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Ruth 2

Ruth finds food and protection in Boaz’s field, where his care reflects the refuge she has sought under God’s wings.

Ruth goes out to gather grain for herself and Naomi and happens upon the field of Boaz, a wealthy relative of Naomi’s late husband. Boaz has heard how Ruth cared for Naomi and left her homeland. He protects her from harm and makes sure she has food and grain to take home. When Naomi hears whose field Ruth found, she recognizes a close relative. Ruth keeps gleaning there through the barley and wheat harvests.

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1Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz.
2Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Let me now go to the field, and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I find favor.” She said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
3She went, and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech.
4Behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, “May the LORD be with you.” They answered him, “May the LORD bless you.”
6The servant who was set over the reapers answered, “It is the Moabite lady who came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab.
7She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ So she came, and has continued even from the morning until now, except that she rested a little in the house.”
8Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen, my daughter. Don’t go to glean in another field, and don’t go from here, but stay here close to my maidens.
9Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them. Haven’t I commanded the young men not to touch you? When you are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink from that which the young men have drawn.”
10Then she fell on her face and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, since I am a foreigner?”
11Boaz answered her, “I have been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father, your mother, and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you didn’t know before.
12May the LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
13Then she said, “Let me find favor in your sight, my lord, because you have comforted me, and because you have spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not as one of your servants.”
14At meal time Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat some bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar.” She sat beside the reapers, and they passed her parched grain. She ate, was satisfied, and left some of it.
16Also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it. Let her glean, and don’t rebuke her.”
17So she gleaned in the field until evening; and she beat out that which she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
18She took it up, and went into the city. Then her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought out and gave to her that which she had left after she had enough.
19Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? Where have you worked? Blessed be he who noticed you.” She told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
20Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not abandoned his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Naomi said to her, “The man is a close relative to us, one of our near kinsmen.”
21Ruth the Moabitess said, “Yes, he said to me, ‘You shall stay close to my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’”
22Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, and that they not harm you in any other field.”
23So she stayed close to the maidens of Boaz, to glean to the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and she lived with her mother-in-law.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Ruth 2:12Boaz names YHWH as Ruth’s refuge, placing her costly loyalty to Naomi within her trust in Israel’s God.
Ruth 2:4The blessing exchanged between Boaz and his reapers introduces a household whose treatment of Ruth will give substance to its words.
Ruth 2:20Naomi’s blessing connects the day’s provision with enduring kindness and reveals Boaz’s place within their family.
Where this chapter reaches

Psalm and Matthew share Ruth’s image of shelter beneath wings, expressing protection through the picture of a bird gathering or covering its young. Proverbs shares the concern for generous treatment of the poor that Boaz puts into practice through food, protection, and access to grain.

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After reading the whole chapter

Which detail of Boaz’s care most changes Ruth’s experience as a foreigner in the field?

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How does Ruth’s day of gleaning shape your understanding of taking refuge under God’s wings?

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Questions people ask about Ruth 2

What does gleaning mean in Ruth 2?

Gleaning means gathering grain left behind by the harvest workers. Ruth follows the reapers and gathers enough barley to bring home to Naomi. Boaz increases what she can collect by allowing her among the sheaves and telling his workers to pull grain from their bundles for her.

What does taking refuge under God’s wings mean in Ruth 2:12?

The image pictures God’s protection as shelter beneath a bird’s wings. Boaz uses it when speaking of Ruth’s move from her homeland to an unfamiliar people and her care for Naomi. His prayer asks YHWH, the God of Israel, to reward the woman who has sought refuge in him.

Whose kindness does Naomi mean in Ruth 2:20?

The wording can refer to YHWH’s kindness or to Boaz’s kindness, and interpreters differ over the connection. Naomi blesses Boaz in YHWH’s name after hearing about his care for Ruth. She then identifies him as a close relative, linking the day’s help with the family’s living and dead.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).