Chapter 1
There was a famine in the land (spiritual famine — lacking spiritual discernment or walk) a man went from Bethlehem (House of Bread) in Judah (praise) to sojourn in Moab (“of his father”), he his wife and his two sons. The man’s name Elimelech (“my God is King”), name of his wife Naomi (“my delight”), the name of his 2 sons Mahlon (“sick”) and Chilion (“pining”), Ephrathites (“fruitfulness”) of Bethlehem in Judah. They came to Moab and there they remained.
Elimelech, Naomi’s husband died. (–General rule of thought is that Naomi’s husband died since he disobeyed and left the promised land and went to Moab. –)
Naomi’s sons married Moabite women. The name of one was Orpah (“gazelle”) and the name of the second was Ruth (“friendship”). they lived about 10 years and Mahlon and Chilion died. (– general rule of thought is Mahlon and Chilion died since they remained in the land of Moab instead of staying in the promise land. The famine occurred in the land of promise due to the disobedience of the Children of Israel straying after the gods of the inhabitants they did not remove. –)
Naomi arose along with her daughters-in-law, Naomi had heard in the fields of Moab that YHVH had remembered His people by giving them food (vs 6), “Go, return, each of you to her mother’s house. May YHVH deal kindly with you as you have dealt kindly with the dead and with me! May YHVH grant that you may find security, each in the home of her husband” (vs 8-9). They refused to go. Naomi said “Turn back, my daughters. Why should you come with me? Have I more sons in my womb who could become husbands to you? Turn back my daughters, go, for I am too old to have a husband. Even if I were to say, ‘There is hope for me!’ and even if I were to have a husband tonight — and even bears sons — would you wait for them until they were grown up? Would you tie yourselves down for them, not to marry anyone else? No, my daughters! I am very embittered on account of you, for the hand of YHVH has gone forth against me.” (vs 11 – 13).
(– Naomi is speaking of the Levirate marriage. Orpah and Ruth based on the Levirate marriage laws were to marry the closest male kin of Chilion and Mahlon’s to establish progeny for their deceased husbands (Deut. 25:5-10). –)
Orpah kissed Naomi and left. Ruth clung to Naomi. Naomi says to Ruth “Look, your sister-in-law has returned to her people and to her gods; return after your sister-in-law” (vs 15). Ruth said “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back from following you. For where you go, I will go; where you lodge, i will lodge; your people are my people, and your God is my God; where you die, I will die and there I will be buried. Thus may YHVH do to me and so may He do more, if anything but death separates me from you” (vs 16-17). Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, so she stopped arguing with Ruth. They left Moab and came to Bethlehem.
They arrived at Bethlehem and the entire city was tumultuous over them. The women said, “Could this be Naomi?” She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi [pleasant one], call me Mara [embittered one], for the almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. I was full when I went away, but YHVH has brought me back empty. Why shall you call me Naomi; YHVH has testified against me, the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me!” (vs 19 – 21). Naomi and Ruth arrived at the beginning of the barley harvest.
( — From what I understand, barley is aviv (ripe) around the time of Pesach (Passover). It appears that Naomi and Ruth arrived around the start of the new year. –)
Chapter 2
Naomi had a relative through her husband, a man of substance, from the family of Elimelech; his name was Boaz (“fleetness” — Fleet – swift or rapid, -ness, suffix attached to adjectives and participles, forming abstract nouns denoting quality and state). Ruth said to Naomi she would “…go out to the field and glean among the ears of grain behind someone in whose eyes I shall find favor”. (vs 2) (– Lev 19:10 & Deut 24:21, widows and orphans were allowed to glean the fields during the time of harvest –) Ruth gleaned in the field of Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
(Vs 4-6) — “Behold (a mystery revealed — Boaz “Fleetness” arrived from the house of bread, giving Ruth and Naomi bread, since he’s a man of substance, which confirmed what Naomi heard in Chapter 1 –) He said to the harvesters, ‘YHVH be with you!’ And they answered him, ‘May YHVH bless you! Boaz then said to his servant who was overseeing the harvesters, ‘To whom does that young woman belong? the servant who was overseeing the harvesters replied, ‘She is a Moabite girl, the one who returned with Naomi from the fields of Moab; and she had said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the harvesters.’ So she came, and has stood since the morning until now; [except for] her resting a little in the hut.”
Boaz tells Ruth, “…Do not go to glean in another field, and don’t leave here, but stay close to my maidens. Keep your eyes on the field which they are harvesting and follow after them. I have ordered the servants not to molest you. Should you become thirsty, go to the jugs and drink from that which the servants have drawn.” (– this reminds me of Matt 9:35 – 38 –) (vs 8-9)
Ruth asks Boaz why he has taken special notice of her. He replies “..I have been fully informed of all that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband — how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth and went to a people you had not known yesterday or earlier. May YHVH reward your deed, and may your payment be full from YHVH, the God of Israel, under Whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” (vs. 11 – 12).
Ruth replies to Boaz –“..May I continue to find favor in your eyes, my lord, because you have comforted me, and because you have spoken to the heart of your maidservant, though I am not eve [as worthy] as one of your maidservants.” (vs. 13)
Boaz feeds Ruth at mealtime and allows her to dip her bread in the vinegar. She was satisfied and had some left over. (vs 14 — this reminds me of Matthew 14:13 – 21). Boaz instructs his servants to allow Ruth to glean, to not embarrass her (– possible harass her for being a Moabite), and to even deliberately pull out some grain from the heaps and leave them for her to glean; don’t rebuke her (– Boaz is a type and shadow of Yeshua. He’s instructing his servants (disciples) to allow them to glean in His field (allow a non-believer or alien to come to His field to glean from His knowledge and understanding. He tell his servants (disciples) to not embarrass Ruth (this is our instruction to not embarrass or make fun of someone who truly was never taught the scripture or the word of the YHVH, nor His understanding) to deliberately pull out some grain from the heaps (YHVH’s knowledge is unfathomable, as a believer we’re to pull out portions of this knowledge and leave it for the unbelieving for them to take a hold of and glean — “to gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit; to gather (grain or the like) after the reapers or regular gatherers (Boaz’s servants were his regular gatherers, just like believers are the regular gatherers of Yeshua; to learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly;” Finally, Boaz tells his servants to not rebuke “to express sharp, stern disapproval of; reprove; reprimand” so we’re not to rebuke a non believer or a believer whose knowledge of the word is different from yours. –)
Ruth gleaned int he field until the evening. she beat out what she had gleaned; it was about an ephah of barley. (– an ephah is 10 omers) Ruth carried it and came to the city. Naomi saw what she gleaned. Ruth took out and gave to Naomi what she had left over after eating her fill. Naomi asks Ruth where she gleaned today? “Where did you work? May the one that took [such generous] notice of you be blessed.” So she told her mother-in-law by whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man by whom I worked today is Boaz.” (vs 19).
Naomi said to Ruth “…Blessed is he to YHVH, Who has not failed in His kindness ot the living or to the dead! Naomi then said to her, “The man is closely related to us; he is one of our redeeming kinsmen” (vs 20 — kinsmen redeemer, a near relative with the ability to redeem property or an a person from a situation or tragedy, See Gen 14:12 – 24). Ruth told Naomi how Boaz told her to stay close to his servants until they finished the harvest. Naomi told Ruth “It is fine, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, so that you will not be annoyed in another field.” (vs 21). Ruth stayed close to Boaz’ maidens to glean, until the end of the barley harvest and of the wheat harvest. Then she stayed [at home] with her mother-in-law. (vs 23).
Chapter 3
Naomi seeks security for Ruth. Naomi told Ruth “….Boaz our relative, with whose maidens you have been, will be winnowing barley tonight on the threshing floor.” (vs 2). Naomi tells Ruth to bathe, anoint yourself, don your finery, and go down to the threshing floor. (– bathe, mikvah, a spiritual status change, anoint “to consecrate or make sacred..; to dedicate to the service of God; don — after this spiritual changes and anointing she wears new clothes (see Gen 45:22) and then she goes down to the threshing floor — spiritually [a place where the believer is separately from the non believer] to show her separation from her Moabite up bringing and not her new spiritual walk with her proclamation from Ruth 1:16, “…your people are my people, and your God is my God”)
Ruth did everything that Naomi told her to do. Boaz ate and drank and his heart was merry. He lied down at the end of the grain pile. Ruth came stealthily, uncovered his feet and lay down. In the middle of the night the man was startled and turn about and behold (– mystery revealed –), there was a woman lying at his feet! (vs 6 – 8)
Boaz asks, “Who are you?” (– Ruth is making herself known to Boaz, not by name, but by spiritual walk (she cleansed, annoited, in new clothes, and waiting for judgment at the threshing floor); “I am your handmaid, Ruth. Spread your robe over your handmaid, for you are a redeemer.” (– by spreading his robe over Ruth, Boaz places his covering and authority over her. She is also submitting herself to his covering and authority, to allow for the redemption to occur. –)
Boaz says “…You are blessed of YHVH, my daughter; you have made your latest act of kindness greater than the first, in that you have not gone after the younger men, be they poor or rich. And now, my daughter do not fear; whatever you say, I will do for you; for all the menin the gate of my people know that you are a worthy (” having adequate or great merit, worth or value”) woman. Now while it is true that I am a redeemer, there is also another redeemer closer than I. Stay the night, then in the morning, if he will redeem you, fine! Let him redeem. But if he does not want to redeem you, then [I swear that] as YHVH lives, I will redeem you! Lie down until the morning.” (vs 10 – 13)
Ruth stay at his feet until morning. She arose before one man could recognize another, for he said, “Let it not be known that the woman cmae to the threshing floor.” (vs 14). Boaz gave Ruth 6 measures of barley and set it on her; then he went to the city. (vs 15).
Ruth returned to Naomi and told her what Boaz did for her. She said “…He gave me these six measures of barley for he said to me, ‘Do not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law'” (vs 16-17)
Naomi tells Ruth, “..Sit [patiently], my daughter, until you know ow the matter will turn out, for the man will not rest unless he settles the matter today.”
Chapter 4
Boaz went up to the gate (– the gate is the place where matters were settled before the elders). The closer kinsman redeemer passed by. Boaz asks him to come over “..Come over, sit down here, Ploni Almoni, (Unnamed, anonymous one — whose name is concealed)” 10 men of the elders of the city sat down.
Boaz relates to the unnamed nearer kinsman, what is to be redeemed, “…Parcel of land which belonged to our brother, Elimelech, is being offered for sale by Naomi who has returned from the fields of Moab. I resolved that i should inform you to this effect: buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you are willing to redeem, redeem! But if it will not be redeemed, tell me, that I may know; for there is no one else to redeem it but you, and I am after you.’ And he said, ‘I am willing to redeem’. Then Boaz said, ‘The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must also buy it from Ruth the Moabite, wife of the deceased to perpetuate the name of the deceased on his inheritance.’ The redeemer said, ‘Then I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I imperil my own inheritance. Take over my redemption responsibility on yourself for I am unable to redeem.” (vs 3 – 6).
The redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his shoe (see Deut 25:9 – 10). Boaz said to the elders and to all the people. “You are witness this day, that I have bought allthat was Elimelech’s and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s (listed in birth order) from the hand of Naomi. And what is more, I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife, to perpetuate the name of the deceased on his inheritance, that the name of the deceased not be cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place. You are witnesses today.” (vs 8 – 10)
The people at the gate and the elders said, [We are] witnesses! May YHVH make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and like Leah, both of whom built up the House of Israel. May you prosper in Ephrath and be famous in Bethlehem; and may your house be like the house of Perez (“breach”) and Tamar (“palm-tree”) bore to Judah, through the offspring which YHVH will give you by this young woman. (vs 11 – 13).
So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife; he came to her and she conceived and she bore a son. The woman said to Naomi, “…Blessed is YHVH who has not left you without a redeemer today! May his name be famous in Israel. He will become your life-restorer, to sustain your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has borne him, and she is better to you than seven songs.” (vs. 13-15).
Naomi took the child, and held it in her bosom, and she became his nurse. The neighborhood women gave him a name saying, “A son is born to Naomi”. They named him Obed (“serving”); he was the father of Jesse (“I possess”); the father of David (“beloved”).
The generations of Perez:
Perez begot Hezron — “surrounded by a wall”
Hezron begot Ram — “high or exalted”
Ram begot Amminadab — “my kinsman is noble”
Amminadab begot Nahshon — “enchanter”
Nahshon begot Salman — “garment”
Salman begot Boaz
Boaz begot Obed
Obed begot Jesse
Jesse begot David