Ruth 2:5

5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman 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 out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.

4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you! ” And they answered, “The Lord bless you. ”

5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this? ”

6 And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.

7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers. ’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest. ”