A Study of Ruth 2:14–18
“And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over. When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her. And also pull out some from the bundles for her and leave it for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. And she took it up and went into the city. Her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also brought out and gave her what food she had left over after being satisfied.”
Ruth 2:14–18 (ESV)
Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:
-Bread: “לֶּ֔חֶם”, “lěʹ·ḥěm”; noun, common, singular, absolute — bread, grain, food.
-Morsel: “פִּתֵּ֖ךְ”, “pit·tēḵʹ”; noun, common, singular, construct — piece, scrap, bit, fragment, morsel (of bread).
-Wine: “חֹ֑מֶץ”, “ḥōʹ·měṣ”; noun, common, singular, absolute — vinegar, a common condiment; wine which had become sour, a sour wine generally mixed with water.
-He Passed: “יִּצְבָּט”, “yiṣ·bāṭ”; verb, Qal, wayyiqtōl (waw-consecutive + imperfect), third person, masculine, singular — pick up and offer; to reach, hold out.
-She Was Satisfied: “תִּשְׂבַּ֖ע”, “tiś·bǎʿʹ”; verb, Qal, wayyiqtōl (waw-consecutive + imperfect), third person, feminine, singular — eat or drink one’s fill, satisfy oneself, have enough.
-Glean: “לַקֵּ֑ט”, “lǎq·qēṭʹ”; verb, Piʿʿēl, infinitive, construct — gather, glean, collect.
-Sheaves: “עֳמָרִ֔ים”, “ʿǒmā·rîmʹ”; noun, common, masculine, plural, absolute — small heap of cut grain.
-Reproach: “תַכְלִימֽוּ”, “ṯǎḵ·lî·mûʹ”; verb, Hifʿîl, yiqtōl (imperfect), second person, masculine, plural — harm somebody, wound, taunt, insult, make ashamed, humiliate.
-Bundles: “צְּבָתִ֑ים”, “ṣeḇā·ṯîmʹ”; noun, common, masculine, plural, absolute — sheaf of grain, bundles of grain.
-Rebuke: “תִגְעֲרוּ”, “ṯiḡ·ʿǎrû”; verb, Qal, yiqtōl (imperfect), second person, masculine, plural — speak insultingly to, rebuke, reprove.
-Field: “שָּׂדֶ֖ה”, “śā·ḏě”; noun, common, singular, absolute — cultivated field, pasture, acreage, piece of land.
-She Beat Out: “תַּחְבֹּט֙”, “tǎḥ·bōṭʹ”; verb, Qal, wayyiqtōl (waw-consecutive + imperfect), third person, feminine, singular — knock, beat (off, out), thresh.
-An Ephah Of: “אֵיפָ֥הʾ”, “ê·p̄ā(h)ʹ”; noun, common, feminine, singular, absolute — grain-measure equivalent to approximately 5 gallons. An ephah of barley would have weighed about 30 pounds.
Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):
After inviting Ruth to glean in his fields and enjoy the company and protection of his servants, Boaz invites Ruth to come and eat with him and his servants as well. Boaz also honors Ruth by showing her hospitality and serving her enough food so that she ate until she was full and had some left over. After eating, Ruth went back to work and Boaz told his young servants to let her glean amongst the harvested bundles of grain and also to purposely remove sheaves of grain from the bundles and leave them on the ground for Ruth to gather. Boaz also specifically instructed his servants not to rebuke Ruth in any way. She was welcome in his field and he wanted her to be well provided for. After gleaning all day, Ruth had accumulated an entire ephah, about five gallons, of dry grain. This was an enormous amount of grain to obtain from a single day’s gleaning. Ruth brought this grain and the food she had left over from her meal with Boaz and his servants back to Naomi and shared with her.
Implication (what does this mean to us):
In the verses previous to these, Boaz generously invited Ruth to stay and glean in his fields with his young female workers where she would be safe. He had heard all about her loyalty to Naomi and how she selflessly returned to Bethlehem with the widowed Naomi to care for her instead of remaining in Moab and remarrying; which would have been a much easier option. Now, in this passage we see Boaz invite Ruth to eat with him and his workers when he says to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” The word used here for “wine” is also translated as “vinegar.” And it does not describe drinking wine, but rather, a wine that had become sour and was often mixed with a little water and used as a flavoring for food. This is likely the same sort of vinegar or sour wine offered to Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:48).
Some commentators believe this invitation from Boaz might be the first hint of romance. That is certainly possible but the main thing to note here is that sharing a meal in the ancient Near East was important. Hosts would prepare and provide meals for guests and not to do so would be very rude. On the other hand though, preparing a meal for someone in this way showed respect. And to go a step further and serve the guest yourself, as Boaz does Ruth, was an even greater sign of respect. So, this may be a first sign of romantic interest from Boaz, but what is absolutely certain, is that this was a great sign of respect and courtesy from Boaz to Ruth. Was it overtly romantic? That is unclear, but what is clear is that no gesture can truly be deemed romantic if it lacks respect and courtesy. Boaz showed Ruth both of these things by inviting her to a meal and serving her.
In the same verse we are also told Ruth ate until she was satisfied, or in other words, full, and even had some food left over. Later, in verse 18 we will see that Ruth set this extra food aside to share with Naomi. In the face of such kindness and generosity from Boaz, Ruth was also thinking about how she could share generously with Naomi. The generosity of Boaz enabled her to be generous as well.
Next, in verses 15–16, Ruth went back to work and Boaz told his servants to let her glean (gather) even in the area where the sheaves (stocks of harvested grain) had been bundled up and stored. This was extremely generous from Boaz and it went far beyond what the law in ancient Israel required for allowing the poor to glean around the edges of the field and amongst the scant remains left behind by the harvesters from their first pass through the field (Leviticus 19:9–10). But even more than that, Boaz also told his workers to intentionally drop extra sheaves on the ground for her to glean. The generosity of Boaz is astounding. He went far above and beyond the requirement of the law to allow for gleaners. He made sure Ruth not only ate her fill at mealtime, but also that she went home well provided for. Importantly though, we see that Boaz said this to his servants after Ruth had finished eating and returned to work. Boaz showed generosity to Ruth in a way that did not shame her. He invited her to work in his fields to earn a living, and then unbeknownst to her, he also ordered his servants to place plenty of grain in her path for her to gather. She still had to get out and work for it; Boaz didn’t treat her like a charity case. He generously gave her the opportunity to work and earn a living for her and Naomi with the strength Yahweh had given to her.
Finally for this passage, in verses 17–18, we find out that Ruth gleaned in the field until evening, and then she “beat out what she had gleaned,” or in other words, threshed the grain. This means she worked from sunup to sundown, and then worked some more to thresh the grain she gathered. “Threshing” or “beating out” grain is the process by which the edible grain is separated from the inedible straw it grows on. After this she returned home to Naomi with not only the leftover food from her meal with Boaz and his servants, but also with an entire ephah of barley. An ephah of barley is the equivalent of about 5 gallons or 30 pounds of dry grain. This would have been enough food for Naomi and Ruth for a few weeks at least. It was an enormous amount of grain to gather from a single day’s gleaning and it is evidence of both Boaz’s generosity and Ruth’s hard work. This amount of grain would not have been available to Ruth unless Boaz had provided it, but Ruth also would not have been able to gather so much if she had not worked hard all day long. In these verses we should take note of and admire the generosity of Boaz and the diligence of Ruth.
There are many parallels to draw from this story that line up with our experience of Jesus’ generosity and kindness to us. Before coming to faith in Jesus we were all foreigners to His kingdom, and more than that, we were enemies of Him (Romans 8:7). Now, Ruth was not a personal enemy of Israel, but her people, the Moabites, often were. However, when we repent of our sin and leave our old lives behind by confessing Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are born again to new life and citizenship in His Kingdom (John 1:12–13; 3:5–6).
In this story we see Boaz welcoming Ruth into the community of his people and lavishly providing for her. Jesus does this for us in infinitely greater ways. The community and prosperity Jesus generously invites us to be a part of is eternal (Psalm 16:11). But like Ruth, we must leave our old lives behind. We must choose to fully surrender our lives to Jesus as our one and only God, Lord and Savior. And we do this by confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9–10). That is all that is required of us for salvation because salvation comes by grace alone through faith alone (Ephesian 2:8–10). No amount of good works save us or keep us saved. Our salvation is and has been fully accomplished by the redemptive work of Yahweh in the Lord Jesus Christ (Jesus is Yahweh).
Response (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):
This passage should cause us to think of how Yahweh has generously provided for us in the Lord Jesus by paying the debt we owe for our sin on the cross. We should also should think of how after saving us from punishment, He lavishes grace on us and promises us eternal life with Him where there is fullness of joy and pleasures forever more (Psalm 16:11) in a new heaven and a new earth where crying, suffering and death will be no more (Revelation 21).
Now, having received such kindness and generosity from Jesus, the generosity Boaz showed Ruth should inspire us to take action and show generosity and kindness to the people around us in the ways that we can. This might mean monetary help, but it can also mean giving time and energy to show love to people in real practical ways. Just as Boaz praised Yahweh and shared Yahweh’s blessings with others, we should give glory to Yahweh, by demonstrating the love of Jesus as we share what He has generously given to us. We cannot even take our next breath unless Jesus graciously gives it to us. Everything we have has been given to us, and we should seek to wisely and generously use what we have received.
This passage should also cause us to pray and give thanks to Jesus for what He has given to us. He has not only given us Himself, but He also provides for us in practical ways. We have absolutely nothing good without Him (Psalm 16:2). He is our very life. Having received such overwhelming generosity and kindness from Jesus should also cause us to pray and ask Him to help us show the same love to others. Is there someone or some cause He is calling us to generously give either our time or money to? Is there some hurting or lonely person He is calling us to give some of our time to? It is never about how much we can give. Jesus only asks us to give out of what we have already been given. So, let us prayerfully consider how we can be kind and generous like our Savior with what He has given us so that we can show His love to a world in desperate need of His generous loving-kindness.
Self Reflection:
In addition to the greatest gift of Jesus’ own precious blood that purchased my salvation, what are some other ways I can see His generosity and kindness in my life? (Count your blessings)
How does the eternal and infinite life ahead of me help me to see my earthly circumstances in a new light? How does the eternal perspective Jesus provides help me to have a loose grip on the resources He gives me on earth? (You can’t take it with you)
What are some practical ways I can show generosity and kindness to the people Jesus has sent me to live alongside and show His love to? (This does not have to involve money but it can)
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