What does Ruth 2:18 mean?
Ruth accompanied her mother-in-law from Moab with more determination than planning. Her first morning, she left early to find a barley field and request permission to glean behind the harvesters (Ruth 2:2, 7). As a Moabite, she doesn't necessarily meet the qualifications of a sojourner who is allowed to glean (Deuteronomy 23:3–6; Leviticus 23:22). She needed to find a harvest manager or owner who would treat her with more than the legally required level of assistance (Ruth 2:2).Fortunately, she happened upon the field owned by Boaz. Boaz had heard of her kindness toward Naomi and has made such accommodations that Ruth has had a very profitable day. Boaz even invited Ruth to lunch and fed her so much roasted grain she couldn't finish it all (Ruth 2:3–16).
Naomi knows none of this. She hasn't seen Ruth since early that morning. She has no idea if Ruth found a place that would let a single Moabite woman glean, or if she did so without being accosted by the hired harvesters. When Ruth arrives home, Naomi is shocked. Not only did Ruth find a place to glean, but she also brings back so much grain it would pay a male harvester for at least two weeks (Ruth 2:17). In addition, Ruth has brought the leftover roasted grain from her lunch.
Naturally, Naomi asks Ruth how this came to be. When Ruth mentions Boaz's name, Naomi realizes she knows him. He is a relative of her late husband and one of their kinsman-redeemers. If his generosity continues through the barley and wheat harvests, Ruth can glean enough to provide for them for a year. But he can also buy Naomi's husband's land from whomever he sold it to when they left for Moab and provide Naomi and Ruth with some kind of inheritance (Ruth 2:19–20). They may be okay after all.
