What was gleaning?
It was gathering the stalks of grain that reapers dropped in harvesting. The law of Moses ordered that those leftovers and the edges of the field be left for the poor, widows, orphans and foreigners.
Ruth · chapter 2 of 4
Ruth 2: Summary, Key Verses and Study Questions
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What happens in Ruth 2?
Ruth 2 tells how Ruth goes out to glean barley in the fields of Bethlehem and happens to come to the field of Boaz, a relative of Elimelech. Boaz protects her, feeds her and tells his reapers to leave grain for her. Ruth returns home with about an ephah of barley, and Naomi recognizes that Boaz is one of their redeemers.
Ruth 1 ended with two widows arriving in Bethlehem at the start of the barley harvest. Ruth 2 shows how God provides through a man of integrity and through the law that protected the poor. Boaz appears here, and we begin to see how the Lord cares for those who take refuge in him.
Ruth 2 summary
Naomi had a relative of her husband's, a man of wealth from the clan of Elimelech, named Boaz. Ruth tells Naomi she will glean behind anyone in whose sight she finds favor, and she happens upon the field of Boaz. He comes from Bethlehem, greets his reapers in the Lord's name and asks who the young woman is. He is told she is the Moabite who came back with Naomi and has worked since morning with hardly a rest.
Boaz tells Ruth not to go to another field, to stay with his young women, that the young men will not touch her, and that she may drink from their water. Ruth bows down and asks why she finds favor with him, a foreigner. Boaz replies that he has been told all she did for her mother-in-law, how she left her father, her mother and her land, and asks that the God of Israel, under whose wings she has come to take refuge, repay her. At mealtime he invites her to sit with the reapers, eat bread dipped in sour wine and gives her roasted grain. She eats until satisfied and has some left. Boaz orders that she glean even among the sheaves and that stalks be pulled out for her. When she beats out what she gathered, it is about an ephah of barley, and she takes it to Naomi.
Naomi blesses the man who noticed her. When Ruth says it was Boaz's field, Naomi exclaims that the Lord has not forsaken his kindness to the living or the dead, and that the man is a relative of theirs, one of their redeemers. Ruth gleans with Boaz's young women until the end of the barley and wheat harvests, and lives with her mother-in-law.
Chapter outline
- vv. 1-3: Ruth goes out to glean and comes to the field of Boaz, a relative of Elimelech.
- vv. 4-13: Boaz sees her, asks about her and offers protection; she thanks him.
- vv. 14-17: Boaz invites her to eat and orders grain left for her; she gathers about an ephah of barley.
- vv. 18-23: Naomi recognizes Boaz as a redeemer and Ruth gleans until the end of the harvest.
Key verses in Ruth 2
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Ruth 2:2
Ruth proposes to go and glean in the fields behind anyone who will show her favor. The law allowed the poor and foreigners to gather what the reapers left, and Ruth takes up that provision with humility and work.
Ruth 2:12
Boaz asks that the Lord, the God of Israel, repay Ruth, under whose wings she has come to take refuge. He describes God as a bird sheltering her young, and the blessing will be fulfilled through Boaz himself.
Ruth 2:14
Boaz invites her to sit and eat with the reapers and serves her roasted grain in abundance. His generosity goes beyond the law, treating a foreigner as one of the household.
Ruth 2:20
Naomi says the Lord has not forsaken his kindness to the living or the dead, and that Boaz is one of their redeemers. For the first time since her return, she sees God's hand in what has happened.
Main themes
- God's providence
- The law's care for the poor
- Boaz's kindness
- Refuge under God's wings
- The kinsman-redeemer
People and places
- Ruth
- Boaz
- Naomi
- The servant in charge of the reapers
- The reapers
- Bethlehem
Ruth 2 study questions and answers
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
1. Which family was Boaz from?
Answer: The clan of Elimelech, Naomi's husband. — Ruth 2:1
2. What did Ruth propose to Naomi?
Answer: To go and glean in the fields behind anyone who would show her favor. — Ruth 2:2
3. What did Boaz tell Ruth about where to glean?
Answer: That she should not go to another field but stay with his young women. — Ruth 2:8
4. Why did Boaz show Ruth favor?
Answer: Because of what she had done for her mother-in-law and because she left her land to take refuge under the wings of the God of Israel. — Ruth 2:11-12
5. How much barley did Ruth gather that day?
Answer: About an ephah. — Ruth 2:17
6. How did Naomi describe Boaz?
Answer: As a relative of theirs and one of their redeemers. — Ruth 2:20
Application for today
Ruth 2 shows that God works through simple acts of work and kindness. Ruth does not wait for a miracle; she works, and God guides her steps. In a class or small group we can talk about how God's providence acts in ordinary things, like a field or a chance meeting, and about the importance of being steady in our work.
Boaz is a model of generosity. He follows the law, but goes beyond it with respect and care for a poor foreigner. Those with resources can ask whom they can protect and accompany, and those in need can remember that God cares for those who take refuge in him.
Ruth 2 ends with Ruth gleaning until the end of the harvest and Naomi recognizing Boaz as a possible redeemer. In Ruth 3, Naomi proposes a bold plan for Ruth to approach Boaz at the threshing floor.
Frequently asked questions about Ruth 2
What is a kinsman-redeemer?
He was a close relative who, under the law, could rescue a family member in need: buy back family land that had been sold or protect a widow. Naomi recognizes that Boaz can fill that role, and this prepares the rest of the book.
What does it mean to take refuge under God's wings?
It is a frequent image in the Bible of God's protective care, like a bird covering her young. Boaz recognizes that Ruth put her trust in the Lord, and so he asks that the Lord himself reward her.