Bible Strands
Ruth 2:21
Then Ruth the Moabitess said, “He also told me, ‘Stay with my young men until they have finished gathering all my harvest.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Ruth the Moabite responds to Naomi after Naomi identified Boaz as a kinsman-redeemer. Ruth reports the specific instruction Boaz gave her regarding her work assignment.
The words — The Hebrew terms גַּם (gam, "also") and עִם (im, "with") anchor Ruth’s report of Boaz’s directive to remain among his male workers. These particles emphasize inclusion and continuity in her assigned task.
The thread — This instruction echoes Ruth 2:7 where she first requested permission to glean, and Naomi reinforces the same directive in Ruth 2:22. Song of Solomon 1:7 similarly uses a question about pasturing sheep to frame a relationship built on proximity and care.
Why it lands — The text states that divine provision operates through specific, practical boundaries rather than open access. It requires a reader to accept assigned limits as the mechanism for protection and sustenance.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all my harvest.
Cross-references
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?
- Ruth 2:7 She has said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the harvesters.’ So she came out and has continued from morning until now, except that she rested a short time in the shelter.”
- Ruth 2:22 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work with his young women, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.”