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Rut 2

VBL · Chapter 2/4

1Noemí tenía un pariente por parte de su marido que se llamaba Booz. Era un hombre rico e influyente de la familia de Elimelec.

2Poco después, Rut la moabita le dijo a Noemí: “Por favor, déjame ir a los campos a recoger el grano que ha quedado, si encuentro a alguien que me dé permiso”.

3Así que fue a recoger el grano que habían dejado los segadores. Resulta que estaba trabajando en un campo que pertenecía a Booz, un pariente de Elimelec.

4Más tarde, Booz llegó de Belén y le dijo a los segadores: “¡El Señor esté con ustedes!”. Y ellos respondieron: “¡El Señor lo bendiga!”.

5Entonces Boozle preguntó a su criado, que estaba a cargo de los segadores: “¿Con quién está emparentada esta joven?”

6“La joven es una moabita que volvió con Noemí de Moab”, respondió el criado.

7“Me pidió permiso para recoger el grano detrás de los segadores. Así que vino, y ha estado trabajando aquí desde la mañana hasta ahora, salvo un breve descanso en el refugio”.

8Booz fue a hablar con Rut. “Escúchame, hija mía”, le dijo. “No te vayas a recoger el grano en el campo de otro. Quédate cerca de mis mujeres.

9Presta atención a la parte del campo que cosechan los hombres y sigue a las mujeres.Les he dicho a los hombres que no te molesten. Cuando tengas sed, ve a beber de las jarras de agua que han llenado los criados”.

10Ella se inclinó con el rostro hacia el suelo. “¿Por qué eres tan amable conmigo o te fijas en mí, viendo que soy extranjera?” , le preguntó.

11“Me he enterado de todo lo que has hecho por tu suegra desde que murió tu marido”, respondió Booz. “Y también cómo dejaste a tu padre y a tu madre, y la tierra donde naciste, para venir a vivir entre gente que no conocías.

12Que el Señor te recompense plenamente por todo lo que has hecho: el Señor, el Dios de Israel, a quien has acudido en busca de protección”.

13“Gracias por ser tan bueno conmigo, señor” – respondió ella – “Me has tranquilizado al hablarme con amabilidad. Ni siquiera soy uno de tus siervos”.

14Cuando llegó la hora de comer, Booz la llamó. “Ven aquí”, le dijo. “Toma un poco de pan y mójalo en vinagre de vino”.

15Cuando Rut volvió a trabajar, Booz dijo a sus hombres: “Dejen que recoja el grano incluso entre las gavillas. No le digan nada que la avergüence.

16De hecho, saquen algunos tallos de los manojos que estén cortando y déjenlos para que los recoja. No la regañen”.

17Rut trabajó en el campo hasta la noche. Cuando sacó el grano que había recogido era una gran cantidad.

18Lo recogió y lo llevó a la ciudad para mostrarle a su suegra la cantidad que había recogido. Rut también le dio lo que le había sobrado de la comida.

19Noemí le preguntó: “¿Dónde has recogido hoy el grano? ¿Dónde has trabajado exactamente? Bendice a quien se haya preocupado lo suficiente por ti como para darte atención”. Entonces ella le contó a su suegra con quién había trabajado. “El hombre con el que he trabajado hoy se llama Booz”.

20“¡Que el Señor lo bendiga!” exclamó Noemí a su nuera. “Sigue mostrando su bondad con los vivos y con los muertos. Ese hombre es un pariente cercano a nosotros, es un ‘redentor de la familia’”.

21Rut añadió: “También me dijo: ‘Quédate cerca de mis trabajadores hasta que terminen de recoger toda mi cosecha’”.

22“Eso está bien, hija mía”, le dijo Noemí a Rut. “Quédate con sus trabajadoras. No vayas a otros campos donde podrían molestarte”.

23Así que Rut se quedó con las trabajadoras de Booz recogiendo el grano hasta el final de la cosecha de cebada, y luego hasta el final de la cosecha de trigo. Vivió con su suegra todo el tiempo.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Ruth goes to glean grain in the fields and, by providence, happens upon the field of Boaz, a relative of Naomi. Boaz notices her dedication and loyalty and orders his workers to treat her with special generosity.

Explanation

The Mosaic law (Leviticus 19:9-10) required landowners to leave the edges of their fields unharvested so that the poor, widows, and foreigners could glean and sustain themselves — an ancient social welfare system built into the agricultural law itself. Ruth's meeting with Boaz, described as happening 'by chance' (v.3), is understood in the text as discreet divine providence working through seemingly ordinary circumstances. Boaz already knew of Ruth's reputation for loyalty to her mother-in-law even before meeting her personally, showing how acts of kindness and faithfulness become known and respected in a community, even when they come from a foreigner.

Fun facts

  • The law of gleaning (leaving the leftovers for the poor to gather) is detailed in Leviticus 19:9-10 and Deuteronomy 24:19, making it one of the earliest documented social welfare systems in history.
  • An ephah of barley, the amount Ruth gathered in a single day (v.17), equals approximately 22 liters of grain — a generous amount that reflects Boaz's special favor toward her.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Rut 2:1Before the story moves on, the text introduces Boaz, a wealthy and prominent relative of Elimelech, Naomi’s late husband — a key figure who will only matter later on.
  2. Rut 2:2The law of Israel required landowners to leave the edges of their harvest and the fallen grain for the poor, widows, and foreigners to gather. It is this right of gleaning that Ruth is exercising when she asks Naomi for permission to go to the field.
  3. Rut 2:3Ruth goes out to glean in the fields, without knowing it, and happens to end up working in the very portion that belongs to Boaz.
  4. Rut 2:4Boaz arrives from the field and greets the workers with a religious blessing, showing the respectful tone of the relationship between him and his laborers.
  5. Rut 2:5Boaz notices Ruth and asks his foreman whose young woman this is.
  6. Rut 2:6The foreman explains that she is the Moabite woman who came back with Naomi, information that already marks Ruth as a foreigner.
  7. Rut 2:7The foreman reports that Ruth asked permission to glean behind the reapers and that she has worked without stopping since early morning.
  8. Rut 2:8Boaz speaks directly to Ruth, telling her she does not need to go to another field: she can stay right there, close by his own young women workers.
  9. Rut 2:9He guarantees her protection, warning the young men not to touch her, and allows her to drink from the water the workers draw for themselves.
  10. Rut 2:10Ruth is amazed at Boaz’s kindness because, as a Moabite, she had no guaranteed right to an Israelite’s protection. Her question exposes the vulnerable position of a foreign widow trying to survive on her own.
  11. Rut 2:11Boaz explains why he is being so generous: he has already heard how Ruth cared for Naomi and left her own land and family behind.
  12. Rut 2:12The image of the wings under which Ruth has come to take refuge is Boaz’s way of describing her decision to leave Moab and join Naomi’s people and God. It is a blessing that acknowledges the risk she took, not just a polite compliment.
  13. Rut 2:13Ruth thanks Boaz, saying his words comforted her, even though she does not have the same status as his own servant women.
  14. Rut 2:14At mealtime, Boaz invites Ruth to eat with the workers and offers her parched grain, and she eats until she is satisfied, with food still left over.
  15. Rut 2:15After the meal, Boaz instructs his workers to let Ruth glean even among the bundled sheaves, something out of the ordinary.
  16. Rut 2:16He goes further still, telling them to deliberately drop handfuls of grain for her to gather, without rebuking her for it.
  17. Rut 2:17Ruth works until the end of the day, and when she beats out what she gathered, she has nearly a whole bushel of barley — a generous amount.
  18. Rut 2:18She carries it all home, shows Naomi what she has gleaned, and even sets aside the leftovers from her own meal to give to her mother-in-law.
  19. Rut 2:19Naomi, impressed by the amount, asks where she worked, and Ruth tells her it was in the field of a man named Boaz.
  20. Rut 2:20Naomi explains that Boaz is a kinsman-redeemer, in Hebrew goel: a close relative with the duty to redeem sold land or enslaved family members, and also to marry a childless widow to keep the dead man’s name alive. It is this double role that will drive the whole plot to the end of the book.
  21. Rut 2:21Ruth also reports that Boaz allowed her to stay close by his workers until the whole harvest was finished.
  22. Rut 2:22Naomi approves of the idea, advising Ruth to indeed stay only in Boaz’s field, to avoid trouble anywhere else.
  23. Rut 2:23Ruth follows this advice and works alongside Boaz’s young women until the end of the barley and wheat harvests, living with her mother-in-law the whole time.

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