Jewish doctors, and also of Lightfoot, who places the history between the third and fourth chapters of Judges. Other writers have placed it at almost every intermediate period between the time of the Moabitish servitude and that of Eli. The prevailing opinion of the Jews themselves is, that the date should be placed in the time of Ibzan, who succeeded Jephthah, or was perhaps contemporary with him on the other side of the river. They indeed think that Boaz himself was the same as Ibzan; for which we know no other reason than that they were both Bethlehemites, coupled with the desire to make the ancestor of David a person of unusual distinction. We believe the opinion which now most prevails is that of Archbishop Usher, which takes the mean between the extreme opinions, and places these events in the time of Gideon. This idea is also thought to be corroborated by the fact that the only scarcity mentioned in the book of Judges, to which that mentioned in this book can be referred, is that caused by the oppression of the Midianites, from which Gideon was instrumental in delivering his people.-About the authorship of the book there are also different opinions; but the most general is that which attributes it to Samuel. That it could not have been brought into its present form earlier than his time, appears from the genealogy with which the book concludes, and which traces the lineal posterity of Boaz and Ruth down to David. 11. "Are there yet any more sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands?"-It is impossible to understand this without supposing it to refer to the custom, which prevailed among the Hebrews and other nations, for the living brother to marry the widow of one deceased, in order to perpetuate that brother's family and inheritance. To this it has been objected by Aben-Ezra and others, that the law did not make such a marriage obligatory on any but brothers by the father's side, and not by the mother's only; and that brothers unborn when the elder brother died, are not included in its operation. The fact is, that the law says nothing in either case; and we think that the expressions of Naomi sufficiently show that the practices indicated did prevail, whether the law intended to sanction them or not. We see no reason why we may not in this, as in other instances, admit that the law did not take cognizance of every usage connected with the particular subjects on which it legislated, but only of those usages, in such subjects, which required particular direction or restriction. Some statements connected with this law will be found under chap. iv. 20. "Call me not Naomi, call me Mara.”—These names are explained in the margin. In the note to Gen. xvii. 5 there are some remarks on the changes of name which sometimes take place in the East and elsewhere. CHAPTER II. 1 Ruth gleaneth in the fields of Boaz. 4 Boaz taking knowledge of her, 8 sheweth her great favour. 18 That which she got, she carrieth to Naomi. AND Naomi had a kinsman of her husband's, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter. even from the morning until now, that she tarried a little in the house. 8 Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: 9 Let thine eyes be on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee? and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn. 10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that 3 And she went, and came, and gleaned thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seein the field after the reapers: and her 'haping I am a stranger? was to light on a part of the field belonging unto 'Boaz, who was of the kindred of Eli-her, It hath fully been shewed me, all that melech. 4¶And, 4 And, behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said unto the reapers, The LORD be with you. And they answered him, The LORD bless thee. 5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose damsel is this? 6 And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab : 7 And she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath continued 1 Heb. hap happened. Called, Matth. 1. 5, Booz. 11 And Boaz answered and said unto thou hast done unto thy mother in law since the death of thine husband and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore. 12 The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. 13 Then she said, "Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens. 14 And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime 3 Or, I find favour. Heb. to the heart. come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. 15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and 'reproach her not: 16 And let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not. 17 So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 ¶ And she took it up, and went into the city and her mother in law saw what she had gleaned and she brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed. 19 And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he that did 5 Heb. shame her not. | take knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz. 20 And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, 'one of our next kinsmen. 21 And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest. 22 And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter in law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. 23 So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt with her mother in law. Or, one that hath right to redeem. 7 Or, fall upon thee. Chap. ii.-In the notes to Judges v. 8, we mentioned the admirable account of ancient manners which Homer's description of the several scenes represented on the famous shield of Achilles afforded. One of these descriptions-that of the harvest scene-offers so many interesting coincidences with the Hebrew harvest usages, as described in the present chapter, that we cannot do better than use it as an introduction to the remarks we have to offer, affording the reader an opportunity of tracing the striking and beautiful analogies which occur, between the description of the old Greek poet and the indications of this chapter. "There too he formed the likeness of a field In frequent handfuls, there they bind the sheaves. New slain, and the attendant maidens mix'd Large supper for the hinds of whitest flour."-COWPER. Verse 3. "Gleaned in the field after the reapers."--The law of Moses directed very liberal treatment of the poor at the seasons of harvest and ingathering. The corners of the field were not to be reaped-the owner was not to glean his own field—and a sheaf accidentally left behind in the field was not to be fetched away, but left for the poor. There are equally liberal regulations respecting vineyards and olive yards. (See the laws in Levit. xix. 9, 10, and Deut. xxiv. 19-21.) From the present text, as compared with verse 7, we see that the privilege of gleaning after the reapers— that is, following the reapers while still at work, was also conceded to the poor, not as a matter of right, but as a favour, granted to particular persons whom the owner wished to befriend. It did not, however, require any especial interest to obtain this favour, else Naomi would scarcely have suggested it in the first instance, and Ruth might have hesitated to apply for it to a stranger, "the servant that was set over the reapers." The general right of gleaning, we may suppose, did not operate till after the reapers had left the ground. In most countries, a farmer would render himself an object of popular odium who should glean his own fields; but usages differ as to the time when gleaners shall be admitted. According to the Law Dictionary,' Art. Gleaning (cited by Burder), the practice of gleaning after the reapers was formerly a general custom in England and Ireland: the poor went into the fields and collected the straggling ears of corn after the reapers; and it was long supposed that this was their right, and that the law recognised it; but although it had been an old custom, it is now settled by a solemn judgment of the Court of Common Pleas, that a right to glean in the harvest-field cannot be claimed by any person at common law. "A part of the field belonging unto Boaz."-The arable land not being enclosed in the East, the expression denotes that part which belonged to Boaz of the large extent of unenclosed ground under cultivation. See the note on Deut. xix. 14. 4. "The Lord be with thee... The Lord bless thee."-This interchange of devout salutation between the "mighty man of wealth" and his labourers, is very impressive, and strikes us the more from the partial disuse of our own old analogous greeting of "God bless you." The verbal salutations of the East continue to be generally more impressive and more devout than our own. We shall notice this subject further under Ps. cxxix. 8, from which passage we learn, that such as the present were common forms of salutation, and not, as some conjecture, forms of devout acknowledgment at the commencement of harvest. We may be sure, however, that the devout Israelites were not wanting in their acknowledgments of the Divine favour, and prayer for its continuance, of which even the ancient heathens were not unmindful. Thus, Virgil instructs the former : "In summer's heat, Before the sickles touch the rip'ning wheat, On Ceres call; and let the lab'ring hind On Ceres let him call, and Ceres praise, With uncouth dances and with country lays."-Dryden. The last line furnishes a further illustration of Judges xxi. 21. 5. "His servant that was set over the reapers."—A confidential servant, or slave, appointed to see things done in an orderly manner, that the work was properly executed, that the labourers were supplied with provisions, and to pay them their wages in the evening exercising a general superintendence and control. This officer was well known in the ancient harvest. Some think that the master who, in the description of Homer, stood "Enjoying mute the order of the field," was this officer; but we rather think that it was the proprietor himself, like Boaz ; for the poet calls him by the highest title of distinction-a king (Bass), whereas the Greek title of the man who had charge of the harvest field was ayponques, by which Josephus, in his repetition of this narrative, distinguishes this presiding servant of Boaz. The Chaldee calls him rab, the lord or ruler of the reapers. 7. "In the house.”—This means the tent which was pitched, or the shed which was erected, temporarily, on the ground, for the occasional accommodation and refreshment of the persons engaged in getting in the harvest, or attending upon their wants. Here they enjoyed an interval of rest, under shade, in the heat of the day, partaking of such refreshments as were provided. After this they resumed their labour, and continued it until towards evening, as we see in the sequel. 14. "Eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar."-This would be but poor entertainment if it were all according to our notions; but in the East, where the labouring poor fare much more humbly than with us, it would form a grateful and reviving refection. The refreshing qualities of vinegar are well known; which is probably the reason why it was provided on this occasion for the reapers heated with their sultry labour; for we do not learn that vinegar was thus ordinarily used, any more than it is now in the East. Probably the vinegar was mingled with a little olive oil, if we may take an illustration from the fare which was supplied to Joseph Pitts and his companions when slaves of the Algerines. "The food we had to sustain nature was answerable to the rest of their kindness: and this indeed. generally, was only a little vinegar (about five or six spoonfuls), half a spoonful of oil, and a few olives, with a small quantity of black biscuit, and a pint of water, a day." (True and Faithful Account,' p. 4.) Here we have bread and vinegar, with a little oil, supplied for daily provision. The provision which Boaz made for his reapers was doubtless of better quality, and included other articles not mentioned, "bread" being often a general term answering to our "food," and including even flesh-meat. The unfrequent use of animal food in the East by the labouring classes renders it however, doubtful whether we are to understand it as included under the "bread" of the present text. It is remarkable that vinegar made from wine is forbidden equally with wine itself to Nazarites (Num. vi. 3); and, in like manner, the Mohammedans generally consider wine-vinegar as included in the prohibition of wine to themselves; and perhaps the inferior character of that which they obtain from other sources may be a reason why vinegar is not now much used in Western Asia. "Parched corn."-See the note on Josh. v. 11. CHAPTER III. 1 By Naomi's instruction, 5 Ruth lieth at Boaz's feet. 8 Boaz acknowledgeth the right of a kinsman. 14 He sendeth her away with six measures of barley. THEN Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee? 2 And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor. 3 Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. 4 And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and 'uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. 5 And she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do. 6 And she went down unto the floor, and did according to all that her mother in law bade her. 7 And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down. 8 And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned 1 Or, lift up the clothes that are on his feet. *Or, took hold on. himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet. 9 And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman. 10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter: for thou hast shewed more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men, whether poor or rich. 11 And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman. 12 And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit there is a kinsman nearer than I. 13 Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsinan's part: but if he will not do the Or, one that hath right to redeem. part of a kinsman to thee, then will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the LORD liveth: lie down until the morning. 14 And she lay at his feet until the morning and she rose up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not be known that a woman came into the floor. 15 Also he said, Bring the 'vail that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it on her: and she went into the city. 16 And when she came to her mother in law, she said, Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. 17 And she said, These six measures of barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto thy mother in law. 18 Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest, until he have finished the thing this day. 4 Heb gate. 5 Or, sheet, or, apron. Verse 2. "Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor;"-In the evening, probably, and early part of the night. This was to obtain the advantage of the breezes which arise in the evening, and continue more or less through the night. Besides this, which is peculiarly applicable to winnowing, in those parts of the East where the heat of the sun is by day very powerful and oppressive, much agricultural labour of various kinds is performed on bright nights, for many hours after the sun has set or before it rises in the morning. 4. "Go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down.”—We may depend upon it, that however strange the instructions of Naomi to Ruth may appear according to our own usages and ideas-which are still so different from those of the Eastthere is nothing in them which, in the peculiar circumstances, was considered improper, under that simplicity of rural manners, of which this book affords so interesting a picture. We say, "in the peculiar circumstances," because it is evident, from the anxiety of Boaz that it should not be known that a woman had come to the floor (verse 14), that it would not have been correct in ordinary circumstances; but in the case of Ruth, this act was merely a process, doubtless conformable to general usage, by which she reminded Boaz of the relative position in which they stood to each other, and claimed from him the performance of that duty which devolved upon him as the kinsman of her deceased husband. The act described in the text is more precisely defined in the marginal note. Boaz probably slept upon a rug, sheep-skin, or thick quilt, and was covered with another, or by his cloak. Ruth went and lay cross-wise at his feet, lifting up and drawing over her the extremity of the covering. Servants in the East often sleep in this manner, as to position. They frequently sleep in the same apartment or tent with their master, and when they do so, invariably lie at his feet, in the position described; and if, on a journey or otherwise, when the weather is cold, the servant has not sufficient covering of his own, usage allows him to avail himself of the covering at the foot of his master's bed. The writer has himself known servants take this liberty during a journey, as a matter of course. By this act Ruth declared herself subject to the direction and control of Boaz; and, partly assumed a right to that protection the confirmation of which she claimed afterwards as a favour. 9. "Spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman."-She had already placed herself under his covering, and we may understand that this request refers merely to his making this his own act, rather than as describing two actions, particularly as it is probable that she lay with no other covering than his mantle. The idea which this act conveys is before alluded to in the former chapter, where Boaz himself, after praising the devotedness and truth of Ruth's conduct, says:-" A full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust." More definitely, Ruth, by desiring Boaz to spread his skirt over her, declares herself entitled to that protection which a wife receives from her husband, or, in other words, desires him to make her his wife. It was in fact a very prominent part of the marriage ceremony among the Jews and other Oriental people. The prophet Ezekiel indicates this:-"I spread my skirt over thee....and thou becamest mine" (Ezek. xvi. 8). The custom is still kept up by the modern Jews, though not perhaps in all the countries through which they are dispersed. When the bride and bridegroom stand before the priest, the latter takes up the end of the bridegroom's robe, and places it upon the bride's head, with a distinct allusion to this ancient ceremony. A similar usage prevails among some tribes of Arabs, with whom the ceremony constituting marriage is for one of the relations of the bridegroom, in the tent of the bride's father, to throw over her head a man's abba or cloak, saying as he does so, "No one shall cover thee but such a one," mentioning the bridegroom's name. She is then conducted to the tent of her husband. Mr. Roberts mentions an analogous custom as existing among the marriage ceremonies of the Hindoos. This part of the ceremony often produces powerful emotions on all present; and the parents on both sides then give their benedictions. Hence a common mode of expressing that a man has married a particular woman is to say, "He has given her the koori," that is, has spread over her the skirt so called. (Oriental Illustrations,' p. 156.) 15. "Bring the vail that thou hast upon thee."-This veil was probably such as are still used in general by the women of Western Asia when they go abroad. It has little resemblance to what the word "veil" would suggest to the English reader. It is in fact a large sheet, which being thrown over the head descends to the heels, and being gathered in front by the hand, completely envelopes the whole person. These veils differ little except in colour, texture, and the manner in which the face is concealed. Ladies of distinction sometimes have them of silk, and these are mostly red, with narrow white stripes; but the poor women, and often others who are not poor, have them blue, striped with white; but those wholly of white are in most general use. These veils are always of linen or cotton, except those of red silk; and those used by poor women are coarse and very strong-such as we may suppose poor Ruth's veil to have been. In Syria the women so hold them as to conceal all the face except one eye, to which custom Solomon probably alludes in-Thou hast ravished mine heart with one of thine eyes" (Sol. Song, v. 7). In Persia the women also conceal the face, having only a bit of lace over the eyes, through which they can see; but the Turkish women cover the whole face with a large veil of horse-hair, which is very transparent from within, but seems perfectly opaque from without: the rest of their persons they cover with the sheet. We mention these particulars as illustrative of the veil as a large general envelope; but it does not appear that the Hebrew women of ordinary rank concealed their faces so generally as is now done in the same country. |