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Ruth 2:10

in Ruth 2

At this, she fell on her face, bowing low to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you should take notice of me, even though I am a foreigner?”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found favor in thy sight, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a foreigner?

KJV

Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes, that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a stranger?

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This verse in Ruth 2

Commentary

6 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Then she fell on her face - Prostrated herself, as was the custom in the East when inferiors approached those of superior rank. The Targum adds to the conversation between Ruth and Boaz: “How, says she, have I obtained grace in thy sight, that thou shouldest acknowledge me who am a stranger and one of the daughters of Moab, of whom it is said, The unclean shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord?

This site's exposition

At this, she fell on her face

on Ruth 2:10-11

She asks why she has found favor "even though I am a foreigner", using the stronger of the two Hebrew terms for an outsider, one without the standing the law gave a resident alien. Boaz answers with chapter 1 in one sentence, "how you left your father and mother and the land of your birth". Keil and Delitzsch and Matthew Henry both hear Genesis 12:1 behind that clause.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

): She fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground. Note, Good breeding is a great ornament to religion; and we must render honour to whom honour is due. (2.) She humbly owned herself unworthy of his favours: " I am a stranger (

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+odd-straight-quotes

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

proposed

Fell - This was the humblest posture of reverence, either civil when performed to men, or religious, when to God. Take knowledge - That is, shew any respect and kindness to me.
Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,....

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

She fell on her face - With Oriental reverence (compare Gen 33:3, and the marginal reference).

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

On the verses either side of this one

It has been fully related to me. An action where the agent is not specified.
Ibn Ezra: Spain, 1089–1167 · Ibn Ezra on Ruth 2:11:1, via Sefaria, Sefaria Community Translation

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

14 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַתִּפֹּל֙and she fell

    vatipolH5307 →

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • פָּנֶ֔יהָface her

    paneihaH6440 →

  • וַתִּשְׁתַּ֖חוּand she bowed down

    vatishtachuH7812 →

  • אָ֑רְצָה[the] ground towards

    ʾaretzahH776 →2504 times

  • וַתֹּ֣אמֶרand she said

    vatomerH559 →5305 times

  • אֵלָ֗יוto him

    ʾelavH413 →5510 times

  • מַדּוּעַ֩why?

    madua'H4069 →

  • מָצָ֨אתִיhave I found

    matzatiH4672 →455 times

  • חֵ֤ןfavor

    chenH2580 →69 times

  • בְּעֵינֶ֙יךָ֙in view your

    beeineikhaH5869 →887 times

  • לְהַכִּירֵ֔נִיto pay regard to me

    lehakireniH5234 →49 times

  • וְאָּנֹכִ֖יand I

    veanokhiH595 →359 times

  • נָכְרִיָּֽה׃[am] a foreigner

    nakheriyahH5237 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 25:23When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off the donkey, fell facedown, and bowed before him.9 worksRuth 2:13“My lord,” she said, “may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls.”6 worksLuke 1:43And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?5 worksLuke 1:48For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.5 worksLuke 17:16–18He fell facedown at Jesus’ feet in thanksgiving to Him—and he was a Samaritan.5 works2 Samuel 19:28For all the house of my grandfather deserves death from my lord the king, yet you have set your servant among those who eat at your table. What further right, then, do I have to keep appealing to the king?”5 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
Romans 12:10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.5 works1 Samuel 25:41She arose, then bowed facedown and said, “Here is your maidservant, ready to serve and to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”5 works2 Samuel 9:8Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”4 worksRuth 2:19Then her mother-in-law asked her, “Where did you glean today, and where did you work? Blessed be the man who noticed you.” So she told her mother-in-law where she had worked. “The name of the man I worked with today is Boaz,” she said.4 worksGenesis 18:2And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.3 worksRuth 2:2And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, “Please let me go into the fields and glean heads of grain after someone in whose sight I may find favor.” “Go ahead, my daughter,” Naomi replied.3 worksMatthew 15:22–28And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”3 worksIsaiah 56:3–8Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will utterly exclude me from His people.” And let the eunuch not say, “I am but a dry tree.”3 worksLuke 7:6–7So Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends with the message: “Lord, do not trouble Yourself, for I am not worthy to have You come under my roof.3 worksMatthew 25:35For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,3 works1 Samuel 18:18And David said to Saul, “Who am I, and what is my family or my father’s clan in Israel, that I should become the son-in-law of the king?”3 worksGenesis 33:10But Jacob insisted, “No, please! If I have found favor in your sight, then receive this gift from my hand. For indeed, I have seen your face, and it is like seeing the face of God, since you have received me favorably.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Luke 1:48

    For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 138:6

      Though the LORD is on high, He attends to the lowly; but the proud He knows from afar.

    • 1 Corinthians 1:26–28

      Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.

    • Malachi 3:12

      “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.

    • Psalms 136:23

      He remembered us in our low estate His loving devotion endures forever.

    • Luke 11:27

      As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”

  • Through

    Ruth 2:13

    “My lord,” she said, “may I continue to find favor in your eyes, for you have comforted and spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your servant girls.”

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 1:18

      “May your maidservant find favor with you,” said Hannah. Then she went on her way, and she began eating again, and her face was no longer downcast.

    • Genesis 33:8

      “What do you mean by sending this whole company to meet me?” asked Esau. “To find favor in your sight, my lord,” Jacob answered.

  • Through

    Luke 1:43

    And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

    it leads to

    • John 20:28

      Thomas replied, “My Lord and my God!”

Where this verse is studied

About Ruth

Ruth and Boaz — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Ruth and Boaz — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Ruth: the study guide →Read Ruth 2 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Joshua, Judges, Ruth and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Ruth 2 →