Ruth 2:2 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Ruth 2:1-3

Naomi had now gained a settlement in Bethlehem among her old friends; and here we have an account, I. Of her rich kinsman, Boaz, a mighty man of wealth, Ruth 2:1. The Chaldee reads it, mighty in the law. If he was both, it was a most rare and excellent conjunction, to be mighty in wealth and mighty in the scriptures too; those that are so are mighty indeed. He was grandson of Nahshon, who was prince of the tribe of Judah in the wilderness, and son of Salmon, probably a younger son, by Rahab,... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Ruth 2:2

And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi ,.... After they had been some little time at Bethlehem, and not long; for they came at the beginning of barley harvest, and as yet it was not over, nor perhaps for some time after this; and knowing and considering the circumstances they were in, and unwilling to live an idle life, and ready to do any thing for the support of her life, and of her ancient mother-in-law; which was very commendable, and showed her to be an industrious virtuous woman: she... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Ruth 2:2

Glean ears of corn - The word glean comes from the French glaner , to gather ears or grains of corn. This was formerly a general custom in England and Ireland; the poor went into the fields and collected the straggling ears of corn after the reapers; and it was long supposed that this was their right, and that the law recognized it. But although it has been an old custom, I find that it is now settled, by a solemn judgment in the court of common pleas, that a right to glean in the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ruth 2:1-9

The harvest-field. RUTH WAS EAGER TO WORK (see Ruth 2:2 ). 1. Work is honorable; it is wholesome; inspiriting too; the best antidote to ennui . If not immoderate, nothing is so efficacious in giving full development to man's physique ; nothing is so potent to put reins upon passions, and a curb on the tendency to morbid imaginations. All great men and women have been diligent workers. Jesus worked. He who is his Father and ours "worketh hitherto." 2. Ruth did... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Ruth 2:2

And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me go, I pray thee, to the cornfields, that I may glean among the ears after whosoever shall show me favor. In modern style one would not, in referring, at this stage of the narrative, to Ruth, deem it in the least degree necessary or advantageous to repeat the designation "the Moabitess." The repetition is antique, and calls to mind the redundant particularization of legal phraseology—"the aforesaid Ruth, the Moabitess." She was willing and wishful... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Ruth 2:2

Ruth 2:2. Let me go to the field and glean Which was permitted to the poor and the stranger, Leviticus 19:9; Deuteronomy 24:19. And Ruth was neither ashamed to confess her poverty, nor would she eat the bread of idleness. After him in whose sight I shall find grace Perhaps she did not know that poor strangers had a right to glean as well as the poor of Israel; or rather, out of her great modesty, she would not claim it as a right, but as a favour, which she would humbly and thankfully... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Ruth 2:1-23

2:1-4:22 START OF A NEW LIFE IN ISRAELRuth works in the field of Boaz (2:1-23)Back in Israel it soon became clear that God was in control of affairs in the lives of the two widows. According to Israelite law, when a farmer reaped his harvest he was not to send his workers through the field a second time to pick up the odd stalks of grain that the reapers dropped. These were to be left for the poor, who would follow the reapers and glean what grain they could (Leviticus 23:22; Deuteronomy... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Ruth 2:2

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. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Ruth 2:1-7

1. God’s providential guidance of Ruth 2:1-7The motif of God’s providence, His working out His own plan through the circumstances of life, which runs through the Book of Ruth, is especially strong in this pericope.The writer introduced Boaz as a kinsman (lit. acquaintance or friend, Heb. myd’) of Elimelech. "According to the rabbinic tradition, which is not well established however, Boaz was a nephew of Elimelech." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, p. 447.] Scholars debate the etymology of Boaz’s name... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Ruth 2:1-23

Ruth the Gleaner1. Boaz] (’quickness’) was a kinsman of Elimelech’s. We are not informed of the precise degree of relationship. Here and at Ruth 3:2 he is designated an ’acquaintance.’ It is by no means certain that we are to think of him as a mighty man of wealth’; the phrase here employed sometimes points out a capable, active man (1 Kings 11:28; Nehemiah 11:14). The Targum is of course wrong in explaining it by ’a man strong in the Law’—an explanation which reminds us of Apollos, ’mighty in... read more