Ruth 2:2

2:2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go ¹  to the fields so I can gather ²  grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” ³  Naomi ⁴  replied, “You may go, my daughter.”

Ruth 2:13

2:13 She said, “You really are being kind to me, ⁵  sir, ⁶  for you have reassured ⁷  and encouraged ⁸  me, your servant, ⁹  even though I am ¹⁰  not one of your servants!” ¹¹ 

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¹ tn The cohortative here (“Let me go”) expresses Ruth’s request. Note Naomi’s response, in which she gives Ruth permission to go to the field.

² tn Following the preceding cohortative, the cohortative with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.

³ tn Heb “anyone in whose eyes I may find favor” (ASV, NIV similar). The expression אֶמְצָא־חֵן בְּעֵינָיו (’emtsa’-khen bÿ’enayv, “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) appears in Ruth 2:2, 10, 13. It is most often used when a subordinate or servant requests permission for something from a superior (BDB 336 s.v. חֵן). Ruth will play the role of the subordinate servant, seeking permission from a landowner, who then could show benevolence by granting her request to glean in his field behind the harvest workers.

⁴ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “I am finding favor in your eyes.” In v. 10, where Ruth uses the perfect, she simply states the fact that Boaz is kind. Here the Hebrew text switches to the imperfect, thus emphasizing the ongoing attitude of kindness displayed by Boaz. Many English versions treat this as a request: KJV “Let me find favour in thy sight”; NAB “May I prove worthy of your kindness”; NIV “May I continue to find favor in your eyes.”

⁶ tn Heb “my master”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “my lord.”

⁷ tn Or “comforted” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV, NLT).

⁸ tn Heb “spoken to the heart of.” As F. W. Bush points out, the idiom here means “to reassure, encourage” (Ruth, Esther [WBC], 124).

⁹ tn Ruth here uses a word (שִׁפְחָה, shifkhah) that describes the lowest level of female servant (see 1 Sam 25:41). Note Ruth 3:9 where she uses the word אָמָה (’amah), which refers to a higher class of servant.

¹⁰ tn The imperfect verbal form of הָיָה (hayah) is used here. F. W. Bush shows from usage elsewhere that the form should be taken as future (Ruth, Esther [WBC], 124-25).

¹¹ tn The disjunctive clause (note the pattern vav [ו] + subject + verb) is circumstantial (or concessive) here (“even though”).