harvest is over, and she will have little chance to spend time with him in town as he is a wealthy landowner of some renown, and she is a Moabite widow. Ruth’s mother-in-law, Naomi, thinks Boaz would make Ruth a good husband. But their social standings and Ruth’s complete lack of a dowry make it impossible for Naomi to arrange the marriage through normal channels.

Instead, Naomi tells Ruth to take off her widow’s clothes and dress like a woman looking to marry. After Boaz has celebrated a successful harvest and fallen asleep, surrounded by sleeping witnesses for both privacy and propriety, Ruth is to approach him carefully. Finally, Naomi instructs Ruth to wake up Boaz by uncovering his feet to the cool night air. (Ruth 3:1–4). Ruth agrees.

Naomi doesn’t seem to realize that Ruth has her own agenda. Naomi had casually mentioned that Boaz is a kinsman-redeemer of her late husband’s (Ruth 2:20). That means Boaz may be responsible for buying Elimelech’s land which would provide for Naomi’s needs. Ruth intends to challenge Boaz to fulfill that responsibility (Ruth 3:9). But she wants more. She wants a levirate marriage. By the law, a widow could marry her late husband’s brother to bear a son in her husband’s name (Deuteronomy 25:5–6). Boaz isn’t required to do this; he’s not Elimelech’s brother, and Ruth isn’t even blood-related to Elimelech.

But Boaz agrees (Ruth 3:13). Within a year, Naomi will get her wish of seeing Ruth successfully married. But she’ll also hold a baby boy in her lap, removing the shame of her inability to provide her husband with an heir (Ruth 4:13–17).

Verse 6. So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her.

After watching her daughter-in-law glean in Boaz’s fields the last two months, Naomi has decided that the two should get married. She has given Ruth specific instructions: replace her mourning clothes with clothes more appropriate for a woman who is ready to marry, go to the threshing floor, wait until Boaz has finished threshing and has celebrated the harvest with food and wine, find out where he is sleeping, and uncover his feet so he will gently wake up (Ruth 3:1–5). Ruth follows the instructions to the letter.

Usually, threshing floors are on a hilltop to catch the wind; the threshing floor of Araunah was on Mt. Moriah, later the temple Mount (2 Samuel 24:18). Bethlehem is higher than most of the surrounding area, however, so apparently their threshing floor was downhill.

“Threshing” is the act of releasing the grain kernel from the husk. It can be done in several ways, but typically by spreading the grain on the ground, placing heaving stones on a piece of wood, and having an ox or donkey pull the wood across the grain. Boaz’s barley has already been threshed because Naomi tells Ruth he is ready to winnow (Ruth 3:2). Winnowing is when the grain is tossed in the air, allowing the wind to blow away the lighter husks. The kernels fall to the ground where they stay until dry.

Threshing and winnowing are times of great celebration, this one especially since it signals the end of a great famine (Ruth 1:1). When the work is done, people will be eating and drinking—and likely indulging in prostitution (Hosea 9:1). Ruth must walk a fine line. She needs to talk to Boaz in a way that offers privacy, but which also ensures they’re not completely alone and open to suspicion. As Naomi instructed, Ruth hides until the party breaks up and Boaz retreats to find a place to sleep among the piles of grain.

Context Summary
In Ruth 3:6–9, Ruth takes Naomi’s plan and tweaks it. Naomi has developed an elaborate scheme whereby Ruth can carefully approach Boaz and present herself as marriage material. Ruth follows the plan but adds that she expects Boaz, as Naomi’s relative, to generously provide for Naomi. Boaz is overwhelmed by Ruth’s selflessness and quickly agrees. He just has one problem: he is not the next legal option in line to care for Naomi.

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

Ruth is a Moabite woman. She is descended from the son conceived when Lot’s daughter raped her drunken father (Genesis 19:30–38). When the Israelites were about to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land, Moabite women went down into their ranks to seduce the men away from their wives and their gods (Numbers 25:1–9). Ruth is only in Bethlehem because Naomi’s family fled to Moab to escape a famine. Ruth married one of Naomi’s sons, but both sons and Naomi’s husband died. When Naomi heard the famine had broken, she decided to return to Bethlehem (Ruth 1:1–6). Ruth insisted on accompanying her (Ruth 1:15–18).

The writer of Ruth would have learned the tale from an oral storyteller. The storyteller’s goal is to entertain his audience. It’s possible that the storyteller used slightly suggestive language to keep his audience’s attention. Many scholars have over-emphasized and mistranslated that language to claim that Ruth was no more sexually pure than the Moabite women of old had been. That claim is not true.

Boaz has eaten and drunk and his heart is merry because he is celebrating a good harvest after a terrible famine (Ruth 1:1). The threshing floor is a place of celebration—and sometimes prostitution (Hosea 9:1)—but there’s no indication Boaz indulges in anything immoral. The heap of grain has been threshed and winnowed; Boaz sleeps next to it to guard it until it can be sold. Naomi knows the rhythms of harvest and had told Ruth how to find him (Ruth 3:4). She also told Ruth to do what comes next.

Ruth uncovers Boaz’s feet. Some scholars claim this means she uncovered his sexual organs or even had sex with him. The Hebrew for “foot,” regel, can also refer to male sexual parts. When a man squatted to relieve himself, his privates were exposed while his robe literally covered his feet; to “cover one’s feet” became a euphemism for using the facilities. This is the original language when King Saul relieved himself in the cave (1 Samuel 24:3). To “uncover” one’s nakedness means to dishonor another through sex (Leviticus 20:11). To “lie” with someone can mean to have sex, as in Genesis 30:15–16. So, some think that when Ruth “uncovered” Boaz’s “feet,” it means she exposed his privates and had sex with him.

This interpretation isn’t consistent with the original Hebrew. The word used here for “feet” isn’t regel, it’s margelōt. The only other occurrence of this word is Daniel 10:6 where it refers to the arms and legs of the angel who appeared to Daniel after having fought the “prince of the kingdom of Persia.” Although “lay” often refers to sex, as it does when Ruth’s ancestress took advantage of her father (Genesis 19:33), it doesn’t always or only mean that. Ruth literally took Boaz’s cloak off his feet so he would gently wake up. Then she literally lay down on the ground to wait.

Two other pieces of evidence point to Ruth’s chastity. When Boaz awakens, after finding out who she is, he says, “May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter” (Ruth 3:10). He can’t give her God’s blessing if she is acting inappropriately. The last is that although he wants to do as she asks and marry her, Naomi has a closer relative who has the first right of refusal. Boaz would not have slept with Ruth and then offered her hand in marriage to another (Ruth 4:5).

Verse 8. At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!

In this chapter, Ruth is not called by her name except when she identifies herself (Ruth 3:9). For the most part, she is identified by pronouns. She is presented as a woman on a mission to do everything she can to protect her mother-in-law.

Here, however, we pull away from the desperation of poverty, the salacious way in which some interpret the scene, and the fact that the differences in nationality and social standing make Ruth’s request ridiculously presumptuous. Here we see a woman quietly speaking to a man at midnight, surrounded by the blessings of the harvest and sleeping would-be witnesses. This is not a scandalous affair; it’s romance.

“Startled” may mean Boaz trembled in fear; he is lying with the grain to protect it from thieves when he suddenly realizes someone is lying at his feet. Conversely, it may mean that he shivers from the cold on his uncovered feet. “Turned over” doesn’t mean Ruth is lying next to him; she is at his feet. Boaz stirs because his feet are cold or because he is startled and thus turns to look around.

When Boaz asks who this person is, Ruth identifies herself and gives him a challenge. Earlier, he had blessed her, noting that she had chosen to find refuge under the wings of God (Ruth 2:12). Ruth asks Boaz to cover her with his wings—literally, the edges of his robe, but metaphorically protection and provision for herself and Naomi—thus fulfilling his own prayer. Boaz responds with admiration that still Ruth is thinking of Naomi over herself (Ruth 3:9–10).

Verse 9. He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”

Boaz has been sleeping at the community threshing floor. He’s had a successful harvest and celebrated with others with food and wine. Now, he only must sell his grain. He is awakened in the dead of night by cold feet. When he stirs, he realizes someone is lying on the ground at his feet. He doesn’t know if it’s a robber, a prostitute, or one of his own servants (Ruth 3:6–8). Boaz asks the person to identify themselves.

Ruth’s response is rich with meaning.

First, she redefines her position. When she first met Boaz, she identified herself as lower than the lowest servant, using the Hebrew word shiphchah. This is something like the western fairy tale’s stereotype of a “scullery maid:” the lowest servant in the house, not even worth the notice of the master (Ruth 2:13). Now, she uses a’mah, a term used for a woman eligible to be a wife or concubine.

Second, she asks Boaz to spread his “wings” over her. The term has two different meanings, each with a specific literary metaphor. First, it can refer to the wings of a mother bird who covers her chicks, the metaphor being one who protects another. In this way, Ruth is repeating Boaz’s own use of the metaphor back to him. When he first met her, he pronounced a blessing over her, saying “The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” (Ruth 2:12). Ruth is challenging Boaz to be the agent of the fulfillment of his own blessing.

Second, “wings” can also refer to the corner of a robe. For Boaz to cover her with his robe would mean he takes responsibility for her in an intimate relationship. Even more, a man covering a woman with his robe is a symbol for marriage (Ezekiel 16:8). Ruth is proposing to Boaz.

Finally, Ruth calls Boaz a “redeemer.” One of the policies God established in the Mosaic law to combat poverty was the idea of the kinsman-redeemer. If a man found himself so deep in debt he could not free himself, a relative was to buy his land. It would be returned at the year of Jubilee. That way, hopefully, the man would not have to sell himself or his family into slavery, and his descendants would keep their birthright (Leviticus 25:25–28, 47–49). Naomi has already told Ruth that Boaz is a redeemer, meaning, he is related to Naomi’s late husband, Elimelech (Ruth 2:20). If Boaz buys Naomi’s land, Naomi will no longer be destitute.

Naomi had sent Ruth to Boaz because she wanted “rest” for her daughter-in-law in the home of a husband (Ruth 1:9; 3:1). Since Boaz has shown great kindness during the harvest, Naomi knows he would treat Ruth well. Naomi doesn’t seem to realize that Ruth has grander designs. She doesn’t just want a husband; she wants Naomi to have an heir. Boaz doesn’t need to marry Ruth to redeem the land. Ruth wants to marry Boaz so he can give her a son who will re-inherit the land in the name of Naomi’s late son. Boaz doesn’t have to do this. The levirate marriage was only required for the brother of the deceased (Deuteronomy 25:5–6), and Boaz is a more distant relation. But where a nearer redeemer sees only the cost, Boaz is even more in awe of Ruth’s devotion to Naomi and readily agrees (Ruth 4:6; 3:10–11).

Lot tried to use his daughters’ sexuality in the service of his visitors (Genesis 19:4–8). His daughters then used his to secure their own welfare (Genesis 19:30–38). The women of Moab used their bodies to draw the men of Israel away from their God (Numbers 25). Ruth offers herself to a good man in marriage to benefit her mother-in-law’s line. She takes agency over her self, and God restores the honor of Lot’s daughter by placing Ruth in the line of the Messiah (Ruth 4:17–21; Matthew 1:1–17).

Verse 10. And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.

On what is likely the final night of a prosperous harvest, as the workers sleep on the threshing floor, protecting the newly winnowed grain, Boaz awakens to see a figure lying at his feet. It’s Ruth, and she has a proposition (Ruth 3:1–9). Boaz is a good man—and rich. He’s also related to Ruth’s late father-in-law. That means Boaz can buy Elimelech’s land, thus providing for his widow’s needs (Leviticus 25:25–28, 47–49). In addition, Ruth challenges Boaz to marry her and provide an heir for Naomi who will re-inherit the land to keep it in Elimelech’s family (Deuteronomy 25:5–6).

Naomi told Ruth to proposition Boaz for Ruth’s sake—so she would have a good husband and find “rest” (Ruth 3:1). Ruth has spent two months gleaning from Boaz’s fields. At least half of Boaz’s harvesters are young men—closer to Ruth’s age. She could have presented herself as available to any of them. She didn’t, however. Only the older Boaz can give her what she really wants.

Many Bible scholars have interpreted Boaz’s words to mean he appreciates that Ruth, a young vibrant woman, has chosen him, an old codger, as if he needed his ego stroked. That’s not the “kindness” Boaz is referring to. The first “kindness” was when Ruth left her family and her homeland and traveled from Moab to Bethlehem to take care of Naomi—something Boaz has already praised her for (Ruth 2:11–12). Now, Ruth goes above even that kindness. She could have found herself a rich young man or a poor man she loved; either would have been around for a long time and given her lots of babies. Instead, she wants to marry a relative of her in-laws. She chooses family loyalty over her own self interests.

Levirate marriages are part of the Mosaic law. If a man dies with no heirs, his brother is to marry his widow and have a son in the dead man’s name. The son will receive the inheritance of the dead man. This is the story of Tamar (Genesis 38) and one part of the Sadducees’ argument against the resurrection of the dead (Mark 12:18–27). Naomi is bitter not just for herself, but because when her sons died, she failed in providing Elimelech an heir (Ruth 1:1–5, 20–21).

Boaz doesn’t meet the literal interpretation of the law: he is neither Elimelech’s nor Ruth’s late husband’s brother; he’s a more distant relation. But he sees that Ruth is willing to give up her life and her future for Naomi’s honor. In response to her continued kindness, the least he can do is marry this young, honorable, loyal, hard-working widow!

“Gone after” often describes either illicit sexual relations (Proverbs 7:22; Hosea 2:7) or marriage (Genesis 24:5; 1 Samuel 25:42). Considering Boaz’s praise of Ruth’s character, it’s obvious he means marriage.

Context Summary
In Ruth 3:10–15, Boaz presents his plan to make Ruth’s plan come to fruition. She has asked him to be Naomi’s kinsman-redeemer, to buy Naomi’s land and provide for her needs. Ruth has also proposed marriage and asked Boaz to give Naomi an heir who will inherit the land. Boaz is humbled by Ruth’s dedication to her mother-in-law, but there’s a problem—he is not the closest relative. He has to offer the plan to another man. If that man refuses, he will do everything Ruth says.

Verse 11. And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.

Ruth is a Moabitess, descended from a man born of incestuous rape (Genesis 19:30–38) and women who seduced Israelite men into adultery and idolatry (Numbers 25:1–9). She shares none of those characteristics. When her father-in-law and husband died and her mother-in-law decided to return from Moab to Bethlehem, she disavowed her gods, her people, and her land and forced Naomi to take her with (Ruth 1:15–18). That alone gave her a good reputation among the townspeople (Ruth 2:11–12). Then she spent two months gleaning barley and wheat, ignoring the young men in the fields and in town, focused on her work of providing for Naomi (Ruth 2:23).

Now, she has proposed marriage to a much older man who can give Naomi what she needs (Ruth 3:1–9). He can buy Naomi’s husband’s field, providing the older widow with much-needed money. And he can have a son with Ruth, providing an heir who can re-inherit that land in their late husbands’ names.

Boaz was impressed before; now he’s floored. That Ruth would place Naomi’s needs above her own, legitimate, happiness convicts him to agree to her request. He doesn’t even meet the legal requirements of a man required to go into a levirate marriage—he’s not that closely related (Deuteronomy 25:5–6). He could arrange a good marriage for her to someone more suitable. But he must respond to her honor.

Boaz is first introduced as a “worthy man” (Ruth 2:1). The Hebrew term, gibbor hayil, can mean rich, powerful, strong, and virtuous. This is the time of the judges, so likely Boaz has been a military commander. Now, he calls Ruth his equal, a “worthy woman.” Eseth hayil is the heading of the Proverbs 31 passage describing a noble woman. In the Hebrew liturgical canon, the book of Ruth directly follows Proverbs 31, presenting Ruth as an example. Ruth is loyal, diligent, hard-working, smart, and generous, just like the Proverbs 31 woman. It’s obvious she will reflect well on whoever is fortunate enough to be her husband.

There’s just one complication: Boaz is not Naomi’s husband’s nearest relative. There is another. Boaz is obliged to present Ruth’s offer to him. Boaz is more than willing to marry Ruth and do whatever she asks, but he must first deal with his rival (Ruth 3:12).

The term “all that you ask” is not completely clear. It could refer to all Ruth had asked for in verse 9 or all she asked that wasn’t recorded. It might mean that Boaz is inviting her to request more. Or it could be an expression like when rulers offered “even to half my kingdom” (Esther 5:3; Mark 6:23).

Verse 12. And now it is true that I am a redeemer. Yet there is a redeemer nearer than I.

Naomi returned to Bethlehem from Moab after the deaths of her husband and sons; her Moabite daughter-in-law, Ruth, insisted on accompanying her (Ruth 1). Ruth has spent the last two months gleaning from the fields of Boaz (Ruth 2:23). Naomi mentioned in passing that Boaz is a “redeemer”—he is a relative of Elimelech, Naomi’s late husband, so he has the responsibility of buying Elimelech’s land from the man he sold it to when they went to Moab (Leviticus 25:25–28, 47–49; Ruth 2:20). But Boaz mentions that Elimelech has a nearer relative who has the first right of refusal.

As the harvest was finishing up, Naomi told Ruth to take off her widow’s clothes and present herself to Boaz as a potential wife (Ruth 3:3). Naomi knows Bethlehem well—she must know about this other redeemer. So why did Naomi send Ruth to Boaz? Because Naomi’s priority is that Ruth find a good husband where she can find rest (Ruth 3:1)—this has always been her priority (Ruth 1:9). Kinsmen-redeemers have nothing to do with marriage, only land.

It doesn’t occur to Naomi to arrange for a levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5–6). Boaz is not the brother of Elimelech or Elimelech’s son, and apparently neither is this other redeemer. They aren’t obliged under the law to provide Elimelech with an heir. It’s Ruth who decides Naomi needs an heir and Boaz is close enough. She combines the responsibilities of kinsman-redeemer and levirate brother. Boaz is so impressed with Ruth’s willingness to do whatever it takes to restore Naomi’s honor that he agrees.

The problem is this other kinsman. In fact, his existence may be why Boaz didn’t offer to buy Elimelech’s land when Naomi first arrived. Undoubtedly, Ruth would gratefully marry Boaz because of who he is, but Boaz knows he’s not her first priority. He promises to do what it takes to fulfill her wishes: find a man to buy the land and give her a son.

Verse 13. Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”

Ruth has obeyed Naomi by proposing marriage to Boaz, but her intentions differ from those of her mother-in-law. Naomi wants Ruth to have a stable marriage. Ruth wants Naomi to have an heir for her late husband and sons. Boaz is a relative of Naomi’s husband, so he is in the line to redeem the family farmland. In addition, Ruth asks him to marry her and provide a son who will redeem the family line (Ruth 3:1–9).

This is unusual; the concepts of kinsman-redeemer and levirate marriage aren’t directly related (Leviticus 25:25–28, 47–49; Deuteronomy 25:5–6). Boaz does not strictly fit the qualifications for a levirate marriage as he is a more distant relation. In fact, there is a closer relation, although still not close enough to be required to give Naomi an heir (Ruth 3:12).

Boaz understands that Ruth’s proposal isn’t because she necessarily wants to be married to him—an old man. It’s all for Naomi. So, he promises to present Ruth’s proposal to this nearer relative. If he accepts, Ruth still gets what she wants. If he doesn’t, Boaz is more than willing to step up. He will not only redeem the land, but he will also redeem Ruth.

Boaz and Ruth are talking in the middle of the night on the community’s threshing floor. Typically, threshing and winnowing were times of great celebration. Between the food and wine and their desire to protect the grain, Boaz’s servants are likely sleeping close to the couple. If someone sees Ruth, they will assume she has come to have sex with Boaz as prostitution is common at the threshing floor (Hosea 9:1). It’s dark; there were no streetlights in that era. Even if Ruth made it past the sleepers without being seen, she’d still have to find her way back into town, through the streets, to Naomi’s house without coming across men who would not be so honorable. Boaz, always mindful of her safety (Ruth 2:8–9), tells her to “remain”—the same word as “lodge” in Ruth 1:16—until there’s enough light to see and the carousers are in their beds.

Verse 14. So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

Following Naomi’s instructions (Ruth 3:1–5), Ruth tracked down Boaz at the community threshing floor and asked him to marry her (Ruth 3:6–9). It’s the middle of what might have been the last night processing the grain, and Boaz and his servants spent the evening celebrating the completion of a successful harvest. The men are now scattered around the area, sleeping and protecting the newly winnowed grain.

Ruth has a high reputation in Bethlehem thanks to her arduous work and her devotion to her mother-in-law, and she needs to be careful to keep it (Ruth 3:11). The threshing floor is known for prostitution (Hosea 9:1). In addition, Ruth is a Moabitess. When the Israelites approached the eastern side of the Jordan River across from Jericho, the frightened Moabites sent their women to seduce the Israelite men, thus distracting them from war. The Israelites began worshipping the Moabites’ gods. God punished the Israelites by killing masses of them in a plague (Numbers 25:1–9).

To make matters even more precarious, Boaz can’t yet agree to marry Ruth. She proposed because he is a relative of her late husband. She has asked him to marry her so he can provide a son who can inherit her late husband’s property and remove the shame from Naomi who lost her husband and both sons. But Boaz knows of a nearer relation who has first right of refusal (Ruth 3:9–12). Besides the fact that he is naturally protective of Ruth (Ruth 2:8–9), he won’t risk harming her reputation by allowing others to think they slept together.

So, Boaz tells Ruth to wait until early in the morning when the late-night partiers will have finally fallen asleep, and the way will be clear for her to return to Naomi’s house in Bethlehem without being recognized or accosted.

We don’t know who Boaz is talking to, here. It may be a trusted servant, but it may be himself. Then again, his statement may be an awkwardly translated warning to Ruth.

Verse 15. And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.

Ruth has asked Boaz to marry her. Boaz wants to, but as Ruth wants an heir for Naomi, and there is a man who is more closely related, Boaz must confer with that man, first (Ruth 3:9–13). Ruth has been gleaning in Boaz’s fields for the last two months, first barley and then wheat (Ruth 2:23). Between Boaz’s generosity and her own industry, she likely has enough grain to provide food for herself and her mother-in-law for the year.

If the other man agrees to marry Ruth, Boaz won’t have an opportunity to bless Ruth anymore. If the man refuses to marry Ruth, Boaz may want to offer Naomi a dowery for Ruth. Either way, Boaz is so impressed by the sacrifices Ruth has made for Naomi (Ruth 1:16–17; 2:11–12) that he continues to take the responsibility to make sure the women have what they need.

Scholars are unclear as to what a “measure” is. It can’t be an ephah, because that would make Ruth’s load weigh more than a typical person. It’s more likely a seah, which would make the entire load between sixty and one hundred pounds, or between twenty-seven and forty-five kilograms. The “garment” is most likely Ruth’s shawl.

Verse 16. And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her,

The rhythm of Ruth 3 continues to follow that of Ruth 2: Ruth comes home from interacting with Boaz, and Naomi immediately asks how things went (Ruth 2:19). In the previous chapter, Naomi wanted to know if Ruth had been able to glean grain—and do so safely. Now, she wants to know if Ruth’s proposal to Boaz was successful.

Ruth isn’t sure. She did as Naomi said, going to the threshing floor, gently waking Boaz in the middle of the night, and presenting herself as marriage material. If she were asking for a simple marriage, he would have said yes. But since Ruth wants to marry a kinsman of her late father-in-law to buy his land and provide him with an heir, Boaz had to delay. Naomi’s husband has a closer relation and Boaz must approach him first (Ruth 3:1–13). Ruth is engaged—she just doesn’t know to whom!

Even so, Boaz did not leave Ruth empty-handed. He piled a load of grain in her shawl to give to Naomi (Ruth 3:15). Naomi is content—perhaps for the first time since they returned to Bethlehem (Ruth 3:18). Her goal has always been to see Ruth married to a good man who can provide her rest (Ruth 1:9; 3:1). One way or another, that’s about to happen.

Context Summary
In 3:16–18, Ruth returns to Naomi with a load of grain and an unsure future. Ruth has followed Naomi’s instructions and proposed to Boaz. Ruth doesn’t want a simple marriage; she wants Boaz to help her fulfill family obligations. Because there is a nearer relative who better fits Ruth’s requirements, he can’t say yes immediately; he must confer with the other man. As one more act of good faith, he has sent Ruth with even more grain for Naomi (Ruth 3:1–5). Now, the women wait.

Verse 17. saying, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’”

Naomi had left Bethlehem years before with her husband and two sons to escape a famine. Ten years later, the men were dead, leaving Naomi with two loving daughters-in-law (Ruth 1:1–5). When she found that the famine had been lifted, she decided to return to Bethlehem (Ruth 1:6). One of her daughters-in-law, Ruth, followed her (Ruth 1:15–18). Naomi arrived in her hometown to the delight of her old friends (Ruth 1:19). Her own heart, however, had turned bitter. “I went away full,” she said, “and the LORD has brought me back empty” (Ruth 1:21).

Naomi’s emptiness was profound: emptiness of family, food, and hope. Two months later, her late husband’s kinsman Boaz has made sure she has the food she needs (Ruth 2). Soon, her daughter-in-law will be married. She doesn’t know to whom, but she is once again filled with hope. She doesn’t know that her family is about to be restored; before long, she will hold her grandson in her lap (Ruth 4:13–17).

This is the last time Ruth speaks in the book. In fact, although Ruth does much of the action in the story, she speaks little. Scholars interpret the book of Ruth as the story of Naomi: an Israelite widow shown lovingkindness and covenant loyalty by God and others.

Verse 18. She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”

Despite the hopefulness of Naomi’s statement, this verse subtly illustrates how vulnerable women were in Ancient Near East culture. Naomi’s and Ruth’s husbands are dead. Likely, Naomi’s father is dead, as well. They have no male relative directly responsible for their protection and provision for them.

Naomi’s late husband sold his land when they went to Moab. As a destitute woman, Naomi can’t buy it back. Besides begging, the women can sell themselves as slaves or resort to prostitution.

Situations like Ruth and Naomi’s predicament have led many to believe that God is sexist. Certainly, the culture was highly patriarchal, and women had few rights. But it’s important to remember that this is the culture, not God’s will. The laws He gave to Moses for the Israelites show how He expected His people to be better than the culture they lived in.

One example is that He established the concept of gleaning. When harvesting, men would go through the fields, grab stalks in their hands or inner elbows, and cut them with a knife. Women would follow and tie the bundles together. After them, gleaners could come through and pick up the stray stalks the reapers left behind. Reapers were not allowed to go through a field a second time or to harvest the edges of the field; the leavings were for the poor and the sojourners—the legalized immigrants (Leviticus 19:9–10). Even so, gleaning was extremely meager.

God also established the “levirate marriage.” If a man died with no heir, his brother was to marry his widow and provide a son in the dead man’s name. The son would inherit the late man’s legacy (Deuteronomy 25:5–6). On the surface, this seems to be a very patriarchal practice—its primary purpose was to make sure the man’s line continued. But it also greatly benefitted the widow. With no husband and no son, she could not benefit from the land that should have been her husband’s, and unless her father could take her back and find another to marry her, she had no male relative to care for her.

The concept of the kinsman-redeemer is another law that seems designed to benefit men but protected women, as well. If a man had fallen into extraordinarily tough times, he could sell his land to a relative—a “kinsman-redeemer”—who must return it to him or his heirs at the year of Jubilee (Leviticus 25:25–28, 47–49). Apparently, a kinsman redeemer was also responsible to buy it back from a non-relative and use the profits to support the late landowner’s family.

Women were particularly vulnerable at the time of Ruth and Naomi: the time of the judges (Ruth 1:1) when “everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6). In this same historical period, a woman from Bethlehem was treated brutally by her partner and gang-raped until she died (Judges 19:22–30). The tribe of the men who committed the crime—Benjamin—was punished, and the other tribes would not allow their daughters to marry the Benjamites who survived battle. But the six hundred men needed wives so the tribe would not be cut off. Thus, the other tribes killed the inhabitants of an Israelite town that had not joined in the battle against Benjamin. The virgins were spared and given as wives, but there were not enough. So they told the remaining Benjamites to steal women who were celebrating in a field at Shiloh (Judges 21). This is the awkward reality of the culture. It is not God’s heart toward women.

Ruth has done what she can within a system that should have been ruled by God’s Law but often wasn’t. She worked hard gleaning (Ruth 2). She approached Boaz, her late husband’s relative, as a kinsman-redeemer. She even challenged him to a levirate marriage, which wasn’t typically combined with a kinsman-redeemer or performed by a distant relative (Ruth 3).

The fact that two women must wait for two men to decide who is going to marry the younger woman is horrible to modern ideals. To the women, it’s a success; God has rescued them.

Fortunately, Boaz understands God’s heart, as well. He not only let Ruth glean, but he also made sure she took home as much as she could carry. He willingly agreed to Ruth’s unconventional combination of kinsman-redeemer and levirate marriage even though he isn’t her levirate. That would mean he would buy the land, give Ruth a son in her late husband’s name, and then give the boy the land.

There’s only one problem: there is a man who is more closely related. Understanding God’s intention toward women, Boaz sets out to make sure the man does what is right for Naomi and Ruth. If he refuses, Boaz is happy to (Ruth 3:13).

End of Ruth Chapter 3

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