Ruth 3:1

Encounter at the threshing floor

1 Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shouldn't I seek security for you, so that things might go well for you?

Ruth 3:1 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 3:1

Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her
After the harvests were over, and so gleaning likewise; when Naomi and Ruth were together alone in their apartment, the mother addressed the daughter after this manner:

my daughter, shall I not seek for thee, that it may be well with thee?
that is, in the house of an husband, as in ( Ruth 1:9 ) her meaning is, to seek out for an husband for her, that she might have an house of her own to rest in, and an husband to provide her; that so she might be free from such toil and labour she had been lately exercised in, and enjoy much ease and comfort, and all outward happiness and prosperity in a marriage state with a good husband. This interrogation carries in it the force of a strong affirmation, may suggest that she judged it to be her duty, and that she was determined to seek out such a rest for her; and the Targum makes her way of speaking stronger still, for that is,

``by an oath I will not rest, until the time that I have sought a rest for thee.''

Ruth 3:1 In-Context

1 Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shouldn't I seek security for you, so that things might go well for you?

2 Now isn't Boaz, whose young women you were with, our relative? Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor.

3 You should bathe, put on some perfume, wear nice clothes, and then go down to the threshing floor. Don't make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

4 When he lies down, notice the place where he is lying. Then go, uncover his feet, and lie down. And he will tell you what to do."

5 Ruth replied to her, "I'll do everything you are telling me."