Bible Study Ruth 2
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Ruth 2 · WEB

Ruth Meets Boaz in the Harvest Fields

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

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Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
2Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I find favor." Naomi said to her, "Go, my daughter."
3She went and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
4Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, "Yahweh be with you." They answered him, "Yahweh bless you."
5Then Boaz said to his servant who was set over the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?"
6The servant who was set over the reapers answered, "It is the Moabite young woman who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.
7She said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' So she came, and has continued from the morning until now, except that she rested a little in the house."
8Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen, my daughter. Don't go to glean in another field, and don't go from here, but stay here close to my maidens.
9Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them. Haven't I commanded the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink from that which the young men have drawn."
10Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?"
11Boaz answered her, "It has fully been shown to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband; and how you have left your father and your mother, and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you didn't know before.
12May Yahweh repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge."
13Then she said, "Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, because you have comforted me, and because you have spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not as one of your servants."
14At meal time Boaz said to her, "Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." She sat beside the reapers, and they passed her parched grain, and she ate, was satisfied, and left some of it.
15When she had risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and don't reproach her.
16Also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it, and let her glean, and don't rebuke her."
17So she gleaned in the field until evening; then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
18She took it up, and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought out and gave to her what she had left after she was satisfied.
19Her mother-in-law said to her, "Where did you glean today? Where did you work? Blessed be the one who took notice of you." She showed her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, "The man's name with whom I worked today is Boaz."
20Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "Blessed be he of Yahweh, who has not forsaken his kindness to the living and to the dead." Naomi said to her, "The man is a close relative to us, one of our near kinsmen."
21Ruth the Moabitess said, "Yes, he said to me, 'Stay close to my young men, until they have finished all my harvest.'"
22Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, and that they don't meet you in any other field."
23So she stayed close to the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of the barley harvest and of the wheat harvest; and she lived with her mother-in-law.
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Summary

Ruth goes out to glean in the harvest fields, exercising her right under Israelite law to gather leftover grain for the poor. By what appears to be chance but is clearly divine providence, she ends up in the field of Boaz, a wealthy relative of Naomi's late husband. Boaz has already heard about Ruth's faithfulness to Naomi and shows her extraordinary generosity — inviting her to stay in his fields, drink from his water jars, eat at his table, and even secretly instructing his workers to leave extra grain for her. When Ruth returns home with an astonishing amount of barley (about 30 pounds), Naomi recognizes Boaz's name with joy and reveals that he is a near kinsman — a potential kinsman-redeemer (go'el).

Themes

  • Providence of God — The narrator's subtle comment that Ruth "happened" to come to Boaz's field underscores how God orchestrates circumstances without overriding human choices
  • Hesed (loving-kindness) — Boaz models extravagant grace to a foreign widow; Naomi recognizes this as a reflection of God's own hesed
  • Redemption beginning — The introduction of Boaz as a kinsman-redeemer sets in motion the legal and social mechanism by which Ruth and Naomi will be restored
  • Dignity of the poor — The gleaning laws (Leviticus 19; Deuteronomy 24) gave the vulnerable a right to provision; Boaz exceeds even these generous requirements

Key verses

  • Ruth 2:11-12 — “It has fully been shown to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband… May Yahweh repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
  • Ruth 2:20 — “Blessed be he of Yahweh, who has not forsaken his kindness to the living and to the dead… The man is a close relative to us, one of our near kinsmen.”
  • Ruth 2:3 — “She happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz." — Providence presented as apparent coincidence.”

Context & background

The gleaning laws of ancient Israel (Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 24:19-22) required farmers to leave the edges of fields and any dropped grain for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the foreigner — all categories that apply to Ruth. Boaz's fields would have been located in the agricultural land surrounding Bethlehem, in the modern West Bank about 10 km south of Jerusalem. The barley harvest in ancient Canaan ran from roughly late March to May, followed by wheat harvest, meaning Ruth worked in Boaz's fields for several weeks. An ephah of barley (about 30 lbs / 14 kg) was a remarkable amount for a single day's gleaning — far more than could be gathered by accident, confirming Boaz's deliberate generosity. The term "near kinsman" (go'el in Hebrew) refers to a specific legal role: a male relative who had the right and responsibility to redeem land, marry a widow, or avenge blood on behalf of the family.

Cross-references

  • Deuteronomy 25:5-10 — The levirate marriage law, related to the kinsman-redeemer obligation Boaz will later fulfill
  • Leviticus 19:9-10 — The gleaning law that gave Ruth the legal right to work in Boaz's field
  • Matthew 1:5 — Boaz is named in the genealogy of Jesus, making this meeting of central importance to redemptive history
  • Psalm 107:9 — "He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with good" — echoed in Ruth's satisfaction at Boaz's table (v. 14)
  • Psalm 91:4 — "He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge" — Boaz uses this same imagery when blessing Ruth (v. 12)

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    List all the specific ways that Boaz goes above and beyond the minimum requirements of the gleaning law in his treatment of Ruth (vv. 8-16).

  2. Observe

    What does Naomi's reaction in verses 19-20 reveal about how she now views their situation compared to her bitterness in chapter 1?

  3. Interpret

    Boaz says that Ruth has come "under the wings" of the God of Israel (v. 12). Later in chapter 3, Ruth will use the same "wing" language toward Boaz. What is the significance of this word picture, and what does it say about the relationship between divine and human action in the story?

  4. Interpret

    The narrator says Ruth "happened" to come to Boaz's field (v. 3). Why might the author word it this way rather than saying "God led her there"? What is being communicated about how God's providence often works?

  5. Apply

    Boaz noticed Ruth's character and faithfulness before he extended kindness to her (v. 11). In what ways are you actively displaying faithfulness in your current situation, even when you may feel unseen?

  6. Apply

    Boaz exceeded the minimum legal requirements of generosity and left extra grain for Ruth. Where in your life might God be inviting you to go beyond the minimum in how you care for others who are vulnerable?

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