Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ruth 3:18

Then, said she, sit still, my daughter ,.... Keep at home, say nothing of this affair to any person, be easy about it, take no other steps in it, wait the issue of it: until thou know how the matter will fall ; not that she thought it was a chance matter, a fortuitous and contingent event with respect to God; for all decrees come from heaven, as Aben Ezra on the text says, and particularly marriages are decreed in heaven, and come about according to such decrees; so the Targum,"sit, my... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ruth 3:10

In the latter end than at the beginning - It is not easy to find out what Boaz means. Perhaps חסד chesed , which we translate kindness, means piety; 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,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ruth 3:12

There is a kinsman nearer than I - It is very likely that Naomi was not acquainted with this circumstance. Some have supposed that there was a brother of Elimelech remaining, who was nearer than Boaz, who is supposed to have been only a nephew; the former, therefore, must have a prior right. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ruth 3:13

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

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ruth 3:15

Bring the veil - פחת המט hammit pachath ; this seems to have been a cloak, plaid, or what the Arabs call hayk , which has been largely explained elsewhere. See Judges 14:12 . Six measures of barley - We supply the word measures, for the Hebrew mentions no quantity. The Targum renders six seahs, סאין שית shith sein , which, as a seah was about two gallons and a half, must have been a very heavy load for a woman; and so the Targumist thought, for he adds, And she... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ruth 3:18

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 shall see in the following chapter, Ruth 4 (note). read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ruth 3:1-18

Naomi's maternal solicitude. This is one of those paragraphs of Scripture which require delicate handling, but which, for that very reason, are full of suggestiveness that comes home to the bosom. Under strange, old-fashioned forms of things there was often much real virtue and true nobility of character. 1. It may be regarded as certain that while the harvest lasted Boaz and Ruth would be coming daily into contact with each other. 2. It may likewise be assumed as certain that... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ruth 3:10

And he said, Blessed be thou of Yahveh, my daughter; thou hast made thy latter kindness better than the former, in not going after any young man, whether poor or rich. This verse is full of satisfactory evidence that Naomi was perfectly right in conjecturing that Boas, deep in love, was restrained only by diffidence from formally declaring himself. It shows us too that the chief ground of his diffidence was his age. He had been an acquaintance, and the equal in years, of Ruth's... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ruth 3:10

Benediction. A blessing comes appropriately from a senior; a father blesses his son, a venerable patriarch his youthful colleague. Boaz was an elderly man, and it seems appropriate that, addressing Ruth, the young widow of his kinsman, he should use language of benediction: "Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter!" I. BENEDICTION PROCEEDS FROM A BENEVOLENT DISPOSITION . It is the opposite of cursing. Sometimes language of benediction is used when there is no spiritual... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ruth 3:10-11

"And now, my daughter, fear not"—give not thyself any anxious concern in reference to the result. "All the people in the gate of my city know that thou art a virtuous woman ." Yes, she was virtuous; and yet she was much more. She was endowed with all the capabilities which fitted her for the position she was willing to occupy (see the Exposition ). read more

Group of Brands