Ruth 2:5

2:5 Boaz asked ¹  his servant ²  in charge of the harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?” ³ 

Ruth 4:8

4:8 So the guardian said to Boaz, “You may acquire it,” and he removed his sandal. ⁴ 

Ruth 4:16

4:16 Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap; ⁵  she became his caregiver. ⁶ 

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¹ tn Heb “said to.” Since what follows is a question, “asked” is appropriate in this context.

² tn Heb “young man.” Cf. NAB “overseer”; NIV, NLT “foreman.”

³ sn In this patriarchal culture Ruth would “belong” to either her father (if unmarried) or her husband (if married).

⁴ tc The LXX adds “and gave it to him” (cf. TEV, CEV), which presupposes the reading ויתן לו. This seems to be a clarifying addition (see v. 7), but it is possible the scribe’s eye jumped from the final vav (ו) on נַעֲלוֹ (na’alo, “his sandal”) to the final vav (ו) on לוֹ (lo, “to him”), accidentally omitting the intervening letters.

⁵ tn Or “breast”; KJV, NRSV “in her bosom.”

⁶ tn Heb “his nurse,” but this refers to a dry nurse, not a medical attendant. Cf. NIV “and cared for him”; TEV “and took (+ good CEV) care of him.”