SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER

At the prompting of Noemi, Ruth sues Booz for marriage by the law of affinity. He promises to marry her and sends her back to Noemi, loaded with barley.

[1] After she was returned to her mother in law, Noemi said to her: My daughter, I will seek rest for thee, and will provide that it may be well with thee. [2] 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. [3] Wash thyself therefore and anoint thee, and put on thy best garments, and go down to the barnfloor: but let not the man see thee, till he shall have done eating and drinking. [4] And when he shall go to sleep, mark the place wherein he sleepeth: and thou shalt go in, and lift up the clothes wherewith he is covered towards his feet, and shalt lay thyself down there: and he will tell thee what thou must do. [5] She answered: Whatsoever thou shalt command, I will do.

[6] And she went down to the barnfloor, and did all that her mother in law had bid her. [7] And when Booz had eaten, and drunk, and was merry, he went to sleep by the heap of sheaves, and she came softly and uncovering his feet, laid herself down. [8] And behold, when it was now midnight the man was afraid, and troubled: and he saw a woman lying at his feet, [9] And he said to her: Who art thou? And she answered: I am Ruth thy handmaid: spread thy coverlet over thy servant, for thou art a near kinsman. [10] And he said: Blessed art thou of the Lord, my daughter, and thy latter kindness has surpassed the former: because thou hast not followed young men either poor or rich. [11] Fear not therefore, but whatsoever thou shalt say to me I will do to thee. For all the people that dwell within the gates of my city, know that thou art a virtuous woman. [12] Neither do I deny myself to be near of kin, but there is another nearer than I. [13] Rest thou this night: and when morning is come, if he will take thee by the right of kindred, all is well: but if he will not, I will undoubtedly take thee, as the Lord liveth: sleep till the morning. [14] So she slept at his feet till the night was going off. And she arose before men could know one another, and Booz said: Beware lest any man know that thou camest hither. [15] And again he said: Spread thy mantle, wherewith thou art covered, and hold it with both hands. And when she spread it and held it, he measured six measures of barley, and laid it upon her. And she carried it and went into the city,

[16] And came to her mother in law; who said to her: What hast thou done, daughter? And she told her all that the man had done to her. [17] And she said: Behold he hath given me six measures of barley: for he said: I will not have thee return empty to thy mother in law. [18] And Noemi said: Wait my daughter, till we see what end the thing will have. For the man will not rest until he have accomplished what he hath said.

1. AFTER SHE WAS RETURNED (when the harvest was complete) TO HER MOTHER IN LAW -- Noemi. Our Translator reads תשב, tascab, i.e., returned. With a different pointing, however, the word means took her seat, remained with.

I WILL SEEK REST FOR THEE, --that is, I will seek for you a respectable and wealthy marriage, in which you will be free from the toils of poverty and hunger and will rest and live a quiet, pleasant, and joyful life under the care and providence of a [text illegible] peaceable husband. Indeed, I will find you a husband who is both rich and kindly, with whom you may live in concord and happiness; for a wife has no peace with a harsh and quarrelsome husband. Aben-Esra continues: "Girls do not usually settle down until they marry." For marriage is "the harbor of youth," says Plutarch, so that chastity may not be ship-wrecked in the vagaries of lust.

WASH THYSELF AND ANOINT THEE, -- with simple oil, as a poor but honest woman; for at that time women oiled themselves for cleanliness and good cheer. Noemi urges her daughter-in-law [243] to anoint herself with oil that is simple and natural, rather than with nard or something similarly sweet-smelling and seductive. Likewise, she should not color and alter her complexion with kohl, ceruse, and other pigments and cosmetics; rather, she should appear before Booz with a clean and cheerful face and dressed in finer clothing, so that when she is thus modestly adorned, she may invite him to a marriage that is due to her, as it were. Modesty in dress befits a respectable and chaste matron, and even more so, modesty in behavior, as St. Peter teaches in his first Epistle, chapter 3, verse 4. What Lucan said of Cleopatra in book 10 goes for the rest:

But aided by her charms the wanton's prayers prevailed. [tr. Ridley]

4. AND THOU SHALT LAY THYSELF DOWN THERE, -- not naked, for this would have been shameless and seductive, but dressed in finer clothing, as indicated in verse 3. Although Lyranus and Dionysius, and indeed St. Ambrose, reproach Noemi for this advice and Ruth for following it, on the grounds that it is indecent and seductive, both women are excused by Theodoretus, the Auctor Imperfecti, Abulensis, Salianus, Serarius, and others. For Ruth's clothing and appearance were altogether modest, and she was seeking nothing other than the marriage that was due to her. Moreover, both she and Booz were adults and persons of proven chastity, so that there was no fear of fornication between them. Finally, this affair was managed by Noemi, a wise and devout matron, and even more by God, who desired the marriage to take place so that David could be born from it, and from him, the Christ. Hence the Auctor Imperfecti, writing on the first chapter of Matthew, says that Ruth in Hebrew means inspiration, because she was inspired by God to act in this way. "If inspiration had not been in Ruth," he says, "she would not have said what she said and done what she did." In fact, Ruth's deed should not be imitated by other men and women, because it is dangerous and tempting to fornication. He continues, "What do we praise in her first? Her love of the race of Israel? Or her simplicity? Her obedience? Or her faith? There was certainly love for the race of Israel, because she was so intent on raising sons from the seed of Israel and becoming a member of God's people. If she had desired relations like a wanton girl, she would have chased a younger man. But because she wished to satisfy her religious duty, rather than wantonness, she chose sacred kinship over youth. There is simplicity in the fact that she did not deliberately slip under his coverlet, nor was she afraid that he would spurn her as a wanton or deceive her or, worse still, scorn her after deceiving her, as many men do. Obedient to the counsels of her mother-in-law, she trusted that God would favor her action, since he knew her conscience and the fact that it was not lust that urged her on, but duty." {footnote: Very many unbelievers make a show of being scandalized by this episode, denying the simplicity of ancient mores. Nevertheless, Voltaire, the coy philosopher of Ferney, says: "We have often said that these times and customs have nothing in common with ours, whether of good or evil. Their spirit is not our spirit; their good sense is not our good sense; and this is why the books of Josue and Judges are a thousand times more instructive than Homer and Herodotus."}

7. UNCOVERING (i.e., with the bedsheet) HIS FEET, SHE LAY HERSELF DOWN,-- that is, fully clothed and not at his side, but crosswise at his feet, as decency required.

8. AND HE SAW A WOMAN.-- Although it was night, he was sleeping in the open on the threshing floor, and by the light of the moon and stars he could easily see that Ruth was a woman. Nevertheless, because of the darkness, he could not see who she was.

9. SPREAD THY COVERLET OVER THY SERVANT, FOR THOU ART A NEAR KINSMAN, -- that is, Take me as your wife, for you are bound to do so as a near kinsman, to raise up seed for my husband, who died without children. Thus the Chaldee renders it: Let your name, I beseech you, come to your handmaid, that you may take me as your wife, and have me as your bedfellow. Lyranus adds that a groom-to-be would place the edge of his coverlet over his bride, signifying by this gesture that he was receiving her into his power and care. As I have said, some people blame Ruth for these words and deeds, as if she tempted the chastity of Booz and put her own in danger. Nevertheless, others excuse her on the grounds that she trusted both her own and Booz's chastity, which had been proven for so many years, and that she assumed there was no danger, as in fact proved to be the case.

Abulensis adds that with this expression Ruth sought to sleep with Booz. This is implausible, but if she did seek it, it was as a conjugal act rather than fornication. At the time, clandestine marriages were not forbidden, and so marriage could be contracted by mutual consent, whether the latter was expressed in words or indicated by carnal relations. If Ruth sought this, she sought it only as her conjugal right, and thereby sought marriage itself; moreover, she did so to provide for the widowhood and poverty of her mother-in-law and herself, and to secure the name and memory of her husband, who died without children, by raising up seed for him from another man. This was an act of charity and conjugal love, both to satisfy God's law through the custom that commanded her to raise up seed and to urge Booz to do the same.

As for the allegorical sense, St. Jerome wrote in his preface to Osee: "Salmon begat the just man, Booz, from Rahab the prostitute, and he, by covering Ruth the Moabite woman with the fringe of his coverlet, translated one who was sleeping at his feet to the head of the Gospel." And in Book 5 of his commentary On Isaias, chapter 16, he says, "O Moab! Against whom the lion will rage, and not even your remains can be saved, take this consolation: from you will come the immaculate lamb, who will take away the sins of the world and rule the earth. From the rock of the desert, which is Ruth, who [244], though bereft of her husband, from Booz begat Obed, and from Obed begat Jesse, and from Jesse begat David, and from David, the Christ."

10. AND THY LATTER KINDNESS HAS SURPASSED THE FORMER. -- In Hebrew, You have made the latter favor greater than the former. Vatablus has, You have made your latter kindness more outstanding than the former, meaning, You were dutiful to your husband while living, but now you are more so when he is dead, since you are taking pains to raise up seed for him, who died without children, through marriage with his kinsman. Hear what Blessed Peter Damian says in Book 8 of his Letters To his Sisters, no. 14: "Ruth showed proper respect for her mother-in-law, maintained the chastity of a wife, remained faithful to her deceased husband, left her parents and a homeland given over to idolatry, and went over to the cult of the true God as a noble convert, without having received any formal teaching. So here we see Judith casting off the goods by which she was propped up in life, and Ruth embracing the hardships by which she was weighed down. Both were certainly of one mind, though they were in different circumstances. Both pleased the one God, and not without merit, since the latter did not succumb to adversities, while the former did not abandon herself to riches, forgetful of her own well-being. The one put up with her abundant riches, while the other rejoiced in what she had to bear. Each could doubtless say about the vicissitudes of worldly instability, 'Just as his darkness, so too is his light.' " [tr. Blum]

11. FOR ALL THE PEOPLE THAT DWELL WITHIN THE GATES OF MY CITY KNOW.-- In Hebrew, all the gate of my people, which Vatablus and others explain as, all the Elders of my people. The judges and council of elders used to meet and pass judgement at the gates, so that they could easily be approached and met by people of the countryside. Our Translator renders gate of the people somewhat more fully by converting it to people of the gate, i.e., the people that dwell within the gates.

THAT THOU ART A VIRTUOUS WOMAN. -- In Hebrew, חיל, chail, that is, a woman of strenuous activity, fortitude, strength. The meaning is: They all know that you are a strong, industrious, and hardworking woman. Thus, the Seventy have γυνὴν δυνάμεως, i.e., a powerful woman, and ἀνδρείαν, manly. In the Chaldee we read: It is disclosed before all, who sit in the Gate of the great Sanhedrin (i.e., Congregation or Council) of my people, that you are a just woman, and that you have the strength or power to see the light of God's commandments.

12. BUT THERE IS ANOTHER NEARER THAN I. -- Noemi was certainly aware of this, but she knew that man's character, and that he would not wish to marry Ruth, an impoverished foreigner--as the outcome demonstrated. Thus she thought that Booz, who was more modest and dutiful, should be honorably invited to marry her. So Abulensis, Serarius, and others.

13. ALL IS WELL.-- טוב, tob, that is, It is good. Some of the Rabbis understand tob as the proper name of the kinsman, as if he were named Good, just as Tobias means good to God, or the goodness of God. Hence Raschi says, "Salmon, Elimelech, and Tob were brothers." But the Seventy, the Chaldee, our Translator, and others take tob as a predicate adjective in the neuter gender: it is good.

I WILL UNDOUBTEDLY TAKE THEE: as a wife. One must admire the remarkable kindness of Booz, as well as his chastity, in that he did not wish to touch Ruth as she was lying next to him, but promised to marry her instead. Hear what the Auctor Imperfecti says in Homily 1 on Matthew: "What is commendable in Booz? His humility, chastity, and sense of religious duty. Humility and chastity, because he did not touch her as a lustful man might touch a girl, nor did he shrink from her as a chaste man might recoil from a wanton, but as soon as he heard her speak of the law of kinship, he made no account of lust, but thought entirely of religious duty. Nor did he despise her as a rich man might despise a poor woman, nor did he shun her as an old man might a young girl, but, readier in faith than in body, he went early to the gate and summoned a relative that he reckoned to be closer in kinship; he obtained his suit and prevailed not so much by the law of proximity as by the favor of God, who chose him. Thus he is called the one who prevails by fortune." Booz in Hebrew means strong. Hence, the Talmudic authors compare him with the chaste Joseph. R. Eliezer says in chapter 39: "There were three who, coming before their Creator, overcame concupiscence": Joseph, Booz, and Phaltiel, the son of Lais, about whom we read in 2 Kings 3:15. Hear also what Abulensis has to say: "Any man must truly admire this, even if he is made of iron or adamantine, if his bones are made of bronze and his heart of stone. For the venerable Booz endured these temptations, tempering himself with his desire for virtue." A little later, he adds, "And so it was only respect for decency and love for the law that kept Booz from satisfying the demand of lust. That man is truly praiseworthy, who, when given such an opportunity, could resist the flames of passion; he should not be passed over in silence, but rather celebrated in song. Rightly did Christ wish to be born from such ancestors, who possessed such virtue."

Moreover, Booz's chastity was greatly helped by the hardness of his bed and the chill in the air; for he was not lying on a feather bed, but on the threshing floor, out in the open when the air was cold. A hard bed and cold temperature greatly diminish the heat of desire, and for this reason the Pharisees, as I have said elsewhere, slept with a bar of lead on the kidneys (where semen originates) in order to cool them, and so to avoid nocturnal emissions in their sleep. So too, many persons in religious vows walk with bare feet, since bare and cold feet effectively extinguish the heat of nature and the warmth of lust, as experience has shown. Finally, St. Antony, St. Hilarion, St. Macarius, and other anchorites slept not in beds, but on the ground. St. Francis, according to St. Bonaventure, was invited to the house of a Cardinal, and when he slept on a soft bed, experienced violent attacks from demons. He fled from that place quickly, saying, "Soft living attracts demons and temptations; harsh living terrifies them and puts them to flight."

HE MEASURED SIX MEASURES OF BARLEY.-- Ruth was able to carry six measures of barley on her shoulders. Winter wheat (siligo) is lighter than common wheat, barley is lighter than winter wheat, and oats are lighter than barley. [245] She was a "woman of virtue," as verse 11 says: i.e., mannish, strong, and robust.

Symbolically, R. Salomon, according to Lyranus, understood the six measures as the six gifts of the Holy Spirit, since there are that many gifts in the Hebrew text of Isaias, chapter 11, verse 1 and following. Aben-Esra, however, takes the six measures as the six just men who were to be begotten from Ruth, namely David, Daniel, Ananias, Misael, Azaria, and the Messiah.