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Ruth 2 Bible study: Under whose wings
Ruth "happened" into the field of Elimelech's relative (2:3), and the Hebrew sets a word for chance beside the verb. Boaz blessed her by the LORD, "under whose wings you have come to take refuge" (2:12). And Naomi's "who has not abandoned his kindness" (2:20) is, in Hebrew, the same four words Abraham's servant said when he found Rebekah (Genesis 24:27).
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“May the LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given to you from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”
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“In Ruth 2, Naomi blesses the man who noticed Ruth before Ruth tells her his name.”
Is that in Ruth 2, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
You meet Boaz before Ruth does
The chapter opens by telling you what Ruth doesn't know yet: "Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a mighty man of wealth, of the family of Elimelech, and his name was Boaz" (2:1). In Hebrew, relative here is moda' (tap relative). It is not the word Naomi uses at the end of the chapter, "one of our near kinsmen" (2:20) (tap near kinsmen). A mighty man of wealth is, in Hebrew, gibbor chayil (tap wealth), the same two words the WEB gives as "mighty man of valor" for Gideon (Judges 6:12) and Jephthah (Judges 11:1). Then Ruth asks to glean "after him in whose sight I find favor" (2:2), and "she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech" (2:3) (tap happened). The chapter says "of the family of Elimelech" twice, in 2:1 and again in 2:3.
Where it leads to Jesus
Under his wings
Ruth 2:12leads toMatthew 23:37
Boaz blesses Ruth by "the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge" (2:12). The Psalms use the same picture of God: "The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings" (Psalm 36:7), and "Under his wings you will take refuge" (Psalm 91:4). Jesus said to Jerusalem, "How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!" (Matthew 23:37). Jesus doesn't cite Ruth, and his word is gathered, not take refuge, so setting the two side by side is a reading, resting on a shared picture, shelter under wings, not only on a shared word. Some hear Jesus speaking of himself in the picture that Boaz and the Psalms use of the LORD, the wings Ruth came under. Others read Matthew 23:37 within its own setting, Jesus' words to Jerusalem, "who kills the prophets" (Matthew 23:37), and Ruth 2:12 as Boaz's blessing on one woman, and don't look from one to the other. The wings in 2:12 are the LORD's; nothing here makes Boaz a picture of Jesus.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Ruth 2
That was a taste
The rest of Ruth 2 is waiting in Favor
- The gleaning law, and Boaz's orders
- Under whose wings
- Home with barley, and a name
- The words of Abraham's servant
- Refuge under wings
- 12 questions as you read
- 10 more Hebrew words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Ruth 2 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Hebrew word behind it
כָּנָףkanafsay ka-NAF
Brown-Driver-Briggs: "wing, extremity". Strong's: "an edge or extremity; specifically (of a bird or army) a wing, (of a garment or bedclothing) a flap". Boaz blesses Ruth by "the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge" (2:12). Ruth uses the word twice. The other is Ruth's request to Boaz, "spread the corner of your garment over your servant" (3:9), where the WEB gives it as corner of your garment. The book doesn't comment on the two. The Psalms put God's wings and refuge together: "The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings" (Psalm 36:7), and "Under his wings you will take refuge" (Psalm 91:4). The Hebrew Bible uses the word 109 times.
For your group
Ruth 2 Bible study questions
- 1Ruth went out to glean "after him in whose sight I find favor" (2:2), not knowing whose field she would find. Where are you stepping out right now without knowing how it will turn out?
- 2Boaz had been told "all about what you have done for your mother-in-law" (2:11). Whose quiet faithfulness have you noticed lately, and how could you tell them?
- 3Boaz told his young men to leave grain for Ruth and not to reproach her (2:15-16). What would it look like for you to make room like that for someone this week?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Ruth 2 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home