Ruth 3:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

NIV: So she lay at his feet until morning, but got up before anyone could be recognized; and he said, 'No one must know that a woman came to the threshing floor.'

NASB: So she lay at his feet until morning, and got up before one person could recognize another; and he said, 'Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.'

CSB: So she lay down at his feet until morning but got up while it was still dark. Then Boaz said, "Don't let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor."

NLT: So Ruth lay at Boaz’s feet until the morning, but she got up before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. For Boaz had said, 'No one must know that a woman was here at the threshing floor.'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: So she lay at his feet until morning, and she arose before one could recognize another. Then he said, “Do not let it be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

Following Naomi's instructions (Ruth 3:1–5), Ruth tracked down Boaz at the community threshing floor and asked him to marry her (Ruth 3:6–9). It's the middle of what might have been the last night processing the grain, and Boaz and his servants spent the evening celebrating the completion of a successful harvest. The men are now scattered around the area, sleeping and protecting the newly winnowed grain.

Ruth has a high reputation in Bethlehem thanks to her arduous work and her devotion to her mother-in-law, and she needs to be careful to keep it (Ruth 3:11). The threshing floor is known for prostitution (Hosea 9:1). In addition, Ruth is a Moabitess. When the Israelites approached the eastern side of the Jordan River across from Jericho, the frightened Moabites sent their women to seduce the Israelite men, thus distracting them from war. The Israelites began worshipping the Moabites' gods. God punished the Israelites by killing masses of them in a plague (Numbers 25:1–9).

To make matters even more precarious, Boaz can't yet agree to marry Ruth. She proposed because he is a relative of her late husband. She has asked him to marry her so he can provide a son who can inherit her late husband's property and remove the shame from Naomi who lost her husband and both sons. But Boaz knows of a nearer relation who has first right of refusal (Ruth 3:9–12). Besides the fact that he is naturally protective of Ruth (Ruth 2:8–9), he won't risk harming her reputation by allowing others to think they slept together.

So, Boaz tells Ruth to wait until early in the morning when the late-night partiers will have finally fallen asleep, and the way will be clear for her to return to Naomi's house in Bethlehem without being recognized or accosted.

We don't know who Boaz is talking to, here. It may be a trusted servant, but it may be himself. Then again, his statement may be an awkwardly translated warning to Ruth.

In Ruth 3:10–15, Boaz presents his plan to make Ruth's plan come to fruition. She has asked him to be Naomi's kinsman-redeemer, to buy Naomi's land and provide for her needs. Ruth has also proposed marriage and asked Boaz to give Naomi an heir who will inherit the land. Boaz is humbled by Ruth's dedication to her mother-in-law, but there's a problem—he is not the closest relative. He has to offer the plan to another man. If that man refuses, he will do everything Ruth says.

In Ruth 3, Naomi schemes to find Ruth a good husband, as was always her hope (Ruth 1:9). She tells Ruth how to propose to Boaz. When Boaz has fallen asleep after a long and joyful day of winnowing grain, Ruth is to gently awaken him and make her proposal. Ruth goes beyond Naomi's instruction, however. Boaz understands that Ruth expects him to buy Naomi's land and give her an heir to re-inherit it. He praises Ruth for her devotion to her mother-in-law, but there is another relative who is closer. In the next chapter, Boaz dispenses with his rival and marries Ruth.

Ruth 3 is the wind-up to the climax of the story. Ruth and Naomi returned to Bethlehem from Moab two months prior. Boaz, a relative of Naomi's late husband, has allowed Ruth to harvest enough grain to last the women a year (Ruth 1—2). Now that their physical needs are addressed, Naomi wants Ruth married to Boaz. Ruth wants Boaz to provide an heir for Naomi. Boaz is again impressed with Ruth's self-sacrifice and agrees (Ruth 3). After negotiating with a closer relative, Boaz marries Ruth and gives Naomi a son. That son becomes King David's grandfather (Ruth 4).

Though set in a time of violence and tragedy, the book of Ruth tells one of Scripture’s most uplifting stories. Naomi, an Israelite, leaves her home during a famine. While away, in Moab, her husband and sons die. Naomi convinces one of her Moabite daughters-in-law to leave her and seek a new life. The other, Ruth, refuses, declaring her love and loyalty to Naomi. When the pair return to Israel, they encounter Boaz. This man is both kind and moral; his treatment of Ruth secures Naomi’s future and becomes part of king David’s ancestry.