Ruth 2:5

5. His servant that was set over the reapers An officer or steward whose business it was to oversee the work of the reapers and exercise authority in the absence of the owner.

Whose damsel is this That is, Whence comes she, and where does she belong? It seems that Boaz found her resting in the tent where the reapers were accustomed to take their meals. Compare Ruth 2:7; Ruth 2:14. Other maidens, too, were there, (Ruth 2:8,) but he saw that she was a stranger. “It may be supposed, also,” says Cassel, “that her modest and reserved bearing served at once to mark her. She who had so long been mistress herself had not the look of those who have grown bold in beggary.”