2:4 Now at that very moment, 4 Boaz arrived from Bethlehem 5 and greeted 6 the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, 7 “May the Lord bless you!” 2:5 Boaz asked 8 his servant 9 in charge of the harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?” 10
1 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Heb “and she went and entered [a field] and gleaned in the field behind the harvesters.” Cf. KJV, NASB, NRSV “the reapers”; TEV “the workers.”
3 sn The text is written from Ruth’s limited perspective. As far as she was concerned, she randomly picked a spot in the field. But God was providentially at work and led her to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who, as a near relative of Elimelech, was a potential benefactor.
4 tn Heb “and look”; NIV, NRSV “Just then.” The narrator invites the audience into the story, describing Boaz’s arrival as if it were witnessed by the audience.
5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.
6 tn Heb “said to.” Context indicates that the following expression is a greeting, the first thing Boaz says to his workers.
7 tn Heb “said to him.” For stylistic reasons “replied” is used in the present translation.
8 tn Heb “said to.” Since what follows is a question, “asked” is appropriate in this context.
9 tn Heb “young man.” Cf. NAB “overseer”; NIV, NLT “foreman.”
10 sn In this patriarchal culture Ruth would “belong” to either her father (if unmarried) or her husband (if married).