Ruth 3:1

Ruth and Boaz at the Threshing Floor

1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek ¹rest for you, that it may be well with 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 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?

2 Is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.

3 Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.

4 But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do."

5 And she replied, "All that you say I will do."

Cross References

• 1. Ruth 1:9