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Boaz ate and drank to his heart’s content, and went to lie down at the edge of the pile of grain. She crept up, uncovered a place at his feet, and lay down. Midway through the night, the man gave a start and groped about, only to find a woman lying at his feet. “Who are you?” he asked. She replied, “I am your servant Ruth. Spread the wing of your cloak[a] over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”

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Footnotes

  1. 3:9 Spread the wing of your cloak: Ez 16:8 makes it clear that this is a request for marriage. Ruth connects it to “redeemer” responsibility. A wordplay on “wing” links what Boaz is asked to do to what he has asked God to do for Ruth in 2:12.

When Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits,(A) he went over to lie down at the far end of the grain pile.(B) Ruth approached quietly, uncovered his feet and lay down. In the middle of the night something startled the man; he turned—and there was a woman lying at his feet!

“Who are you?” he asked.

“I am your servant Ruth,” she said. “Spread the corner of your garment(C) over me, since you are a guardian-redeemer[a](D) of our family.”

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Footnotes

  1. Ruth 3:9 The Hebrew word for guardian-redeemer is a legal term for one who has the obligation to redeem a relative in serious difficulty (see Lev. 25:25-55); also in verses 12 and 13.