Ruth 3:8

8 And it happened in the middle of the night the man was startled and he reached out and behold, a woman [was] lying at his feet.

Ruth 3:8 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 3:8

And it came to pass at midnight
So long Boaz slept without knowledge of any person being at his feet, and so long Ruth had lain there; but awaking, and perceiving something at his feet, which pressed them, it made him look about and feel, and so affected him,

that the man was afraid;
though a man, and a man of spirit, he was afraid, a panic seized him, not knowing but it might be a spectre, a spirit, or a demon, as Jarchi; and such an instance we have in history

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FOOTNOTES:

F19 of an apparition, which seemed to put off clothes, and place itself in a bed where a man lay

and turned himself;
to see who it was:

and, behold, a woman lay at his feet;
which he knew by putting his hand upon her head, as Jarchi thinks, and so knew her by her headdress, or vail; or rather by her voice, as Aben Ezra, and who supposes the moon might shine, and he might be able to discern she had no beard, as well as also discover her by her clothes.

F19 Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 2. c. 9.

Ruth 3:8 In-Context

6 And she went down to the threshing floor and did all that her mother-in-law had instructed her.

7 And Boaz ate and drank [until] his heart was {merry} [and then] he came to lie at the end of the grain heap. And she came in quietly and {uncovered} his feet and lay down.

8 And it happened in the middle of the night the man was startled and he reached out and behold, a woman [was] lying at his feet.

9 And he said, "Who [are] you?" And she said, "I [am] Ruth, your servant. Spread {your garment} over your servant because you [are] a redeemer."

10 And he said, "You [are] blessed by Yahweh my daughter. You did better [in this] last kindness than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich.