Ruth 3:16

16 When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did you do, my daughter?" Ruth told Naomi everything that Boaz 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.


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 Ruth stayed near his feet until morning but got up while it was still too dark to recognize anyone. Boaz thought, "People in town must not know that the woman came here to the threshing floor."
15 So Boaz said to Ruth, "Bring me your shawl and hold it open." So Ruth held her shawl open, and Boaz poured six portions of barley into it. Boaz then put it on her head and went back to the city.
16 When Ruth went back to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, "How did you do, my daughter?" Ruth told Naomi everything that Boaz did for her.
17 She said, "Boaz gave me these six portions of barley, saying, 'You must not go home without a gift for your mother-in-law.'"
18 Naomi answered, "Ruth, my daughter, wait here until you see what happens. Boaz will not rest until he has finished doing what he should do today."
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.