Ruth 3:7
in Ruth 3After Boaz had finished eating and drinking and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then Ruth went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
KJV
And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly, and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
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This verse in Ruth 3
Commentary
5 notes on this verseWhen Boaz had eaten and drunk - The Targum adds, “He blessed the name of the Lord, who had heard his prayer, and removed famine from the land of Israel.” Went to lie down - As the threshing-floors of the Eastern nations are in general in the open air, it is very likely that the owner or some confidential person continued in the fields till the grain was secured, having a tent in the place where the corn was threshed and winnowed. Boaz seems to have acted thus.
This site's exposition
So she went down to the threshing floor
on Ruth 3:6-8
The narrator says she "did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do", which is how this book handles obedience. Boaz lies "at the end of the heap of grain" because the owner guarded it through the night. Matthew Henry grants the scene looked like evil and he cannot fully justify it, while Adam Clarke reads a customary approach only a man like Boaz could safely meet.
This site's exposition
was in good spirits
The phrase describes the ease of a man after a good meal at the close of harvest. Adam Clarke notes that owners stayed with the grain on the open floor until it was secured. Ruth comes to him in secret.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
) that Boaz ate and drank and his heart was good (and so the Hebrew word is), and he blessed the name of the Lord, who had heard his prayers, and taken away the famine from the land of Israel. So that he went sober to bed, his heart was in a good frame, and not overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness. And he did not go to bed without prayer.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry,....
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אכַל | vaiyokhal | and he ate | H398 → | 810 times |
| בֹּ֤עַז | boaz | Boaz | H1162 → | 24 times |
| וַיֵּשְׁתְּ֙ | vaiyeshet | and he drank | H8354 → | 217 times |
| וַיִּיטַ֣ב | vaiyitav | and it was good | H3190 → | 117 times |
| לִבּ֔וֹ | libo | heart his | H3820 → | |
| וַיָּבֹ֕א | vaiyavo' | and he went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| לִשְׁכַּ֖ב | lishkav | to lie down | H7901 → | 212 times |
| בִּקְצֵ֣ה | biktzeh | at [the] end of | H7097 → | |
| הָעֲרֵמָ֑ה | haaremah | the heap | H6194 → | |
| וַתָּבֹ֣א | vatavo' | and she came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| בַלָּ֔ט | valat | in <the> secrecy | H3909 → | |
| וַתְּגַ֥ל | vategal | and she uncovered | H1540 → | 186 times |
| מַרְגְּלֹתָ֖יו | margelotav | feet his | H4772 → | 5 times |
| וַתִּשְׁכָּֽב׃ | vatishkav | and she lay down | H7901 → | 212 times |
וַיֹּ֨אכַלand he ate
vaiyokhalH398 →810 times
בֹּ֤עַזBoaz
boazH1162 →24 times
וַיֵּשְׁתְּ֙and he drank
vaiyeshetH8354 →217 times
וַיִּיטַ֣בand it was good
vaiyitavH3190 →117 times
לִבּ֔וֹheart his
liboH3820 →
וַיָּבֹ֕אand he went
vaiyavo'H935 →2568 times
לִשְׁכַּ֖בto lie down
lishkavH7901 →212 times
בִּקְצֵ֣הat [the] end of
biktzehH7097 →
הָעֲרֵמָ֑הthe heap
haaremahH6194 →
וַתָּבֹ֣אand she came
vatavo'H935 →2568 times
בַלָּ֔טin <the> secrecy
valatH3909 →
וַתְּגַ֥לand she uncovered
vategalH1540 →186 times
מַרְגְּלֹתָ֖יוfeet his
margelotavH4772 →5 times
וַתִּשְׁכָּֽב׃and she lay down
vatishkavH7901 →212 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
Judges 19:6So they sat down and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Please agree to stay overnight and let your heart be merry.”
it leads to
- Judges 19:9
When the man got up to depart with his concubine and his servant, his father-in-law, the girl’s father, said to him, “Look, the day is drawing to a close. Please spend the night. See,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Judges 19:9
Through
Esther 1:10On the seventh day, when the king’s heart was merry with wine, he ordered the seven eunuchs who served him—Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas—
it leads to
- Judges 16:25
And while their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison to entertain them. And they stationed him between the pillars.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Esther 7:9
Then Harbonah, one of the eunuchs attending the king, said: “There is a gallows fifty cubits high at Haman’s house. He had it built for Mordecai, who gave the report that saved the king.”…
- Ecclesiastes 7:2–4
It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart.
- 2 Samuel 13:28
Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid.…
- Judges 16:25
Through
Ecclesiastes 10:19A feast is prepared for laughter, and wine makes life merry, but money is the answer for everything.
it leads to
- Psalms 104:15
wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
- Psalms 104:15
Through
2 Samuel 13:28Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid.…
it leads to
- Judges 19:6
So they sat down and the two of them ate and drank together. Then the girl’s father said to the man, “Please agree to stay overnight and let your heart be merry.”
- Judges 19:22
While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who…
- Judges 19:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ruth
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.