Ruth and Naomi Find a Redeemer

A study of Ruth 2:19–23

And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.” And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The name of the man who I worked with today is Boaz.” And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by Yahweh, whose loyal love has not forsaken the living or the dead.” And Naomi said to her, “The man is a close relative for us, he is one of our redeemers.” And Ruth the Moabite said, “Also, he said to me, ‘You shall stay close with the servants which are mine until they have finished all of the harvest which is mine.’” And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidservants so that you will not be bothered in another field.” So she stayed close with the maidservants of Boaz to glean until the end of the barley harvest and wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.

Ruth 2:19–23 (LEB)

Definitions of the original language in the context of this passage:

-He Who Took Notice Of: “מַכִּירֵ֖”, “mǎk·kî·rēʹ”; verb, Hifʿîl, participle, masculine, singular, construct — to regard, observe, pay attention to, pay regard to, notice; acknowledge with honor.

-Be Blessed: “בָּר֑וּךְ”, “bā·rûḵʹ”; verb, Qal, passive participle, masculine, singular, absolute — to bless, blessed, fill with strength, full.

-Boaz: “בֹּֽעַז”, “bōʹ·ʿǎz”; noun, proper, masculine, singular, absolute — Boaz = “fleetness”; ancestor of David, kinsman-redeemer to Ruth, daughter-in-law of Naomi; name of the left of two brass pillars, 18 cubits high, erected in the porch of Solomon’s temple.

-Naomi: “נָעֳמִי”, “nā·ʿǒmî”; noun, proper, feminine, singular, absolute — Naomi = ‘my delight’, wife of Elimelech, mother of Mahlon and Chilion, and mother-in-law of Ruth and Orpah.

-Yahweh: “יְהוָ֣ה”, “YHWH”; noun, proper, masculine, singular, absolute — the proper name of the one true God.

-Loyal Love: “חַסְדּ֔”, “ḥǎsdʹ”; noun, common, singular, construct — loyalty, faithfulness, goodness, loving-kindness, godly action.

-Living: “חַיִּ֖ים”, “ḥǎy·yîmʹ”; adjective, masculine, plural, absolute — living, alive.

-Dead: “מֵּתִ֑ים”, “mē·ṯîmʹ”; verb, Qal, participle, masculine, plural, absolute — die, dying.

-Redeemers: “גֹּאֲלֵ֖”, “gō·ʾǎlēʹ”; verb, Qal, participle, masculine, plural, construct — redeem, redeemer, claim as one’s own; to act as kinsman, do the part of next of kin, act as kinsman-redeemer; by marrying brother’s widow to beget a child for him.

-Ruth: “ר֨וּת”, “rûṯʹ”; noun, proper, feminine, singular, absolute — Ruth = ‘friendship’; daughter-in-law of Naomi, wife of Boaz, and great-grandmother of David.

-Moabite: “מּוֹאֲבִיָּ֑ה”, “mô·ʾǎḇiy·yā(h)”; adjective, feminine, singular, absolute — Moabite = “from father: what father?”; an inhabitant of the land of Moab.

-Maidservants: “נַ֣עֲרוֹתָ֔י”, “nǎ·ʿǎrô·ṯāyʹ”; noun, common, feminine, plural, construct — a young unmarried girl, attendant, female servant.

-Be Bothered: “יִפְגְּעוּ”, “yip̄·geʿû”; verb, Qal, yiqtōl (imperfect), third person, masculine, plural — fall upon (of hostility), to strike, touch.

Observation/Summary (short explanation of what the passage says in your own words):

After Ruth returned to Naomi with an unusually large amount of grain for a single day’s gleaning, Naomi asked her where she had worked that day; and seeing how much grain Ruth had gathered, she also blessed the one who had been so kind to Ruth. Ruth told Naomi she had gleaned in the field of a man named Boaz. After hearing this Naomi again blessed Boaz in the name of Yahweh and she acknowledged the loyal love of Yahweh that had not forsaken them. Naomi also recognized Boaz’s name and she told Ruth that he was a close relative of theirs through Naomi’s deceased husband Elimelech. And because of that, he was also one of their “redeemers.” After hearing this, Ruth told Naomi more about how Boaz invited her to keep gleaning in his fields with his young female servants for the rest of the harvest season. Naomi then advised Ruth to accept his kind offer, so Ruth continued to glean in Boaz’s fields until the end of the barley and wheat harvests, and Ruth and Naomi continued to live together.

Implication (what does this mean to us):

In these verses, Ruth returns home to Naomi after a hard day’s work of gleaning. In ancient Israel, under Yahweh’s law, landowners were commanded not to harvest all the way to the very edges of the field, and also not to go through a second time to gather the scant remains they missed on the first pass through. Those “gleanings” were to be left for the poor to gather so that they could have a way to earn an honest living. This was a compassionate social assistance program, commanded by Yahweh (Yahweh = Jesus), that required generosity from landowners and also hard, honest work from the poor. This is what Ruth set out to do, and as it happens, she gleaned in the field of Boaz, a close relative of Naomi’s deceased husband. Gleaning was hard work, and it would likely not provide more than a day or a few days worth of grain at best. But because of the generosity of Boaz, Ruth had gathered a few weeks worth of grain in a single day. And as she returned home to Naomi, Naomi noticed this, which is why she said to Ruth, “Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed.”.

Ruth responded to Naomi by telling her she had worked in the field of a man named Boaz. Naomi immediately recognized the name and then blessed Boaz in the name of Yahweh, while simultaneously declaring that in His loyal love, Yahweh had not forsaken the living or the dead. This is quite a turn around for Naomi. This is the same woman who said, “…the hand of Yahweh has gone out against me.” (Ruth 1:13), and also in Ruth 1:20–21 said, “You should not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for Shaddai has caused me to be very bitter. I went away full, but Yahweh brought me back empty-handed! Why call me Naomi when Yahweh has testified against me and Shaddai has brought calamity upon me?”.

Naomi said these things as she grieved the deaths of her husband and two sons, and also as she returned to Bethlehem a destitute widow with only her loyal daughter-in-law Ruth beside her. But even in her bitterness and despair, Naomi chose to return to the community of Yahweh’s people in Israel; and she chose to remain loyal to Yahweh in the middle of what she did not understand. And now, she is beginning to see the fringes of Yahweh’s goodness again in how He sent Ruth to the field of Boaz, a kind and honorable man who had clearly been so generous with her.

But there is even more to Naomi’s recognition of Yahweh’s loyal love than simply the abundance of food Boaz had provided Ruth. Naomi says the loyal love of Yahweh had not forsaken the “living or the dead,” and also that Boaz was a close relative and one of their “redeemers”. The Hebrew word for redeemer in this passage is “go’el”. This is sometimes also translated as “kinsman redeemer.” Boaz was a close enough relative of Naomi and Ruth to be a redeemer or “go’el”. This is evidence of Yahweh’s loyal love to both the living (Ruth and Naomi) and the dead (Naomi’s husband and sons) because in ancient Israel Yahweh established a system referred to as “levirate marriage”. In this system when a widow’s husband died and she had no sons, a close male relative of the deceased man could marry his widow and provide her with a male heir to carry on the name of the widow’s deceased husband.

This system served to both carry on the family name and lineage of the deceased man, and also provided a male heir to care for the widow. This was very important because in the ancient world a widow without sons or male relatives to care for her was on the lowest rung of the socio-economic ladder. So, in seeing how Boaz took special notice of Ruth, and that he was eligible to be a redeemer for them, Naomi recognized there was the potential for Boaz to marry Ruth and provide an heir for Naomi through their union. This would be a great blessing to both Naomi and Ruth (the living). And carrying on the family name and caring for Naomi and Ruth would also be a blessing for the dead (Naomi’s dead husband and sons). In this way Naomi was beginning to see again how Yahweh’s loyal love does not forsake the living or the dead. His faithfulness stretches into infinity, far beyond this short, vaporous life we have on earth.

In verses 21–22 Ruth relays the invitation she received from Boaz to remain in his field, among his servants, where she could glean in safety until the end of the harvest season. And Naomi affirms that this is a good idea and tells Ruth she should remain in Boaz’s fields where she will “not be bothered,” or in other words, not be assaulted or harmed. Interestingly, Ruth seems to have kept the compliments Boaz gave her to herself, which is just one more example of Ruth’s admirable humility. And in hearing this encouragement from Naomi to remain in Boaz’s field, Ruth obeys and does that very thing. As we read in verse 23 which says, “ So she stayed close with the maidservants of Boaz to glean until the end of the barley harvest and wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.”

Response (How does this change how I think, act and pray?):

This passage should cause us to think about how Yahweh (Jesus is Yahweh) is constantly moving and working things together for good in our lives, especially when we can’t see the good for ourselves. Like Naomi, we will experience hardship and heartache, and we will experience bitterness and maybe even despair because of it. But also, like Naomi, we must move in closer to Yahweh and His people. For Naomi, this meant living in community with the people of Yahweh in Israel, and continuing to submit to Him alone as the one true God. For us, this means living in community with followers of Jesus in a church, and living and growing in relationship with Jesus as our Lord and Savior who daily cares for us and gives us life.

Jesus may not have an earthly blessing for us like Ruth and Naomi will experience through Ruth’s marriage to Boaz in the coming chapters; but we have an even greater promise. Those of us who follow Jesus have abundant, joyful and glorious eternal life awaiting us. Whatever hardships we experience in this life are not even worth comparing to the joy and glory of eternal life with Jesus in the new heavens and new earth (Psalm 16:11, Romans 8:18; Revelation 21:1–4). We have access to this new life by faith in Jesus right now, and when we pass on from this world that is under the curse of sin, we will never again experience suffering, crying, pain or death again. Everything we missed out on in this world due to infirmity, injustice or pestilence will be regained in infinite, overflowing measure. Jesus, our great Redeemer, has purchased us with His own blood. And the life He gives to us is eternal and maximally joyful.

Self Reflection:

1. What circumstances in my life are making it difficult to hold onto hope right now? About what things do I need to pour out my heart to God, like the Psalmists, with raw honesty?
2. How is Jesus using these circumstances to give me the good gift of growing in reliance on Him?
3. How does the knowledge that Jesus is my Redeemer who is making all things new, give me an eternal perspective of my temporary circumstances, and also hope for a beautiful eternal life to come?