Ruth 3:16

16 And she came to her mother-in-law, and she said, "{How did it go for you,} my daughter?" And she told her all that the man did for her.

Ruth 3:16 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 3:16

And when she came to her mother in law
To Naomi, in Bethlehem:

she said, who art thou, my daughter?
it being near dusk, she could not discern her, or perhaps she put the question before she opened the door and saw her; though one would think, if Ruth had called to her, she would have known her voice: rather therefore the particle may be rendered, "what" or "how" ^F3, instead of "who"; and the sense be, what had befallen her? what success had she had? how had things gone with her? was she married or not? or rather, had she got a promise of it? or was it likely that she should be married? with which the answer agrees:

and she told her all that the man had done to her;
what kindness he had shown her, what promises he had made to her, that either he, or a nearer kinsman, would marry her, and redeem her husband's estate.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (ta ym) "quid egisti?" V. L. "quid tibi?" Tigurine version; so R. Jonah in Aben Ezra, & Abendana in loc. "quomodo tu filia mea?" Nold. p. 602. No. 1626.

Ruth 3:16 In-Context

14 So she lay at his feet until morning and got up before {anyone could recognize each other}. And he said, "It must not be known that {you} came [to] the threshing floor."

15 And he said, "Bring the cloak that [is] on you and {hold it out}." And she held it out and he measured six [measures of] barley and put it on her [cloak]. Then she went [into] the city.

16 And she came to her mother-in-law, and she said, "{How did it go for you,} my daughter?" And she told her all that the man did for her.

17 And she said, "These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, 'You shall not go empty-handed to your mother-in-law.'"

18 And she said, "Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today."

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "who are you?"