Ruth 2:11

11 Bo'az answered her, "I've heard the whole story, everything you've done for your mother-in-law since your husband died, including how you left your father and mother and the land you were born in to come to a people about whom you knew nothing beforehand.

Ruth 2:11 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 2:11

And Boaz answered and said unto her
Alshech thinks, that he lift up his voice that all that stood by might hear:

it hath fully been showed me;
either by Naomi, or rather by some persons of Boaz's Naomi and reacquaintance, that had conversed with Naomi and related to Boaz what passed between them, by which he was fully informed of the following things mentioned by him; though the above writer supposes, that it was showed him by the Holy Ghost:

all that thou hast done to thy mother in law since the death of thine
husband;
how that, instead of going home to her father and mother, she continued with her; how tenderly she used her; what strong expressions of love she had made unto her; what care she had taken of her, and how she had fed and nourished her, as the Targum, and now was gleaning for her support, as well as her own:

and how thou hast left thy father and mother;
in a literal sense, to go along with her mother-in-law, to assist her in her journey, and see her safe to the end of it: and in a figurative sense her idol gods, as in ( Jeremiah 2:27 ) so the Midrash F25:

and the land of thy nativity;
the land of Moab, where she was born, and where her kindred, relations, and friends lived, dear and engaging to her:

and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore;
but by hearsay, and what she learned of them from her husband and mother-in-law, even the people of Israel; to whom she was come to be a proselyte, and dwell among them, as the Targum.


FOOTNOTES:

F25 Midrash Ruth, fol. 32. 3.

Ruth 2:11 In-Context

9 Keep your eyes on whichever field the reapers are working in, and follow the girls. I've ordered the young men not to bother you. Whenever you get thirsty, go and drink from the water jars the young men have filled."
10 She fell on her face, prostrating herself, and said to him, "Why are you showing me such favor? Why are you paying attention to me? After all, I'm only a foreigner."
11 Bo'az answered her, "I've heard the whole story, everything you've done for your mother-in-law since your husband died, including how you left your father and mother and the land you were born in to come to a people about whom you knew nothing beforehand.
12 May ADONAI reward you for what you've done; may you be rewarded in full by ADONAI the God of Isra'el, under whose wings you have come for refuge."
13 She said, "My lord, I hope I continue pleasing you. You have comforted and encouraged me, even though I'm not one of your servants."
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.