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The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:12
And now it is the case of a truth that while I am a kinsman, there is yet a kinsman nearer than I. Or the rendering might with greater brevity be given thus: And now of a truth I am a kinsman; and yet there is a kinsman…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:12
A woman's influence. In all history woman has held a place of regal influence. Not by intruding on the sphere of man, not by acting as if there were no Divine providence in the more delicate physical constitution of wom…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:12
Note the highly honorable character of Boaz. There was one nearer in kinship to Ruth than himself. This person, therefore, must receive the first offer. Had the case come before Boaz as simply one of personal affection,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:13
Boaz's mind still runs on the lines of a kinsman's duty. There was hence something that might be thrust in between the desires of his heart and the object toward whom they trembled.
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:13
Abide here tonight; and it shall come to pass in the morning, if he will act to thee the part of a kinsman, well; he shall act the kinsman's part: and if it please him not to act to thee the kinsman's part, then sure as…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:14
Boaz was desirous to guard the fair name and fame of Ruth, as well as to keep untarnished his own unsullied reputation.
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:14
And she lay at the place of his feet until morning: and she arose ere yet a man could distinguish his neighbor. In the original it is "the places of his feet" (see Ruth 3:4). Time would rapidly fly past. Sleep there wou…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:15
And he said, Allow me the wrapper which is upon thee, and hold on by it; and she held on by it; and he measured six measures of barley; and he put it on her, and went to the city. The expression "Allow me," literally, "…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:15
He wished that Naomi might have some tangible evidence of his satisfaction.
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:15-17
Generosity. Boaz was "a mighty man of wealth," and Naomi and Ruth were poor, widowed, friendless, and comparatively strangers. All through the narrative Boaz appears as thoughtful, liberal, unselfish, honorable, munific…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:16
And she went to her mother-in-law. And she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she narrated to her all that the man had done to her. The question, "Who art thou, my daughter?" is not put by Naomi, as Drusius supposes,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:16
The question Who art thou? sprang from Naomi's hope that the entire scheme would issue in success.
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:17
The present was, in one point of view, inconsiderable; but, in another point of view, it was a most suitable gift from one who desired indeed to show sympathy, gratitude, and kindness, but who did not wish, at that stag…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:17
And she said, These six measures of barley he gave to me; for he said, Thou must not go empty to thy mother-in-law. The C'tib omission of "to me" after "for he said" is most likely to be the original reading. A fastidio…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:18
Sit still! Naomi showed in her whole conduct not only tender feeling and sympathy, and sincere piety, but much shrewdness, foresight, tact, and knowledge of human nature. When there was anything for Ruth to do she was f…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:18
And she said, Sit still, my daughter, till that thou know how the affair will fall out, for the man will not rest unless he complete the affair today. In saying, Sit still, my daughter, it is as if Naomi had said, "Ther…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 3:18
Naomi, as it were, said to Ruth and to her own heart, Peace, peace. All will be well. All is well. The hand of the Almighty is dealing "sweetly," not "bitterly," with all the parties concerned. HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 4:1-12
The bridal of Boaz and Ruth. I. THERE WERE SOME OBSTACLES IN THE WAY. There were none, indeed, in Boaz's heart; it was full of pure esteem and love for Ruth. There were none in his financial circumstances; he was able t…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 4:1-22
EXPOSITION
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 4:1
And Boaz went up, to the gate, and sat there. He "went up," for the city stood, as it still stands, on a ridge (see on Ruth 1:1; Ruth 3:6). "And sat there," on one of the stones, or stone benches, that were set for the…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 4:2
And he took ten men of the elderly inhabitants of the city, and he said, Sit ye here; and they sat down. Boaz wished to have a full complement of witnesses to the important transaction which he contemplated.
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 4:3
And he said to the kinsman, Naomi, who has returned from the land of Moab, has resolved to sell the portion of land which belonged to our brother Elimelech. Boaz, it is evident, had talked over with Ruth the entire deta…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 4:3-8
The goel. Every nation has its own domestic and social usages. Among those prevalent in Israel was the relationship of the goel. He was the redeemer, or the next kinsman of one deceased, whose duty it was to purchase an…
The Pulpit Commentary on Ruth 4:4
And I said (to myself). There is little likelihood in the opinion of those who maintain, with Rosenmüller, that the expression, "I said," refers to a promise which Boaz had made to Ruth (see Ruth 3:13). It is a primitiv…