✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Rute 3

BLIVRE · Chapter 3/4

1E disse-lhe sua sogra Noemi: Filha minha, não tenho de buscar descanso a ti, para que fiques bem?

2Não é Boaz nosso parente, com cujas moças tu tens estado? Eis que ele aventa esta noite a os grãos de cevada.

3Tu te lavarás, pois, e te ungirás, e vestindo-te tuas vestes, passarás à eira; mas não te darás a conhecer ao homem até que ele tenha acabado de comer e de beber.

4E quando ele se deitar, repara tu o lugar de onde ele se deitará, e irás, e descobrirás os pés, e te deitarás ali; e ele te dirá o que tenhas de fazer.

5E lhe respondeu: Farei tudo o que tu me mandares.

6Desceu, pois à eira, e fez tudo o que sua sogra lhe havia mandado.

7E quando Boaz havia comido e bebido, e seu coração esteve contente, retirou-se para dormir a um lado do amontoado. Então ela veio caladamente, e revelou os pés, e deitou-se.

8E aconteceu, que à meia noite se estremeceu aquele homem, e apalpou: e eis que, a mulher que estava deitada a seus pés.

9Então ele disse: Quem és? E ela respondeu: Eu sou Rute tua serva: estende a borda de tua capa sobre tua serva, porquanto és parente próximo.

10E ele disse: Bendita sejas tu do SENHOR, filha minha; que fizeste melhor tua última bondade que a primeira, não indo atrás dos rapazes, sejam pobres ou ricos.

11Agora, pois, não temas, filha minha: eu farei contigo o que tu disseres, pois que toda a porta de meu povo sabe que és mulher virtuosa.

12E agora, ainda que seja certo que eu sou parente próximo, contudo isso há parente mais próximo que eu.

13Repousa esta noite, e quando for de dia, se ele te redimir, bem, redima-te; mas se ele não te quiser redimir, eu te redimirei, vive o SENHOR. Descansa, pois, até a manhã.

14E depois que repousou a seus pés até a manhã, levantou-se, antes que ninguém pudesse conhecer a outro. E ele disse: Não se saiba que tenha vindo mulher à eira.

15Depois lhe disse: Aproxima o lenço que trazes sobre ti, e segura-o. E enquanto ela o segurava, ele mediu seis medidas de cevada, e as pôs às costas: e veio ela à cidade.

16Assim que veio à sua sogra, esta lhe disse: Que houve, minha filha? E ela lhe declarou ela tudo o que com aquele homem lhe havia acontecido.

17E disse: Estas seis medidas de cevada me deu, dizendo-me: Porque não vás vazia à tua sogra.

18Então Noemi disse: Repousa, filha minha, até que saibas como a coisa se sucede; porque aquele homem não parará até que hoje conclua o negócio.

📖 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 3:5Ruth agrees to follow her mother-in-law’s instructions exactly, even though it is an unusual and risky plan.
  6. Rute 3:6Ruth goes down to the threshing floor and does everything just as Naomi had instructed.
  7. Rute 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. Rute 3:8In the middle of the night, Boaz wakes up startled to find a woman lying at his feet.
  9. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 3:11He assures her he will grant her request, since the whole town knows that Ruth is a woman of respectable character.
  12. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 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. Rute 3:15Before she leaves, Boaz fills her shawl with six measures of barley, a generous gift to take back to Naomi.
  16. Rute 3:16Ruth returns home, and Naomi asks how everything went; Ruth tells her in detail what Boaz did.
  17. Rute 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. Rute 3:18Naomi advises Ruth to be patient, trusting that Boaz will settle the matter that very same day, without delay.

Chapters

1234

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play