Ruth 2:11

11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shown me, all that thou hast done unto thy chamot since the mot (death) of thine ish; and how thou hast left thy av and thy em, and the eretz moledet, and art come unto an Am (people) which thou knewest not heretofore.

Ruth 2:11 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 2:11

And Boaz answered and said unto her
Alshech thinks, that he lift up his voice that all that stood by might hear:

it hath fully been showed me;
either by Naomi, or rather by some persons of Boaz's Naomi and reacquaintance, that had conversed with Naomi and related to Boaz what passed between them, by which he was fully informed of the following things mentioned by him; though the above writer supposes, that it was showed him by the Holy Ghost:

all that thou hast done to thy mother in law since the death of thine
husband;
how that, instead of going home to her father and mother, she continued with her; how tenderly she used her; what strong expressions of love she had made unto her; what care she had taken of her, and how she had fed and nourished her, as the Targum, and now was gleaning for her support, as well as her own:

and how thou hast left thy father and mother;
in a literal sense, to go along with her mother-in-law, to assist her in her journey, and see her safe to the end of it: and in a figurative sense her idol gods, as in ( Jeremiah 2:27 ) so the Midrash F25:

and the land of thy nativity;
the land of Moab, where she was born, and where her kindred, relations, and friends lived, dear and engaging to her:

and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore;
but by hearsay, and what she learned of them from her husband and mother-in-law, even the people of Israel; to whom she was come to be a proselyte, and dwell among them, as the Targum.


FOOTNOTES:

F25 Midrash Ruth, fol. 32. 3.

Ruth 2:11 In-Context

9 Let thine eyes be on the sadeh that they do reap, and go thou after them; have I not charged the ne’arim that they shall not touch thee? And when thou art athirst, go unto the kelim (vessels), and drink of that which the ne’arim have drawn.
10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found chen (favor, grace) in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a nokhriyah (foreigner, alien)?
11 And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been shown me, all that thou hast done unto thy chamot since the mot (death) of thine ish; and how thou hast left thy av and thy em, and the eretz moledet, and art come unto an Am (people) which thou knewest not heretofore.
12 Hashem recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of Hashem Elohei Yisroel, under Whose wings thou art come to seek refuge.
13 Then she said, Let me find chen (favor, grace) in thy sight, adoni; for that thou hast brought nachamah (comfort) to me, and for that thou hast spoken to the lev of thine shifcha, though I be not like unto one of thine shfakhot.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.