Ruth 2:5

5 Then Bo'az said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose maiden is this?"

Ruth 2:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 2:5

Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers,
&c.] To direct them their work, what part each was to do, and to see that they did it well; to take care for provisions for them, and to pay them their wages when their work was done. Josephus ^F20 calls him (agrokomov) , that had the care of the field, and all things relative to it; the Jews ^F21 say, he was set over two and forty persons, whom he had the command of:

whose damsel is this?
to whom does she belong? of what family is she? whose daughter is she? or whose wife? for he thought, as Aben Ezra notes, that she was another man's wife; the Targum is, of what nation is she? perhaps her dress might be somewhat different from that of the Israelitish women.

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FOOTNOTES:

F20 Antiqu. l. 5. c. 9. sect. 2.
F21 Midrash Ruth, fol. 32. 1.

Ruth 2:5 In-Context

3 So she set forth and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Bo'az, who was of the family of Elim'elech.

4 And behold, Bo'az came from Bethlehem; and he said to the reapers, "The LORD be with you!" And they answered, "The LORD bless you."

5 Then Bo'az said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose maiden is this?"

6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, "It is the Moabite maiden, who came back with Na'omi from the country of Moab.

7 She said, 'Pray, let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.' So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, without resting even for a moment."