Ruth 2 · a question people ask
"Who has not abandoned his kindness" (2:20): is that the LORD's kindness, or Boaz's?
Naomi says, "May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not abandoned his kindness to the living and to the dead" (2:20) (tap abandoned and kindness). The verse names two: "he", the man Ruth worked with (2:19), and "the LORD". It doesn't say which of them the "who" is. Christians read it in two main ways. Both agree that Naomi blesses the man by the LORD, and that the kindness reaches "to the living and to the dead" (2:20). She had prayed on the road, "May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me" (1:8).
How Christians read it
Where Christians differ, Favor sets out the main views side by side and doesn't pick one.
The LORD's kindness
Those who hold this view read "who" as the LORD, the name just before it. When Abraham's servant found Rebekah, he said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his loving kindness and his truth toward my master" (Genesis 24:27). In Hebrew, "who has not forsaken his loving kindness" there is the same four words as "who has not abandoned his kindness" here, and there the one who has not forsaken it is the LORD. On this reading Naomi, who had said, "the LORD has brought me home again empty" (1:21), now speaks of the LORD's kindness.
Ruth 2:20 · Genesis 24:27 · Ruth 1:21
Boaz's kindness
Those who hold this view read "who" as the man who is blessed. When David blessed the men of Jabesh Gilead, he said, "Blessed are you by the LORD, that you have shown this kindness to your lord, even to Saul" (2 Samuel 2:5); in Hebrew the sentence has the same shape as 2:20, and the kindness is theirs. Boaz speaks to Ruth that way in the next chapter: "You are blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You have shown more kindness in the latter end than at the beginning" (3:10). On this reading Naomi blesses Boaz by the LORD for kindness Boaz has shown to the living and to the dead.
Ruth 2:20 · 2 Samuel 2:5 · Ruth 3:10
The verses
“Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where have you gleaned today? Where have you worked? Blessed be he who noticed you.” She told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.” Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, who has not abandoned his kindness to the living and to the dead.” Naomi said to her, “The man is a close relative to us, one of our near kinsmen.””
“Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go, return each of you to her mother’s house. May the LORD deal kindly with you, as you have dealt with the dead and with me.”