Ruth 2:14

2:14 Later during the mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and have ¹  some food! Dip your bread ²  in the vinegar!” So she sat down beside the harvesters. Then he handed ³  her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full and saved the rest. ⁴ 

Ruth 4:4

4:4 So I am legally informing you: ⁵  Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people! ⁶  If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so. ⁷  But if not, then tell me ⁸  so I will know. ⁹  For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you.” ¹⁰  He replied, “I will redeem it.”

Ruth 4:11

4:11 All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May ¹¹  you prosper ¹²  in Ephrathah and become famous ¹³  in Bethlehem. ¹⁴ 

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¹ tn Heb “eat” (so KJV, NRSV).

² tn Heb “your portion”; NRSV “your morsel.”

³ tn The Hebrew verb צָבַט (tsavat) occurs only here in the OT. Cf. KJV, ASV “he reached her”; NASB “he served her”; NIV “he offered her”; NRSV “he heaped up for her.” For discussion of its meaning, including the etymological evidence, see BDB 840 s.v.; R. L. Hubbard, Jr., Ruth (NICOT), 174; and F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther (WBC), 125-26.

⁴ tn Heb “and she ate and she was satisfied and she had some left over” (NASB similar).

⁵ tn Heb “and I said [or perhaps, “thought to myself”], ‘I will [or “must”] uncover your ear, saying’”; NAB “So I thought I would inform you”; NIV “I thought I should bring the matter to your attention.”

⁶ tn The phrase “before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people” appears to refer to the leaders who were specially chosen as witnesses (v. 2) and the larger group of community leaders standing by. It is possible, however, that the phrases “before those sitting here” and “before the leaders of my people” are appositional and that both refer to the ten leaders mentioned in v. 2 (cf. NLT “in the presence of these witnesses”).

⁷ tn Heb “if you will redeem, redeem” (KJV, NASB, NRSV all similar); NCV “If you want to buy back the land, then buy it.”

⁸ tn Heb “but if he will not redeem, tell me.” Most English versions emend the third person verb form (“he”) to the second person form because Boaz is addressing the closer relative. But it is possible that he briefly addresses the witnesses and refers to the closer relative in the third person. See J. M. Sasson, Ruth, 118.

⁹ tn Following the imperative, the prefixed verb form with vav indicates purpose or result.

¹⁰ tn Heb “for there is no one besides you to redeem, and I am after you” (NASB similar).

¹¹ tn Following the jussive, the imperative with prefixed vav indicates purpose or result.

¹² tn The phrase וַעֲשֵׂה־חַיִל (va’aseh-khayil, literally, “do strength”) has been variously translated: (1) financial prosperity: “may you become rich” (TEV), “may you be a rich man” (CEV), “may you achieve wealth” (NASB), “may you prosper” (NKJV, NJPS); (2) social prominence: “may you become powerful” (NCV), “may you have standing” (NIV), “may you be great” (NLT), “may you do well” (NAB); (3) reproductive fertility: “may you produce children” (NRSV); and (4) social activity: “may you do a worthy deed” (REB).

¹³ tc Heb “and call a name.” This statement appears to be elliptical. Usually the person named and the name itself follow this expression. Perhaps וּקְרָא־שֵׁם (uqÿra’-shem) should be emended to וְיִקָּרֵא־שֵׁם (vÿyiqqare’-shem), “and your name will be called out,” that is, “perpetuated” (see Gen 48:16, cf. also Ruth 4:14b). The omission of the suffix with “name” could be explained as virtual haplography (note the letter bet [ב], which is similar to kaf [כ], at the beginning of the next word). The same explanation could account for the omission of the prefixed yod (י) on the verb “call” (yod [י] and vav [ו] are similar in appearance). Whether one reads the imperative (the form in the MT) or the jussive (the emended form), the construction indicates purpose or result following the earlier jussive “may he make.”

¹⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.