Ruth 2:3

3 So Ruth went out to the fields and walked behind the workers, picking up the heads of grain which they left. It so happened that she was in a field that belonged to Boaz.

Ruth 2:3 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 2:3

And she went, and came
That is, she went out of the house where she was, and out of the city, and came into the field; though, according to the Midrash ^F16, she marked the ways as she went, before she entered into the field, and then came back to the city to observe the marks and signs she made, that she might not mistake the way, and might know how to come back again:

and gleaned in the field after the reapers;
when they had cut down and bound up the corn, what fell and was left she picked up, having first asked leave so to do:

and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz,
who was of the kindred of Elimelech;
the providence of God so ordering and directing it; for though it was hap and chance to her, and what some people call good luck, it was according to the purpose, and by the providence and direction of God that she came to the reapers in that part of the field Boaz, a near kinsman of her father-in-law, was owner of, and asked leave of them to glean and follow them.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Midrash Ruth, fol. 31. 4. Vid. Jarchi & Alshech in loc.

Ruth 2:3 In-Context

1 Naomi had a relative named Boaz, a rich and influential man who belonged to the family of her husband Elimelech.

2 One day Ruth said to Naomi, "Let me go to the fields to gather the grain that the harvest workers leave. I am sure to find someone who will let me work with him." Naomi answered, "Go ahead, daughter."

3 So Ruth went out to the fields and walked behind the workers, picking up the heads of grain which they left. It so happened that she was in a field that belonged to Boaz.

4 Some time later Boaz himself arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the workers. "The Lord be with you!" he said. "The Lord bless you!" they answered.

5 Boaz asked the man in charge, "Who is that young woman?"