Ruth 3:16

16 And she cometh in unto her mother-in-law, and she saith, `Who [art] thou, my daughter?' and she declareth to her all that the man hath done to 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 And she lieth down at his feet till the morning, and riseth before one doth discern another; and he saith, `Let it not be known that the woman hath come into the floor.'

15 And he saith, `Give the covering which [is] on thee, and keep hold on it;' and she keepeth hold on it, and he measureth six [measures] of barley, and layeth [it] on her; and he goeth into the city.

16 And she cometh in unto her mother-in-law, and she saith, `Who [art] thou, my daughter?' and she declareth to her all that the man hath done to her.

17 And she saith, `These six [measures] of barley he hath given to me, for he said, Thou dost not go in empty unto thy mother-in-law.'

18 And she saith, `Sit still, my daughter, till thou dost know how the matter falleth, for the man doth not rest except he hath completed the matter to-day.'