Ruth 3:16

16 Ruth came to her mother-in-law. Naomi asked, "How did it go, my daughter?" Then Ruth told her everything Boaz had done for her.

Ruth 3:16 Meaning and Commentary

Ruth 3:16

And when she came to her mother in law
To Naomi, in Bethlehem:

she said, who art thou, my daughter?
it being near dusk, she could not discern her, or perhaps she put the question before she opened the door and saw her; though one would think, if Ruth had called to her, she would have known her voice: rather therefore the particle may be rendered, "what" or "how" ^F3, instead of "who"; and the sense be, what had befallen her? what success had she had? how had things gone with her? was she married or not? or rather, had she got a promise of it? or was it likely that she should be married? with which the answer agrees:

and she told her all that the man had done to her;
what kindness he had shown her, what promises he had made to her, that either he, or a nearer kinsman, would marry her, and redeem her husband's estate.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 (ta ym) "quid egisti?" V. L. "quid tibi?" Tigurine version; so R. Jonah in Aben Ezra, & Abendana in loc. "quomodo tu filia mea?" Nold. p. 602. No. 1626.

Ruth 3:16 In-Context

14 So she stayed at his feet until morning. But she got up before anyone could be recognized. Boaz thought, "No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor."

15 He said to Ruth, "Bring me the coat you have around you. Hold it out." So she did. He poured more than fifty pounds of barley into it and helped her pick it up. Then he went back to town.

16 Ruth came to her mother-in-law. Naomi asked, "How did it go, my daughter?" Then Ruth told her everything Boaz had done for her.

17 She said, "He gave me all of this barley. He said, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law with your hands empty.' "

18 Naomi said, "My daughter, sit down until you find out what happens. The man won't rest until he settles the whole matter today."