Discovery BoxRuth 2:2-3 
Context2:2 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.” 2:3 So Ruth 5 went and gathered grain in the fields 6 behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up 7 in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
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 “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 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.”
7 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.
