Ruth 3:1

1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said unto 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 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said unto her, "My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?

2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley tonight at the threshing floor.

3 Wash thyself therefore and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor; but make not thyself known unto the man until he shall have done eating and drinking.

4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie; and thou shalt go in and uncover his feet, and lay thee down, and he will tell thee what thou shalt do."

5 And she said unto her, "All that thou sayest unto me I will do."