OET interlinear RUTH 2:9

2:9a

Let your eyes be on the field they are harvesting: The fields for the residents of Bethlehem were outside the village and one man’s field would be adjacent to that of another person. So Boaz instructed Ruth to watch carefully where his harvest crew was working and to stay with them. That is where she would be able to gather the most grain, and where she would be safest (2:9b).

they are harvesting: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as they are harvesting is literally “they (masculine) are harvesting.” Masculine gender in Hebrew can be used for a mixed group of men and women, so scholars have interpreted this in two ways:

1. It refers to all the harvest workers including both men and women. In versions that translate with they, the referent will be understood as “the women who work for me” (2:8c.) For example:

   Keep your eyes on the field they are reaping (NJPS)

   Watch to see into which fields they go to cut grain and follow them. (NCV) (BSB, ESV, NJB, KJV, NASB, NJPS, GNT, NCV, NLT; NRSV, NABRE)The NRSV and NABRE both use passive constructions which give attention to “the field that is being reaped” (NRSV) and leave implicit who the reapers are. This results in the reapers not being limited to one gender or the other.

2. It refers only to the male workers. For example:

   Take note of the field where the men are harvesting (NET)

   and follow along behind them, as they gather up what the men have cut (CEV) (NIV, NET, REB, GW, CEV)

The Notes will follow interpretation (1) and use a word that can refer to all the harvest workers. However, both interpretations have good commentary support.Commentaries that support interpretation (1) include: WBC, AYB, ZECOT, and NICOT. Commentaries that support (2) include: UBS, ZIBBC, KEL, and NET note. It is clear that the men did the actual harvesting/reaping, whereas the women gathered and tied the stalks into bundles. You may follow whatever interpretation people will understand best in your culture.

and follow along after these girls: Boaz here granted Ruth the privilege of gleaning close to the women workers, not just after them. For example:

Stay right behind the young women working in my field. (NLT)

continue following closely behind my women workers (NCV)

2:9b

Indeed, I have ordered the young men not to touch you: In Hebrew, this statement is a rhetorical question. Boaz used it to emphasize the certainty of his instructions to the men. There are two ways to translate this question:

• As a rhetorical question. For example:

  Have I not commanded the young men to do you no harm? (NABRE)

• As a statement. For example:

  I will tell the men to leave you alone. (NET)

not to touch: There are two ways to interpret the Hebrew verb in this context that the BSB translates as to touch :

1. It means “to bother, harm, or treat roughly.” For example:

   I have ordered the young men not to bother you. (NRSV)

   I have ordered the young men not to treat you roughly. (NLT) (CEV, NABRE, NET, NRSV)

2. It mean to come against a person violently or to abuse sexually. For example:

   I have forbidden my men to molest you. (NJB) (GNT, NAB, NJB, NJPS, REB, RSV)

Phrases such as “lay a hand on” (NIV) and touch (BSB) are ambiguous.

The Notes will follow interpretation (1).Some feel that sexual assault is not in view in this context. CBC, for example, points out that this is harvest time and the fields were full of workers who could respond to a cry for help. KEL similarly finds it “highly unlikely that Boaz’s workers were so prone to attack women that he had to prohibit such an action!” Boaz had given special permission to Ruth to glean close to his female workers. Without this command his male workers may have treated her roughly and told her that she could only glean after those workers were finished with their work.

However, you should also fee free to follow interpretation (2). It is followed by a majority of versions and a number of scholars. Ruth 2:9 is mentioned specifically as one of the OT references where “touch a woman” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.Church of Christ study on 1 Corinthians 7, AYB7, IBC, Schwab. As IBC states: It is quite possible that any young woman working alone in the fields might be subject to unsolicited advances by men in the area…A foreigner from a disliked ethnic group would be even more likely to be victimized It is unlikely that a man would molest Ruth in broad daylight, but someone might well attempt it in the evening as she walked home.

2:9c

And when you are thirsty, go and drink from the jars the young men have filled: Boaz was again granting Ruth a special favor. Normally, a gleaner would have to get her own water. She would not be allowed to drink from the water jars that the workers had filled for themselves.

the jars: These are not specified as water containers in the Hebrew text, but are just called “containers” or “vessels.” However, from the context it is clear that they were containers for water.

the young men have filled: The Hebrew verb that the BSB translates as have filled refers specifically to drawing (pulling up) water from a well. In your translation, use the words that people in your culture normally use to describe filling their water containers.

the young men: The masculine plural noun that the BSB translates as the young men can refer to a mixed group of servants. So if it would seem strange to your readers that men would fill water jars, you may use a general term such as “servants” or “workers.”