seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Ruth 3:1 One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you, where you will be well provided for. 2 Now Boaz, with whose women you have worked, is a relative of ours. Tonight he will be winnowing barley on the threshing floor. 3 Wash, put on perfume, and get dressed in your best clothes. Then go down to the threshing floor, but don’t let him know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 When he lies down, note the place where he is lying. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down. He will tell you what to do.”
5 “I will do whatever you say,” Ruth answered. 6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law told her to do.
7 When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile. Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!
9 “Who are you?” he asked.
“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer of our family.”
10 “The Lord bless you, my daughter,” he replied. “This kindness is greater than that which you showed earlier: You have not run after the younger men, whether rich or poor. 11 And now, my daughter, don’t be afraid. I will do for you all you ask. All the people of my town know that you are a woman of noble character. 12 Although it is true that I am a guardian-redeemer of our family, there is another who is more closely related than I. 13 Stay here for the night, and in the morning if he wants to do his duty as your guardian-redeemer, good; let him redeem you. But if he is not willing, as surely as the Lord lives I will do it. Lie here until morning.”
14 So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, “No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.”
15 He also said, “Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out.” When she did so, he poured into it six measures of barley and placed the bundle on her. Then he went back to town.
16 When Ruth came to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did it go, my daughter?”
Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her 17 and added, “He gave me these six measures of barley, saying, ‘Don’t go back to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’”
18 Then Naomi said, “Wait, my daughter, until you find out what happens. For the man will not rest until the matter is settled today.”
Here's that link to the commentary.Now Boaz... Is he not our relative: One might easily think that this was inappropriately forward of Naomi to suggest this to Ruth. It is possible to think that Naomi plotted with Ruth to make her a man-trap, to go out and hunt down a reluctant Boaz for marriage. Not at all; Naomi’s suggestion to Ruth was rooted in a peculiar custom in ancient Israel — the meaning behind the Hebrew word goel.
This incident on the threshing floor occurred several weeks after Boaz shared his vinegar dip with Ruth. Ruth had been working in the field, gleaning the crop, for weeks. No doubt there had been a few smiles between them over that time.Meanwhile, Naomi, no doubt, wanted grandsons to carry on her husband's name. Naomi wanted children to keep her young. Ruth and Boaz would name their first son after her son, Ruth's deceased husband. That was the rule.
I've always thought it was a little whorish to sneak in and slide under the blankets of a man you're not married to. But that's what Naomi told Ruth to do.
I've always wondered why she had to "dress" in her finest clothes when she wasn't on a date with the guy. She was to sneak around... so why look gorgeous and tempting?
Reading through this time, I was struck by how it must have startled Boaz when he rolled over in his sleep and felt someone so close. He was, after all, guarding the threshing room floor. He didn't want thieves stealing his harvest. Should he have been sleeping? Good thing he wasn't armed, he could have shot her without knowing who she was. I doubt he had a gun. They weren't invented yet. So, Ruth was lucky.
Based on the fact he had dinner first; I'm guessing there were others there. I'm guessing he had others to stay awake to guard the harvest. They aren't mentioned here. I've always thought he was alone. Maybe everyone else went home for the night. Now I'm thinking he wasn't alone, that's why he went to sleep. So, he was startled when he rolled over and found Ruth!
Still, why would she "dress" up? Others would notice and that might have been a shameful thing.
So now... Boaz has to go to the other guy who should be the goel and clear things with him first. Naomi says she knows he will do just that.
It felt kind of whorish to me that he gave her grain to take with her in the morning. Ok... Why??? Did she only sleep at his feet? Did she provide another service that was paid for in grain? Was it really just the right thing to do?
Here's what the commentary says....
He measured six ephahs of barley: As a proper gentleman, Boaz did not send Ruth home empty-handed. Not having any chocolates, he gave her six handfuls of grain. The added word ephahs is almost certainly incorrect; that would be more than thirty-three gallons (120 liters) of grain, more than Ruth could carry home in her shawl.
HUH? Chocolates???? What??? Well, this is clear as mud.
So... That's why I'm titling this "Boaz had no chocolates".
