RUTH 3:10-11

                  House of Bread--left half (collage in bread mold, 2000)

I must admit that for many years I misunderstood this passage and certainly missed some of the echoes of it found elsewhere in the Bible.

Ruth 3:10a

When Boaz realizes that Ruth is the woman is lying at his feet, he says, “May you be blessed by the LORD.” This is quite similar to the comment made to Mary years later: “Blessed are you among women.” (Luke 1:42)

Ruth 3:10b

The next part of this verse confused me the most. On the surface it appeared that Boaz was very flattered that Ruth had chosen him when she could have had her pick of the many younger men around her. But if that was the proper interpretation of his words, then what was the earlier favor he was talking about? The fact that she had chosen his particular field in which to pick grain? It didn't seem to quite make sense. So I read a variety of English translations to see if they could help.

The NRSV reads: “This last instance of your loyalty is better than the first.” In place of “instance,” NEB substitutes “proof,” while JB, RSV and NIV translate “instance of your loyalty” as “act of kindness.”

Ruth 3:10c

And capping it all off is the final mention of all the young men she could have had instead. Some translations tie 10b with 10c together strongly through the use of paraphrase. Thus we read:

“What a splendid expression of love! And when you could have had your pick of any of the young men around.” (The Message)

“You are showing even greater family loyalty in what you are doing now than in what you did for your mother-in-law.” (TEV)

“You have made your latter hesed ['loving-kindness'] better than the former in not going after the younger men.” (AB)

“You are being even kinder to Naomi now than before. Naturally you'd prefer a younger man, even though poor. But you have put aside your personal desires [so that you can give Naomi an heir by marrying me].” (Living Bible)

Note that not one of these versions supports my earlier supposition that Boaz is flattered Ruth has chosen an older man such as himself among all the other men she could have had. So I turned next to commentators, but they also seemed to confirm that I was way off- base in my interpretation or they didn't bother to explain what Boaz' words meant at all. For example, The Jerusalem Bible note to this verse reads: “This act of filial piety, of 'kindness', on Ruth's part consists in wishing to provide a legal descendant for Elimelech...”

By this time, I was ready to admit that the majority opinion must be correct and I was totally mistaken. However, my faith in my first interpretation was somewhat vindicated by the following comments:

J. Grey echoes the above interpretations but still states: “In addition, Boaz, probably no longer young, may have been personally flattered by Ruth's trust.”

And Hubbard says, “Far from being offended by her forwardness, he [i.e. Boaz] seemed both flattered and inwardly pleased by it.”

Ruth 3:11

Here we read that Boaz next tells Ruth (a) not to fear, (b) he will do as she requests, and (c) “all the townsmen know you are a woman of worth [or a virtuous woman].” We see here several echoes tying this incident with other stories in the Bible. For one thing, the angel Gabriel says the same thing (i.e. “fear not”) when telling Mary that she will have a Son (see Luke 1:30). And in that same NT passage, Mary submits to God's will by calling herself “the handmaid of the Lord” (Luke 1:37) in the same manner that Ruth calls herself the “maidservant” of Boaz in Ruth 3:9.

There is even the interesting fact that in the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Ruth comes directly after Proverbs 31:10-31, a passage which begins with a description of the “virtuous / noble woman” just as Ruth is described with the same Hebrew word in 3:11.

And then turning to the last verse in the poem in Proverbs, we read “Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her words praise her in the gates.” We again see echoes this verse in the Book of Ruth. Namely, before Boaz dismisses Ruth, he gives her a large amount of grain to take home to Naomi, grain for which she had been toiling in the fields earlier. And lastly, the city gates are the very scene of action for the final chapter of Ruth where Boaz transacts the marriage plans in the presence of the elders of the town, the very same group of men whom Boaz declares in Ruth 3:11 know her to be a virtuous woman.