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Rute 2

BLIVRE · Chapter 2/4

1E tinha Noemi um parente de seu marido, homem poderoso e rico, da família de Elimeleque, o qual se chamava Boaz.

2E Rute a moabita disse a Noemi: Rogo-te que me deixes ir ao campo, e colherei espigas atrás daquele a cujos olhos achar favor. E ela lhe respondeu: Vai, filha minha.

3Foi, pois, e chegando, tirou espigas no campo atrás dos ceifeiros: e aconteceu porventura, que o terreno era de Boaz, o qual era da parentela de Elimeleque.

4E eis que Boaz veio de Belém, e disse aos ceifeiros: O SENHOR seja convosco. E eles responderam: O SENHOR te abençoe.

5E Boaz disse a seu criado o supervisor dos ceifeiros: De quem é esta moça?

6E o criado, supervisor dos ceifeiros, respondeu e disse: É a moça de Moabe, que voltou com Noemi dos campos de Moabe;

7E disse: Rogo-te que me deixes colher e juntar atrás dos ceifeiros entre os feixes; entrou, pois, e está desde pela manhã até agora, menos um pouco que se deteve em casa.

8Então Boaz disse á Rute: Ouve, filha minha, não vás a tirar espigas em outro campo, nem passes daqui: e aqui estarás com minhas moças.

9Olha bem o campo que colherem, e segue-as: porque eu mandei aos moços que não te toquem. E se tiveres sede, vai aos vasos, e bebe da água que os moços tirarem.

10Ela então baixando seu rosto inclinou-se à terra, e disse-lhe: Por que achei favor em teus olhos para que tu me reconheças, sendo eu estrangeira?

11E respondendo Boaz, disse-lhe: Por certo se me declarou tudo o que fizeste com tua sogra depois da morte de teu marido, e que deixando teu pai e tua mãe e a terra de onde nasceste, vieste a um povo que não conheceste antes.

12O SENHOR recompense tua obra, e tua remuneração seja cheia pelo SENHOR Deus de Israel, que vieste para cobrir-te debaixo de suas asas.

13E ela disse: Senhor meu, ache eu favor diante de teus olhos; porque me consolaste, e porque falaste ao coração de tua serva, não sendo eu como uma de tuas criadas.

14E Boaz lhe disse à hora de comer: Achega-te aqui, e come do pão, e molha teu bocado no vinagre. E sentou-se ela junto aos ceifeiros, e ele lhe deu grãos tostados, e comeu até que se fartou e lhe sobrou.

15Levantou-se logo para tirar espigas. E Boaz mandou a seus criados, dizendo: Colha também espigas entre os feixes, e não a envergonheis;

16Antes lançareis de propósito dos feixes, e a deixareis que colha, e não a repreendais.

17E tirou espigas no campo até à tarde, e debulhou o que havia colhido, e foi como um efa de cevada.

18E tomou-o, e veio à cidade; e sua sogra viu o que havia colhido. Tirou também logo o que lhe havia sobrado depois de farta, e deu-lhe.

19E disse-lhe sua sogra: Onde tiraste espigas hoje? e onde trabalhaste? Bendito seja o que te reconheceu. E ela declarou à sua sogra o que lhe havia acontecido com aquele, e disse: O nome do homem com quem hoje trabalhei é Boaz.

20E disse Noemi à sua nora: Seja ele bendito do SENHOR, pois que não recusou aos vivos a benevolência que teve para com os finados. Disse-lhe depois Noemi: Nosso parente é aquele homem, e de nossos remidores é.

21E Rute moabita disse: a mais disto me disse: Junta-te com meus criados, até que tenham acabado toda minha colheita.

22E Noemi respondeu a Rute sua nora: Melhor é, filha minha, que saias com suas criadas, que não que te encontrem em outro campo.

23Esteve, pois, junto com as moças de Boaz tirando espigas, até que a colheita das cevadas e a dos trigos foi acabada; mas com sua sogra habitou.

📖 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 2:5Boaz notices Ruth and asks his foreman whose young woman this is.
  6. Rute 2:6The foreman explains that she is the Moabite woman who came back with Naomi, information that already marks Ruth as a foreigner.
  7. Rute 2:7The foreman reports that Ruth asked permission to glean behind the reapers and that she has worked without stopping since early morning.
  8. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 2:13Ruth thanks Boaz, saying his words comforted her, even though she does not have the same status as his own servant women.
  14. Rute 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. Rute 2:15After the meal, Boaz instructs his workers to let Ruth glean even among the bundled sheaves, something out of the ordinary.
  16. Rute 2:16He goes further still, telling them to deliberately drop handfuls of grain for her to gather, without rebuking her for it.
  17. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 2:21Ruth also reports that Boaz allowed her to stay close by his workers until the whole harvest was finished.
  22. Rute 2:22Naomi approves of the idea, advising Ruth to indeed stay only in Boaz’s field, to avoid trouble anywhere else.
  23. Rute 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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