Ruth 3:2

Verse

Now is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been working, a relative of ours? In fact, tonight he is winnowing barley on the threshing floor.

American Standard Version (1901)

And now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.

Bible in Basic English

And now, is there not Boaz, our relation, with whose young women you were? See, tonight he is separating the grain from the waste in his grain-floor.

Douay-Rheims 1899

This Booz, with whose maids thou wast joined in the field, is our near kinsman, and behold this night he winnoweth barley in the threshingfloor.

Free Bible Version

Don't ignore the fact that Boaz, whose women you worked with, is closely related to us. Now tonight he will be busy winnowing grain on the threshing floor.

Geneva Bible 1599

Now also is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maides thou wast? beholde, he winoweth barly to night in the floore.

King James (Authorized) Version

And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.

Translation for Translators

Boaz, the man with whose servant girls you have been gathering grain, is a close relative of our dead husbands. Listen carefully. Tonight he will be at the ground where the barley has been threshed. He will be separating the barley grain from the chaff.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Now Boaz, the man whose young female workers you have been with, is he not our kinsman? Look, he will be winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.

Noah Webster Bible

And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.

World English Bible

Now isn’t Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he will be winnowing barley tonight on the threshing floor.

Young's Literal Translation

and now, is not Boaz of our acquaintance, with whose young women thou hast been? lo, he is winnowing the threshing-floor of barley to-night,

Context

Ruth’s Redemption Assured

¹One day Ruth’s mother-in-law Naomi said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek a resting place for you, that it may be well with you?²Now is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been working, a relative of ours? In fact, tonight he is winnowing barley on the threshing floor.³Therefore wash yourself, put on perfume, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but do not let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.

Summary

In Ruth 3:2, Naomi advises Ruth to approach Boaz, a close relative, and request his protection as her kinsman-redeemer. This strategic move by Naomi sets the stage for the unfolding of God's providential plan for Ruth and Boaz, ultimately leading to their marriage. The concept of the kinsman-redeemer in this verse foreshadows the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, who is our ultimate Redeemer, willing to redeem and restore us to God through His sacrificial love.

Commentary

Adam Clarke
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

He winnoweth barley tonight - It is very likely that the winnowing of grain was effected by taking up, in a broad thin vessel or sieve, a portion of the corn, and letting it down slowly in the wind; thus the grain would, by its own weight, fall in one place, while the chaff, etc., would be carried to a distance by the wind. It is said here that this was done at night; probably what was threshed out in the day was winnowed in the evening, when the sea breeze set in, which was common in Palestine; and as this took place in the evening only, that was the time in which they would naturally winnow their corn.

John Gill Bible Commentary

And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast?.... He was, and her question supposes and concludes it, and which she observes, that Ruth might take notice of it, and encouragement from it; and the rather, since she had been admitted into the company and conversation of his maidens; and which was more, though not mentioned, into the company and conversation of himself, and whom Ruth knew full well; and who being, Naomi thought, the next nearest kinsman, and obliged by the law in Deu 25:5 to marry Ruth, with which view his relation is mentioned: behold, he winnoweth barley tonight in the threshingfloor; which afforded a fit opportunity of meeting with him, being at night, and out of the city, from his own house, and alone, and after a feast for his reapers and threshers of corn, seems, from Rut 2:7 as it was usual to have threshingfloors in an open place without the city, so to winnow at them, whereby the chaff was more easily separated from the corn, and that, in the evening, when in those countries there were the strongest breezes of wind to carry it off; hence the Targum here has it,"behold, he is winnowing the barley floor with the wind, which is in the night.''For before the invention and use of fans in winnowing, it was only done by the wind carrying off the chaff, as the oxen trod the corn, for it was done in the threshingfloor, as here: hence Hesiod (m) advises that the threshingfloors should be , in a place exposed to wind; and so Varro (n) observes, the floor should be in the higher part of the field, that the wind might blow through it; to this manner of winnowing Virgil (o) has respect. Nor was it unusual for great personages, owners of farms and fields, to attend and overlook such service. Pliny (p) reports, that Sextus Pomponius, father of the praetor and prince of the hither Spain, presided over the winnowing of his reapers; so Gideon, another judge Israel, was found threshing wheat, Jdg 6:11. (m) Opera & Dies, l. 2. ver. 221. (n) De re Rustica, l. 1. c. 41. (o) "Cum graviter tunsis", &c. Georgic. l. 3. Vid. Homer. Iliad 5. ver. 499. & Iliad, 13. ver. 588, &c. (p) Nat. Hist. l. 22. c. 25.

Ruth 3:2

Ruth’s Redemption Assured

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

Now is not Boaz, with whose servant girls you have been working, a relative of ours? In fact, tonight he is winnowing barley on the threshing floor.

American Standard Version (1901)

And now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.

Bible in Basic English

And now, is there not Boaz, our relation, with whose young women you were? See, tonight he is separating the grain from the waste in his grain-floor.

Douay-Rheims 1899

This Booz, with whose maids thou wast joined in the field, is our near kinsman, and behold this night he winnoweth barley in the threshingfloor.

Free Bible Version

Don't ignore the fact that Boaz, whose women you worked with, is closely related to us. Now tonight he will be busy winnowing grain on the threshing floor.

Geneva Bible 1599

Now also is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maides thou wast? beholde, he winoweth barly to night in the floore.

King James (Authorized) Version

And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.

Translation for Translators

Unlocked Literal Bible

Now Boaz, the man whose young female workers you have been with, is he not our kinsman? Look, he will be winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.

Noah Webster Bible

And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to-night in the threshing-floor.

World English Bible

Now isn’t Boaz our kinsman, with whose maidens you were? Behold, he will be winnowing barley tonight on the threshing floor.

Young's Literal Translation

and now, is not Boaz of our acquaintance, with whose young women thou hast been? lo, he is winnowing the threshing-floor of barley to-night,

Adam Clarke
John Gill
Tyndale

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Ruth 3:2

Verse

Context

Ruth’s Redemption Assured

Summary

Commentary

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Ruth 3:2

Ruth’s Redemption Assured

Adam Clarke Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes