Discovery BoxRuth 2:3 
Context2:3 So Ruth 1 went and gathered grain in the fields 2 behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up 3 in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
Ruth 2:23
Context2:23 So Ruth 4 worked beside 5 Boaz’s female servants, gathering grain until the end of the barley harvest as well as the wheat harvest. 6 After that she stayed home with her mother-in-law. 7
Ruth 3:7
Context3:7 When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap. 8 Then Ruth 9 crept up quietly, 10 uncovered his legs, 11 and lay down beside him. 12
1 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 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.”
3 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.
4 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “and she stayed close with”; NIV, NRSV, CEV “stayed close to”; NCV “continued working closely with.”
6 sn Barley was harvested from late March through late April, wheat from late April to late May (O. Borowski, Agriculture in Ancient Israel, 88, 91).
7 tn Heb “and she lived with her mother-in-law” (so NASB). Some interpret this to mean that she lived with her mother-in-law while working in the harvest. In other words, she worked by day and then came home to Naomi each evening. Others understand this to mean that following the harvest she stayed at home each day with Naomi and no longer went out looking for work (see F. W. Bush, Ruth, Esther [WBC], 140). Others even propose that she lived away from home during this period, but this seems unlikely. A few Hebrew
8 tn Heb “and Boaz ate and drank and his heart was well and he went to lie down at the end of the heap”; NAB “at the edge of the sheaves.”
9 tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
10 sn Ruth must have waited until Boaz fell asleep, for he does not notice when she uncovers his legs and lies down beside him.
11 tn See the note on the word “legs” in v. 4.
12 tn The words “beside him” are supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons. Cf. TEV “at his feet”; CEV “near his feet.”
