Ruth 2:4

Boaz and Ruth Meet

2:4 Now at that very moment, Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied, “May the Lord bless you!”

Ruth 2:14

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


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.

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

tn Heb “said to.” Context indicates that the following expression is a greeting, the first thing Boaz says to his workers.

tn Heb “said to him.” For stylistic reasons “replied” is used in the present translation.

tn Heb “eat” (so KJV, NRSV).

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

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.

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