# Ruth 03 📖: Ruth at the Threshing Floor [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Ruth Overview]] | [[Ruth 02]] | [[Ruth 04]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) ## Ruth at the Threshing Floor [[#Verse 01.]] At that time, Naomi, her mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure. [[#Verse 02.]] Now Boaz, with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative. Look, tonight he is winnowing barley at the threshing floor. [[#Verse 03.]] So bathe yourself, rub on some perfumed oil, and get dressed up. Then go down to the threshing floor. But don’t let the man know you’re there until he finishes his meal. [[#Verse 04.]] When he gets ready to go to sleep, take careful notice of the place where he lies down. Then go, uncover his legs, and lie down beside him. He will tell you what you should do.” [[#Verse 05.]] Ruth replied to Naomi, “I will do everything you have told me to do.” [[#Verse 06.]] So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do. [[#Verse 07.]] When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap. Then Ruth crept up quietly, uncovered his legs, and lay down beside him. [[#Verse 08.]] In the middle of the night he was startled and turned over. Now he saw a woman lying beside him! [[#Verse 09.]] He said, “Who are you?” She replied, “I am Ruth, your servant. Marry your servant, for you are a guardian of the family interests.” [[#Verse 10.]] He said, “May you be rewarded by the Lord, my dear! This act of devotion is greater than what you did before. For you have not sought to marry one of the young men, whether rich or poor. [[#Verse 11.]] Now, my dear, don’t worry! I intend to do for you everything you propose, for everyone in the village knows that you are a worthy woman. [[#Verse 12.]] Now yes, it is true that I am a guardian, but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am. [[#Verse 13.]] Remain here tonight. Then in the morning, if he agrees to marry you, fine, let him do so. But if he does not want to do so, I promise, as surely as the Lord lives, to marry you. Sleep here until morning.” [[#Verse 14.]] So she slept beside him until morning. She woke up while it was still dark. Boaz thought, “No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.” [[#Verse 15.]] Then he said, “Hold out the shawl you are wearing and grip it tightly.” As she held it tightly, he measured out about 60 pounds of barley into the shawl and put it on her shoulders. Then he went into town, [[#Verse 16.]] and she returned to her mother-in-law. When Ruth returned to her mother-in-law, Naomi asked, “How did things turn out for you, my daughter?” Ruth told her about all the man had done for her. [[#Verse 17.]] She said, “He gave me these 60 pounds of barley, for he said to me, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’” [[#Verse 18.]] Then Naomi said, “Stay put, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out. For the man will not rest until he has taken care of the matter today.” ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. - “One Day”- Time passes. Likely about 6 weeks. - “Permanent home”- home means rest. - Naomi is now looking out for Ruth instead of just Ruth looking out for them. ###### Verse 02. - “Tonight he will be winnowing barley at the threshing floor.” - This would have been part of the harvesting process. It would also have possibly involved a party because this meant they would have a harvest and food. They also had to stay there all night because this is when thieves would try to come in and steal their harvest. ###### Verse 03. - “take a bath and put on perfume” - preparing for a big event. - “Dress in your nicest clothes.” - Taking off her clothes of mourning. This would show she was available. - “Don’t let Boaz see you until he has finished eating and drinking” - The thought could be to do this in private. That way, if he did not want to do it, he could save face. ###### Verse 04. - “go and uncover his feet and lie down.” - There are three possible meanings. - 1- sexual innuendo. It can mean uncover his feet and could also mean something sexual. The narrator is trying to tell us that this could have gone a bad way, but didn’t. - 2- a local custom to say she wanted to come under his protection. - 3- Some say this was done to make his feet cold so he would wake up. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the Redeemer who does not rest until the work is finished. Boaz will not rest until the matter is settled (3:18), a picture of Jesus who completed our redemption (John 19:30). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Naomi tells Ruth to prepare herself before going to Boaz (3:3-4). What does it look like to prepare our hearts before coming to God? 2. Boaz protects Ruth's reputation and acts with integrity when no one is watching (3:14). Why does private integrity matter so much? 3. Naomi tells Ruth to wait until the matter is settled (3:18). What is hard about waiting after you have done everything you can? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 9: Ruth asks Boaz to spread his covering over her because he is a family guardian. - 📖 verse 11: Boaz calls Ruth "a worthy woman," the same phrase used in Proverbs 31:10. - 📖 verse 18: Naomi assures Ruth that Boaz will not rest until he has taken care of the matter. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts 1. Threshing floors were usually open, flat areas where evening breezes could carry away the chaff. 2. Winnowing was often done in the evening when the wind picked up (3:2). 3. Owners often slept at the threshing floor to guard the harvest from thieves. 4. The word for Boaz's "covering" in 3:9 is the same word as "wings" in 2:12, tying Ruth's request to Boaz's earlier blessing. 5. Spreading the corner of a garment over someone was a known picture of marriage commitment (Ezekiel 16:8). 6. Boaz calls Ruth a "worthy woman" (3:11), the same Hebrew phrase used of the wife in Proverbs 31:10. In the Hebrew Bible, Ruth comes right after Proverbs. 7. The same Hebrew word for worth or strength is used to describe Boaz in 2:1, so both are presented as people of noble character. 8. A relative closer than Boaz had the first right to redeem (3:12), which adds suspense to the story. 9. Boaz praises Ruth for not pursuing younger men (3:10), which hints that he was older. 10. Boaz sends Ruth home with six measures of barley (3:15), a gift that also signals his intentions to Naomi. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[Ruth 02#Verse 12.|Ruth 2:12]] - Refuge under the Lord's wings. - 🔗 [[Ezekiel 16#Verse 08.|Ezekiel 16:8]] - Spreading a garment as a sign of covenant. - 🔗 [[Deuteronomy 25#Verse 05.|Deuteronomy 25:5-10]] - Raising up a family name for a brother who died. - 🔗 [[Proverbs 31#Verse 10.|Proverbs 31:10]] - The worthy woman. - 🔗 [[Psalm 37#Verse 07.|Psalm 37:7]] - Wait patiently for the Lord. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Ruth 03 - SOAP|The Lord Takes Over]] ## 📂 Internal Notes