Ruth 2:1-2

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 2:1

And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's ,.... That was her kinsman by her husband's side, who now lived at Bethlehem; and yet it does not appear that Naomi made any application to him for assistance in her circumstances, though well known to her, as the word used signifies; which might arise from her modesty, and being loath to be troublesome to him, especially as he was a relation, not of her own family, but of her husband's; but, what is more strange, that this kinsman had taken no notice... 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 2:1

A mighty man of wealth - We have already seen that some suppose Boaz to have been one of the judges of Israel; he was no doubt a man of considerable property. 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

EXPOSITION IT is by way of introduction to the remaining narrative that the writer says:— And Naomi had, on her husband's side, a friend. The C'tib reading מְיֻדַּע (absolute מְיֻדָע ) is much to be preferred to the K'ri מוֹדַע . But מְיֻדָּע is ambiguous in import. It primarily means known , well-known , acquainted , an acquaintance (see Job 19:14 ; Psalms 55:13 ; Psalms 88:8 , Psalms 88:18 ). But as intimate acquaintances, especially in a primitive and... 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

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Ruth 2:1

A kinsman - More literally “an acquaintance”; here (and in the feminine, Ruth 3:2) denoting the person with whom one is intimately acquainted, one’s near relation. The next kinsman of Ruth 2:20, etc. גאל gā'al, is a wholly different word.Boaz - Commonly taken to mean, “strength is in him” (compare 1 Kings 7:21). 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

Group of Brands