Ruth 3:1

1 And she lodged with her mother-in-law: and Noemin her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

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 And she lodged with her mother-in-law: and Noemin her mother-in-law said to her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

2 And now not Booz our kinsman, with whose damsels thou wast? behold, he winnows barley this night in the floor.

3 But do thou wash, and anoint thyself, and put thy raiment upon thee, and go up to the threshing-floor: do not discover thyself to the man until he has done eating and drinking.

4 And it shall come to pass when he lies down, that thou shalt mark the place where he lies down, and shalt come and lift up the covering of his feet, and shalt lie down; and he shall tell thee what thou shalt do.

5 And Ruth said to her, All that thou shalt say, I will do.