Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Ruth gathers ears of grain in the field of Boaz, and is kindly received and fed by Boaz; returning home, she brings the leftovers to her mother-in-law Naomi, and from her learns that Boaz is her kinsman.
Vulgate Text: Ruth 2:1-23
1. Now Elimelech had a kinsman, a powerful man of great wealth, named Boaz. 2. And Ruth the Moabitess said to her mother-in-law: If you bid me, I will go into the field and gather the ears of grain that have escaped the hands of the reapers, wherever I may find the favor of a merciful master. To whom she replied: Go, my daughter. 3. She went therefore and gathered ears of grain behind the backs of the reapers. And it happened that the field belonged to a man named Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech. 4. And behold, he came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers: The Lord be with you. They answered him: The Lord bless you. 5. And Boaz said to the young man who was overseeing the reapers: Whose maiden is this? 6. He answered: She is the Moabitess who came with Naomi from the region of Moab, 7. and she asked to gather the remaining ears of grain, following the footsteps of the reapers; and from morning until now she has stood in the field, and has not returned home even for a moment. 8. And Boaz said to Ruth: Hear me, daughter; do not go to another field to gather, nor depart from this place; but stay close to my maidens; 9. and where they have reaped, follow. For I have commanded my servants that no one trouble you; and even if you are thirsty, go to the bundles and drink of the waters from which my servants drink. 10. Falling on her face and bowing to the ground, she said to him: How have I found such favor in your eyes, that you should deign to notice me, a foreign woman? 11. He answered her: All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been told to me; and that you left your parents and the land where you were born, and came to a people you did not know before. 12. May the Lord repay you for your deed, and may you receive a full reward from the Lord God of Israel, to whom you have come, and under whose wings you have taken refuge. 13. She said: I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have consoled me and spoken to the heart of your handmaid, though I am not like one of your maidens. 14. And Boaz said to her: When it is time to eat, come here and eat bread and dip your morsel in vinegar. So she sat beside the reapers, and she heaped up roasted grain for herself, and ate and was satisfied, and took the leftovers. 15. And from there she rose to gather ears of grain as before. And Boaz commanded his servants, saying: Even if she wishes to reap with you, do not forbid her; 16. and from your own sheaves cast some down deliberately, and let them remain, so that she may gather without shame, and let no one rebuke her as she gathers. 17. So she gathered in the field until evening, and beating and shaking out what she had gathered with a rod, she found about an ephah measure of barley, that is, three modii. 18. Carrying these, she returned to the city and showed them to her mother-in-law; moreover she brought out and gave her the leftovers of the food with which she had been satisfied. 19. And her mother-in-law said to her: Where did you gather today, and where did you work? Blessed be he who had mercy on you. And she told her with whom she had worked; and she said the man's name, that he was called Boaz. 20. To whom Naomi replied: Blessed be he by the Lord; for he has kept the same kindness that he showed to the living also for the dead. And again she said: The man is our kinsman. 21. And Ruth said: He also commanded me to stay close to his reapers until all the harvest is gathered. 22. To whom her mother-in-law said: It is better, my daughter, for you to go out to reap with his maidens, lest someone trouble you in another's field. 23. So she joined the maidens of Boaz; and she reaped with them until the barley and wheat were stored in the barns.
Verse 1: A Powerful Man of Great Wealth
1. A POWERFUL MAN OF GREAT WEALTH. — In Hebrew ish gibbor chail, that is, a man powerful or strong in might: so the Septuagint, that is, robust both in body and in spirit; or a man powerful in wealth: for chail also signifies this, and it is more fitting here. For Boaz was being prepared as a husband for marriage with Ruth, in which wealth is especially considered.
Verse 3: She Gathered Ears of Grain
3. SHE GATHERED EARS OF GRAIN BEHIND THE BACKS OF THE REAPERS — as the poor and hungry do, who after the crop has been reaped and gathered into heaps, make a gleaning by picking up the fallen and remaining ears: which under the old law was not only lawful but also commended by God; indeed, reapers were commanded to leave some ears of grain deliberately for the poor to gather, Leviticus chapter XIX, 9, and chapter XXIII, 22. Thus Antigonus, succeeding Alexander the Great, used to say: "Alexander reaped; I gather the ears." So too we, after the harvest of so many Fathers and Doctors, make a gleaning of wisdom.
NAMED BOAZ. — In Hebrew Boaz, says Pagninus in the Hebrew Names, means "in strength"; or "in him is strength," that is, strong. Such was this man, as is clear from verse 1. Hence the author of the Opus Imperfectum, Homily 1 on Matthew, interprets Boaz as "prevailing." Hence also two columns in the temple of Solomon were called Jachin and Boaz, 3 Kings VII, 21, that is, "direction" and "strength," as the Septuagint explains, 2 Chronicles chapter III, 17.
Verse 4: The Lord Be with You
4. AND BOAZ SAID TO THE REAPERS: THE LORD BE WITH YOU — as if to say: May the Lord be present with you, cooperate with you, bless you, strengthen and prosper you. For from God the goodness of the harvest and of every thing must be expected and sought. Hence Varro, Book I of On Agriculture: "Because the Gods," he says, "help those who act, he wishes first to invoke the twelve Consenting Gods, not urban but rural, who are the guides of farmers: Jupiter, Earth, Sun, Moon, Ceres, Bacchus, Robigus, Flora, Minerva, Venus, Water, and good Fortune."
Here is first found that formula of greeting: "The Lord be with you," which after Boaz others adopted, such as the Prophet sent by God to Asa king of Judah, when he was returning victorious with his army: "The Lord is with you," he said, "because you have been with the Lord," 2 Chronicles chapter XV. And afterwards Gabriel greeting the Blessed Virgin by saying: "The Lord is with you," and finally the Church introduced the same into the Sacrifice of the Mass and the ecclesiastical office: on which see Bellarmine, Book II On the Mass, chapter XVI, and John Durant, On the Rites of the Church, Book II, chapter XV, and Blessed Peter Damian, Opusculum XI. Whence in Book IV of the Rationale, chapter On the Greeting of the People, William Bishop of Mende says: "These mutual greetings indicate that the affection of priest and people should be one. And the meaning is: You are about to offer prayers to the Lord for us; and because the Lord God approves and hears only those prayers which proceed from a good heart, we also pray likewise for you, that He without whom there is no good may be with your spirit, so that He who is with you on your lips may also be in your heart and remain." And he continues: "It can also be said that in this response the people refer only to the action of the sacrifice, to which the priest proceeds, in which he ought to be totally elevated in spirit and utterly abstracted from all earthly things."
And Isidore of Pelusium, Book I, Epistle 22: "But that which the people respond: And with your spirit, has this meaning: You have indeed given us peace, Lord, that is, mutual concord among us. But give us peace, that is, such a union with You as can in no way be severed, so that, being at peace with Your Spirit, which You gave us at the beginning of creation, we may not be severed from Your love."
Finally in the Council of Braga, canon 21: "It has been resolved," it says, "that bishops and priests should not greet the people differently, but in one manner, saying: The Lord be with you, as is read in the Book of Ruth."
In a practical sense, Boaz visiting his field and reapers teaches masters to visit their estates and workers frequently: "For under this fear, the overseer with the household will be diligent," says Cato, On Agriculture, chapter II. Whence Pliny, Book XVIII, chapter VI: "Our ancestors," he says, "said that the most fertile thing in a field is the eye of the master." And Aristotle, Book I of the Economics: "The best fertilizer for fields," he says, "is the footsteps of the master."
THEY ANSWERED HIM: THE LORD BLESS YOU. — Learn here the ancient and pious formula of greeting and returning a greeting. For the master, courteously greeting his workers first, says: "The Lord be with you"; they with other words but meaning the same, dutifully return his greeting: "The Lord bless you," that is, may the Lord likewise be with you, and do you good, and heap and crown you with His blessings.
Verse 7: She Asked to Gather Ears of Grain
7. AND SHE ASKED (Ruth asked the overseer of the reapers) TO GATHER EARS OF GRAIN. — By law these ears of grain belonged to the poor; therefore Ruth could have gathered them without asking; yet she preferred to ask, so as to win the reapers more to her side and make them more generous in leaving more ears of grain for her.
Verse 10: And Bowing Down
10. AND BOWING DOWN — that is, showing him reverence by a lowering of the body or an inclination of the head.
Verse 12: Under Whose Wings You Have Taken Refuge
12. TO WHOM YOU HAVE COME AND UNDER WHOSE WINGS YOU HAVE TAKEN REFUGE. — "Wings," that is, care, protection, providence; for thus chicks take refuge under the wings of a hen, so that they may be protected by her from injuries of the weather, as well as from rapacious kites. For in a similar way, we ought to take refuge under the "wings," that is, the protection of God, so that we may be defended by Him from all evils of body and soul, and from demons, according to that saying of David: "Under the shadow of Your wings protect me," Psalm 16:8. And: "With His shoulders He will overshadow you, and under His wings you will hope," Psalm 90:4. Hence also Christ says to Jerusalem: "How often I wished to gather your children, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!" Matthew 23:37. See what was said there. Hence the Chaldean here translates: Because you came to become a proselyte and to hide yourself (or separate yourself) under the shadow of the majesty of His glory.
Verse 13: I Have Found Favor in Your Eyes
13. I HAVE FOUND FAVOR IN YOUR EYES, MY LORD — because you have received and fed me so kindly. The Hebrew and Septuagint have it in the optative: May I find favor, and this is fitting: for she hopes and asks that Boaz continue and prolong the favor he has shown her.
WHO (Hebrew and Septuagint: because) YOU HAVE CONSOLED ME, AND SPOKEN TO THE HEART OF YOUR HANDMAID. — To console and to speak to the heart are the same or nearly the same, namely, to speak pleasant, welcome, delightful things, to comfort, to caress.
WHO AM NOT LIKE ONE OF YOUR MAIDENS (in Hebrew shephachoth, that is, handmaids). — Behold the wonderful humility of Ruth, who makes herself inferior to all of Boaz's handmaids, and the handmaid of handmaids, and therefore merited to become his wife. So the Blessed Virgin, saying: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to your word," merited to become the Mother of God. Hence the Order of virgins commonly called the Annunciades, which Blessed Joan, daughter of Louis XI and wife of Louis XII, kings of France, instituted, calls her who presides over the other nuns "Mother Handmaid," just as St. Francis wished the superiors of his Order to be called Ministers, to fulfill that word of Christ: "He who is the greatest among you shall be your servant," Matthew 23:11.
Verse 14: Dip Your Morsel in Vinegar
14. DIP YOUR MORSEL IN VINEGAR. — Note here the frugality of that age, in which workers had no other sauce or relish than vinegar, in which they dipped their bread to make a sop. For vinegar refreshes those laboring in the heat, tightens the sinews, strengthens the body, and removes putrefaction. Hence even now in Italy peasants eat bread dipped in vinegar diluted with water, as a sort of sop. "Even the defect of wine," says Pliny, Book XXIII, chapter 1, "passes into remedies. Vinegar has supreme power in cooling: but no less in dispersing." And further: "Drunk by itself, it dispels nausea, checks hiccups, and stops sneezing by its smell." And Rashi says: "Vinegar is pleasant in the heat."
Verse 15: And She Heaped Up Roasted Grain
15. AND SHE HEAPED UP — Ruth herself, with Boaz himself giving and heaping into her lap, as the Septuagint and the Hebrew have it; for what he or his deputy gave abundantly, she gathered up.
ROASTED GRAIN FOR HERSELF. — Polenta in Hebrew is qali, that is, roasted meal or barley. It was made thus, says Cato, in the book On Agriculture, chapter 108: "Barley sprinkled with water was dried for one night, the next day it was crushed, then ground in mills and kept for many days." Hear Seneca, Epistle 41: "Learn to be content with little, and cry out that saying with greatness and courage: Let us have water, let us have polenta! Let us rival Jupiter himself in happiness." The same, Epistle 18: "Water and polenta," he says, "or a piece of barley bread is not an unpleasant thing, but the greatest pleasure is to be able to take pleasure even from these."
AND SHE TOOK THE LEFTOVERS — of food and roasted grain home to Naomi her mother-in-law, to feed her, verse 18. See how dutiful Ruth is, and therefore loved by Boaz, advanced, and taken as his wife. So we see that those who are dutiful are loved and raised to great things.
Verse 20: He Has Kept the Same Kindness
20. BECAUSE HE HAS KEPT THE SAME KINDNESS THAT HE SHOWED TO THE LIVING ALSO FOR THE DEAD — as if to say: Just as Boaz showed kindness to Elimelech my husband and to his sons Mahlon and Chilion, as his kinsmen, while they lived, so now he continues to show kindness to them though dead, in that he is generous to their wives who survive, namely to me Naomi and to you Ruth, and feeds and nourishes us.
THE MAN IS OUR KINSMAN. — The Hebrew adds: "he is one of our redeemers, or avengers," that is, one of those to whom belongs the right of freeing us from childlessness, redeeming our property, vindicating the name of my sons and your husband from extinction and oblivion, by raising up seed and posterity for them, as is stated in Leviticus XXV, 25.
Note here: a kinsman is called in Hebrew goel, that is, redeemer, in a threefold sense, namely of a field, of a wife and inheritance, and of reputation and injury. Of a field, because if a field had been sold by someone to an outsider, the kinsman of the seller had the right of redeeming the field by returning its price to the buyer who had purchased it. Of a wife, because if someone had died without children, his kinsman had the right, indeed the obligation, of marrying his wife, so as to raise up children for him, and thus he redeemed her, as it were, together with her inheritance, and claimed her for himself. Of reputation and injury, because if someone had been killed by another, it fell to the kinsman of the slain man to avenge his death, to demand the death of the killer, and to prosecute him before the judges as guilty of a capital crime: so that by this means he would restore, as it were, to the slain man his right, that is, his reputation and innocence.
Verse 22: It Is Better, My Daughter
22. IT IS BETTER, etc., FOR YOU TO GO OUT WITH HIS MAIDENS TO REAP — not that you should reap, but that you should join yourself to the reapers, so as to gather the fallen ears of grain, as was said in verse 15 and following. Hence Abulensis explains it thus, as if Naomi says: I advise you, O Ruth my dear daughter-in-law, to devote your labor to Boaz, by reaping his crops, and this freely and without payment, so that by this service you may more easily win his favor and pave the way to entering into marriage with him.