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Rut 3

VBL · Chapter 3/4

1Un tiempo más tarde, Noemí le dijo a Rut: “Hija mía, ¿no crees que debería encontrarte un marido y un buen hogar?

2No ignores que Booz, con cuyas mujeres trabajaste, está muy emparentado con nosotros. Esta noche estará ocupado aventando el grano en la era.

3Báñate, ponte perfume, ponte tu mejor ropa y baja a la era, pero que no te reconozca. Cuando haya terminado de comer y beber,

4observa dónde se acuesta. Entonces ve y descubre sus pies y acuéstate. Entonces él te dirá lo que tienes que hacer”.

5“Haré todo lo que me has dicho”, dijo Rut.

6Bajó a la era e hizo lo que su suegra le había dicho.

7Cuando Booz terminó de comer y beber, y se sintió satisfecho, fue a acostarse junto al montón de grano. Rut se acercó tranquilamente a él, le descubrió los pies y se acostó.

8Hacia la medianoche, Booz se despertó de repente. Al inclinarse hacia delante, se sorprendió al ver a una mujer tendida a sus pies.

9“¿Quién eres?” , preguntó.

10“Que el Señor te bendiga, hija mía”, dijo él. “Estás mostrando aún más lealtad y amor a la familia que antes. No has ido a buscar a un hombre más joven, sea cual sea su condición social.

11Así que no te preocupes, hija mía. Haré todo lo que me pidas; todo el pueblo sabe que eres una mujer de buen carácter.

12Sin embargo, aunque soy uno de los redentores de tu familia, hay uno que está más emparentado que yo.

13Quédate aquí esta noche, y por la mañana si él quiere redimirte, pues bien, que lo haga. Pero si no lo hace, te prometo, en nombre del Señor vivo, que te redimiré. Acuéstate aquí hasta la mañana”.

14Así que Rut se acostó a sus pies hasta la mañana. Luego se levantó antes de que hubiera luz suficiente para reconocer a alguien, porque Booz le había dicho: “Nadie debe saber que una mujer vino aquí a la era”.

15También le dijo: “Tráeme el manto que llevas puesto y extiéndelo”. Ella se lo tendió y él echó en él seis medidas de cebada en él. La ayudó a ponérselo a la espalda y ella regresó a la ciudad.

16Rut fue a ver a su suegra, que le preguntó: “¿Cómo te ha ido, hija mía?” Entonces Rut le contó todo lo que Booz había hecho por ella.

17“Y también me dio estas seis medidas de cebada”, añadió. “Me dijo: ‘No debes ir a casa de tu suegra con las manos vacías’”.

18Noemí dijo a Rut: “Espera con paciencia, hija mía, hasta que sepas cómo se resuelve todo. Booz no descansará hasta tenerlo resuelto hoy”.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Following Naomi's advice, Ruth approaches Boaz at the threshing floor at night, asking him to act as kinsman-redeemer. Boaz accepts with honor but reveals that there is another relative with a prior right.

Explanation

The custom described here, though strange to modern eyes, followed a recognized social protocol: uncovering the feet of someone who is sleeping and lying down there was a formal, non-sexual request for marital protection, tied to the family redemption law (goel) described in Leviticus 25. Boaz praises Ruth for not having 'followed young men, whether poor or rich,' recognizing that her proposal was motivated by loyalty to Naomi's family, not personal interest or immediate romantic attraction. Boaz's honesty in mentioning the closer relative, even though it could cost him the chance to marry Ruth, shows integrity that rigorously follows legal procedure, even when it does not favor his own desires.

Fun facts

  • The role of 'kinsman-redeemer' (goel, in Hebrew) included the responsibility of buying back land sold by poor relatives and marrying widows without sons to preserve the family line, according to Leviticus 25 and Deuteronomy 25:5-10.
  • The six measures of barley Boaz gave Ruth (v.15) likely represented a symbolic sign of commitment, linked to the number six as incomplete, awaiting the final resolution of the legal process the next day.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Rut 3:1Naomi decides to act to secure Ruth’s future, looking for a way for her to find security and a new home through marriage.
  2. Rut 3:2Naomi points out that Boaz is a family relative and that that night he would be working at the threshing floor, winnowing barley — a social and productive event of the time.
  3. Rut 3:3Naomi tells Ruth to wash, perfume herself, and put on her best clothes before going down to the threshing floor, not as crude seduction but as a formal gesture from someone about to present a marriage request to a kinsman-redeemer, within a custom the text explains right afterward.
  4. Rut 3:4Uncovering Boaz’s feet is a gesture within the custom of levirate marriage: Ruth does this while he sleeps and lies down there, signaling a request, not a sexual advance, for him to take on the role of redeemer and make her his wife. The text handles the scene with discretion, without detailing anything more than that.
  5. Rut 3:5Ruth agrees to follow her mother-in-law’s instructions exactly, even though it is an unusual and risky plan.
  6. Rut 3:6Ruth goes down to the threshing floor and does everything just as Naomi had instructed.
  7. Rut 3:7After Boaz eats, drinks, and is well satisfied, he lies down to sleep near the pile of grain; Ruth approaches quietly and does what had been agreed.
  8. Rut 3:8In the middle of the night, Boaz wakes up startled to find a woman lying at his feet.
  9. Rut 3:9Asking Boaz to spread his skirt over her is Ruth’s direct way of asking to be taken as his wife, using the image of a cloak that covers and protects. It is a formal marriage proposal, within the role of redeemer that Naomi had already recognized in him.
  10. Rut 3:10Boaz responds with respect, praising Ruth for not having gone after a younger man, whether rich or poor, and recognizing this as an even greater act of loyalty than caring for Naomi.
  11. Rut 3:11He assures her he will grant her request, since the whole town knows that Ruth is a woman of respectable character.
  12. Rut 3:12Boaz reveals that there is a relative even closer than himself, with the legal right of first refusal to redeem the land and marry Ruth. He does not ignore this rule, even though he is already willing to marry her, and promises to settle the matter the next day before the elders.
  13. Rut 3:13Boaz asks Ruth to stay there until morning, promising to settle the matter of redemption: if the closer relative does not want to take on the responsibility, he himself will do it.
  14. Rut 3:14Ruth leaves the threshing floor before daybreak, and Boaz makes sure no one knows a woman had been there during the night. It is a detail that protects her reputation, since this custom, though formal, could still be misread by the neighbors.
  15. Rut 3:15Before she leaves, Boaz fills her shawl with six measures of barley, a generous gift to take back to Naomi.
  16. Rut 3:16Ruth returns home, and Naomi asks how everything went; Ruth tells her in detail what Boaz did.
  17. Rut 3:17Ruth explains that Boaz did not want her to go back to her mother-in-law empty-handed, and that is why he gave her the barley.
  18. Rut 3:18Naomi advises Ruth to be patient, trusting that Boaz will settle the matter that very same day, without delay.

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