Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
Ruth, at Naomi's suggestion, requests marriage from Boaz by right of kinship; he promises to marry her: and therefore sends her back to Naomi laden with barley.
Vulgate Text: Ruth 3:1-18
1. After she had returned to her mother-in-law, she heard from her: My daughter, I will seek rest for you and will provide that it may be well with you. 2. This Boaz, to whose maidens you were joined in the field, is our kinsman, and tonight he winnows the barley at the threshing floor. 3. Wash yourself therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your finer garments, and go down to the threshing floor. Do not let the man see you until he has finished eating and drinking. 4. And when he goes to sleep, note the place where he sleeps: and you shall come and uncover the cloak with which he is covered at the feet, and cast yourself down, and lie there: he himself will tell you what you should do. 5. She replied: Whatever you command, I will do. 6. And she went down to the threshing floor and did all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7. And when Boaz had eaten and drunk and become merry, and had gone to sleep beside the heap of sheaves, she came secretly, and uncovering the cloak from his feet, she cast herself down. 8. And behold, in the middle of the night the man was startled and troubled: and he saw a woman lying at his feet, 9. and said to her: Who are you? And she answered: I am Ruth your handmaid; spread your cloak over your handmaid, for you are a kinsman. 10. And he said: Blessed are you by the Lord, daughter, and you have surpassed your former kindness by this latter one; because you have not followed young men, whether poor or rich. 11. Do not fear therefore; but whatever you say to me, I will do for you. For all the people who dwell within the gates of my city know that you are a woman of virtue. 12. Nor do I deny that I am a kinsman, but there is another who is a closer kinsman than I. 13. Rest this night; and when morning comes, if he wishes to retain you by right of kinship, it is well: but if he will not, I will take you without any hesitation, as the Lord lives. Sleep until morning. 14. So she slept at his feet until the night was ending. She rose therefore before people could recognize one another, and Boaz said: Be careful that no one learns that you came here. 15. And again: Spread out, he said, the cloak with which you are covered, and hold it with both hands. As she stretched it out and held it, he measured six modii of barley and placed it upon her. Carrying it, she entered the city, 16. and came to her mother-in-law. Who said to her: What have you done, daughter? And she told her all that the man had done for her. 17. And she said: Behold, he gave me six modii of barley, and said: I do not want you to return empty to your mother-in-law. 18. And Naomi said: Wait, daughter, until we see what outcome the matter will have. For the man will not rest until he has accomplished what he has said.
Verse 1: I Will Seek Rest for You
1. AFTER SHE HAD RETURNED (when the harvest was finished) TO HER MOTHER-IN-LAW — Naomi. Our translator reads tashab, that is, "she returned": others with different vowel points read tesheb, that is, "she sat, she dwelt."
I WILL SEEK REST FOR YOU — that is, I will seek an honorable and wealthy marriage for you, in which, free from the labors of poverty and famine and other troubles, you may find rest in the care and providence of a gentle and kind husband, and lead a quiet, cheerful, and pleasant life — namely, I will seek for you a wealthy husband, as well as a kind one, with whom you may live in harmony and happiness; for with harsh and quarrelsome husbands there is no rest for a wife. Moreover, Ibn Ezra says: "Maidens are not accustomed to rest until they have married. For marriage is, as it were, the harbor of youth," says Plutarch, lest through wandering lusts one make shipwreck of chastity.
Verse 3: Wash Yourself and Anoint Yourself
3. WASH YOURSELF AND ANOINT YOURSELF — with simple oil, as being very poor but honorable: for such people were then anointed with oil for cleanliness and cheerfulness. Naomi urges her daughter-in-law Ruth to anoint herself with oil, not nard or any similarly fragrant and seductive oil, but natural and simple; nor to color and alter her face with antimony, white lead, and other pigments and cosmetics, but to appear before Boaz with a washed and clean face, and dressed in finer garments; namely, modestly adorned, to invite him to the marriage that was, as it were, owed to her. For modest adornment of dress, and even more of conduct and virtue, befits an honorable and chaste matron, as St. Peter teaches, 1 Peter chapter III, verse 4. Moreover, what Lucan said of Cleopatra, Book X: "Her face accompanies her words; her beautiful countenance pleads the case" — is equally true of others.
Verse 4: Cast Yourself Down and Lie There
4. AND CAST YOURSELF DOWN AND LIE THERE — not naked; for that would have been shameless and seductive, but clothed in finer garments, as was said in verse 3. Therefore, although Lyranus and Dionysius, and even St. Ambrose, Book III On Faith, chapter V, accuse this counsel of Naomi and the deed of Ruth as somewhat indecent and seductive, nevertheless Theodoret, the author of the Opus Imperfectum, Abulensis, Salianus, Serarius, and others excuse both women, both because all this adornment and preparation was honorable and modest; and because nothing else was sought by it than the marriage that was owed; and because both Boaz and Ruth were elderly, of proven and chaste life, so that fornication was not to be feared from them; and because this matter was directed by Naomi, who was a wise and pious matron, and even more by God, who wished this marriage to be contracted so that from it David might be born, and from him Christ. Hence the author of the Opus Imperfectum on Matthew chapter I says that Ruth in Hebrew means "inspiration," because she did this inspired by God: "Unless the inspiration of God had been in Ruth, she would neither have said what she said, nor done what she did." For this deed of Ruth is not to be imitated by other women and men, because it is dangerous and enticing to fornication. The author of the Opus Imperfectum continues: "What is praised first in her? Love of the race of Israel? Or simplicity? Or obedience? Or faith? Love of the race of Israel indeed, because she so desired to receive children from the seed of Israel, and to become one of the people of God. For if she had desired the company of a man as a lustful girl, she would have preferred some young man. But because she was not seeking to satisfy her lust but her religion, she chose a holy family rather than youthful age. And simplicity — she did not enter under his cloak of her own accord; nor did she think that perhaps he would spurn her, as a just man might a lustful girl, or that he would deceive her, and what was worse, despise her once deceived, as many do: but obediently she confidently believed in the counsels of her mother-in-law, that God would prosper her action, knowing her conscience, because lust had not driven her to this, but religion had urged her."
Verse 7: Uncovering the Cloak from His Feet
7. AND UNCOVERING THE CLOAK (that is, the bed covering) FROM HIS FEET, SHE CAST HERSELF DOWN — clothed, not beside Boaz, but across at his feet; for propriety required this.
Verse 8: He Saw a Woman
8. AND HE SAW A WOMAN. — For although it was night, yet because he slept in the open air on the threshing floor, and by the light of the moon or stars, he could easily see that Ruth was a woman, not a man; even though he could not discern from her face who she was, on account of the darkness of the night.
Verse 9: Spread Your Cloak over Your Handmaid
9. SPREAD YOUR CLOAK OVER YOUR HANDMAID, FOR YOU ARE A KINSMAN — that is, take me as your wife, because as a kinsman you are bound to this, namely, to raise up seed for my husband who died without children. Hence the Chaldean translates: Let your name, I pray, come upon your handmaid, that you may take me as wife and have me as a companion of your bed. Lyranus adds that the groom customarily placed the edge of his cloak over the bride, so that by this gesture he signified that he was taking her into his power and protection. Some accuse, as I said, this word and deed of Ruth, as one who too dangerously tested Boaz's chastity and exposed her own. But others generally excuse her, in that, trusting in the chastity of Boaz and her own, as proven through so many years, she judged there was no danger — as indeed the outcome showed that there was none.
Abulensis adds that Ruth was asking for intercourse with Boaz by this expression. But this is not probable; if however she did ask for it, she asked for it as a conjugal act, not a fornicatory one. For at that time clandestine marriages were not forbidden: therefore by mutual consent, whether expressed in words or indicated by carnal union, a marriage was contracted. If therefore Ruth asked for this, she asked for nothing but the conjugal debt, and through it she sought the marriage itself; and she did this, both to provide for her own and her mother-in-law Naomi's widowhood and poverty through the wealth of a rich husband; and to provide for the name and memory of her husband who died without children, by raising up seed for him through another husband — which was an act of charity and conjugal love; and to satisfy the law of God, extended by custom, commanding that seed be raised up for a husband, and to urge Boaz himself to satisfy the same — which was an act of obedience and religion.
Allegorically, St. Jerome, in the Proem to Hosea: "Salmon," he says, "a just man, begot Boaz from Rahab the harlot, who, covering Ruth the Moabitess with the edge of his cloak, and her who lay at his feet, transferred her to the head of the Gospel." And Book V on Isaiah chapter XVI: "O Moab! against whom the lion will rage, and from whom not even remnants can be saved, take this consolation: From you shall go forth the immaculate lamb, who takes away the sins of the world, who rules over the whole earth. From the rock of the desert, that is Ruth, who widowed by the death of her husband, from Boaz begot Obed, and from Obed Jesse, and from Jesse David, and from David Christ."
Verse 10: You Have Surpassed Your Former Kindness
I WILL TAKE YOU WITHOUT ANY HESITATION — as my wife. Admire here the remarkable charity, as well as the chastity of Boaz, who would not touch Ruth lying beside him, but promised marriage. Hear the author of the Opus Imperfectum, Homily 1 on Matthew: "What is praised in Boaz? Humility, chastity, and religion. Humility indeed and chastity, because he did not touch her like a lustful man touching a girl; nor did he shrink from her as a chaste man from a wanton woman: but as soon as he heard her word about the law of kinship, he attributed none of these things to lust, but ascribed everything to religion. He did not despise her as a rich man despises a poor woman; nor was he fearful as an older man might be of a young girl; but more ready in faith than in body, he proceeded in the morning to the gate and challenged a certain kinsman whom he judged to be a closer relative by right of kinship; he prevailed, not so much by right of kinship as by the favor of God who chooses. Therefore he was perhaps called 'prevailing.'" For Boaz in Hebrew means strong. Hence the Talmudists compare Boaz with the most chaste Joseph. Whence Rabbi Eliezer, chapter XXXIX: "There were three," he says, "who mastered their desire before their Creator: Joseph, Boaz, and Phaltiel son of Laish, of whom see 2 Samuel III, 15." Hear also Abulensis: "Truly," he says, "it is to be admired, even if he were made of iron or adamant, and his bones of bronze, and his flesh of stone. Yet the venerable Boaz endured those enticements, restraining himself by the desire for virtue." And further: "Therefore only the reverence for propriety and love of the law held Boaz back from consummating the act. Therefore that man is greatly praiseworthy, who, given such an opportunity, was able to resist such great flames of passion; therefore he should not be passed over by us in silence, but should be celebrated with some praise. Rightly therefore did Christ will to be born from such parents, because they were of such great virtue."
Moreover, the chastity of Boaz was greatly aided by the hardness of the bed and the cold; namely, that he slept not in a feather bed, but on the threshing floor, in the open air in the cold. For the hardness of a bed and cold greatly break the heat of concupiscence; for which reason the Pharisees, as I have said elsewhere, when lying down, would place a plate of lead on their loins (in which the origin of seed resides) to cool them, and thus avoid nocturnal pollutions in sleep. Hence also many Religious go barefoot. For bare and cold feet greatly extinguish the heat of nature and the burning of lust, as experience attests. Hence finally St. Anthony, St. Hilarion, and St. Macarius, and the other Anchorites slept not in beds but on the ground. St. Francis, as St. Bonaventure testifies, invited to the home of a certain Cardinal, when at night he lay in a soft bed, felt sharp attacks of demons; therefore he soon fled from it, saying that "demons are attracted to tempt by soft things, but are deterred and put to flight by harsh things."
10. AND YOU HAVE SURPASSED YOUR FORMER KINDNESS BY THIS LATTER ONE. — In Hebrew: you have made the latter favor better than the former; Vatablus: you have made your latter piety more excellent than the former; as if to say: You were pious toward your husband while he lived, but you are more pious now toward him dead, in that you labor to raise up seed for him who died without children through marriage with his kinsman. Hear Blessed Peter Damian, Book VIII, Epistle 14, to the Sisters: "Ruth showed worthy reverence to her mother-in-law, maintained matronly modesty; she kept faith with her deceased husband; she abandoned her homeland and parents devoted to idols, and passed to the worship of the true God without any teacher's instruction, a noble proselyte. Behold therefore Judith, rejecting the prosperity by which she was supported in life; Ruth, embracing the adversity by which she was pressed. Both indeed pleased the one God with one mind, though with different fortune — and not undeservedly — because neither did the one succumb to adversity, nor did the other, forgetting herself in prosperity, cast herself down. But the one endured what she had in abundance, the other enjoyed what she suffered; each indeed affirming about the alternations of worldly inconstancy: as is its darkness, so also is its light."
Verse 11: A Woman of Virtue
11. FOR ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DWELL WITHIN THE GATES OF MY CITY KNOW. — The Hebrew has: every gate of my people knows, which Vatablus and others explain as: the entire Senate of my people knows. For judges and the Senate formerly sat in the gates and judged, so that they could be easily approached and met by country folk and foreigners. Our translator more fully explains "the gate of the people" by converting it to "the people of the gate," that is, the people dwelling within the gates.
THAT YOU ARE A WOMAN OF VIRTUE. — In Hebrew chail, that is, of vigor, fortitude, strength; as if to say: All know that you are a strong, diligent, and industrious woman. Hence the Septuagint translates: a woman of power, that is, a powerful and manly woman. The Chaldean has: It is known before all who sit in the gate of the great Sanhedrin (that is, the Congregation or Council) of my people, that you are a just woman, and that in you there is strength and power to look upon the lamp of God's commandments.
Verse 12: There Is Another Closer Kinsman
12. BUT THERE IS ANOTHER WHO IS A CLOSER KINSMAN THAN I. — Naomi certainly knew this; but she knew his character, that he would not want to take Ruth, a poor foreigner, as his wife, as the outcome showed; and therefore she judged it better to honestly invite not him, but Boaz, who was more modest and more pious, to the marriage. So Abulensis, Serarius, and others.
Verse 13: It Is Well
13. IT IS WELL. — Tob, that is, "good" or "it is good." Some Rabbis take tob as a proper name of the kinsman, as if he were called Tob, that is, "good," just as Tobias is called "good to God" or "the goodness of God." Hence Rashi: "Salmon," he says, "Elimelech, and Tob were brothers." But the Septuagint, the Chaldean, our translator, and others take tob as a common noun and translate it in the neuter: it is good.
Verse 15: Six Modii of Barley
15. HE MEASURED SIX MODII OF BARLEY. — Ruth could carry these six modii on her shoulders. For spelt is lighter than wheat, barley lighter than spelt, and oats lighter than barley. For she was a "woman of virtue," as was said in verse 11, that is, manly, strong, and robust.
Symbolically, Rabbi Solomon, cited by Lyranus, takes the six modii to represent six gifts of the Holy Spirit, because there are that many in the Hebrew of Isaiah chapter XI, verses 1 and following. Ibn Ezra however takes the six modii to represent six just men who were to be born from Ruth, namely David, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and the Messiah.