What does Ruth 2:11 mean?
Boaz doesn't say who told him about Ruth. It's possible it was his harvest manager (Ruth 2:5–7), but more likely he heard the fuller story in town (Ruth 1:19). He may be a "worthy man" (Ruth 2:1), but he is in awe of Ruth's self-sacrifice and lovingkindness toward her mother-in-law. He proceeds to explain exactly how much notice he has taken of her. As he recounts her deeds, he's not condescending to tell her things she already knows. He is showing her that he understands the magnitude of what she's done.The phrase "left your father and mother" calls back to Genesis where it is used as a description of what is expected of men when they marry (Genesis 2:24). If Ruth's husband had returned to Israel, the culture would have expected Ruth to follow him. But her husband is dead, and she still followed her mother-in-law.
Boaz's reference to her "native land" is also poignant. The Moabites are descended from Lot's son (Genesis 19:30–38). They have lived in the land for nearly a thousand years. Meanwhile, the Israelites wandered around Canaan under Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, moved to Egypt where they were enslaved for four hundred years, wandered around the wilderness for another forty years, and have spent the last few hundred years trying to drive out the Canaanites. Ruth's people are settled in their place; the Israelites still haven't fully taken possession of the land God promised them.
The "people" are the real danger. When the Israelites moved north toward the Jordan crossing, the Moabites feared for their lives and tried to stop them with curses and destroy them with idolatry (Numbers 22:1—31:54). In response, God ordered that Moabites were banned from "the assembly of the LORD forever" (Deuteronomy 23:3) and told the Israelites, "You shall not seek their peace or their prosperity all your days forever" (Deuteronomy 23:6).
Boaz and the people of Bethlehem recognize Ruth is not meant to be held under that ban, since she is no longer living with or identifying as one of the people of Moab. She disavowed her land, her people, and her god, Chemosh (Ruth 1:16). Most importantly, after all the care she has given Naomi, they know God will want to bless her.