Ruth 2:13
in Ruth 2“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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then she said, Let me find favor in thy sight, my lord, for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken kindly unto thy handmaid, though I be not as one of thy handmaidens.
KJV
Then she said, Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like unto one of thine handmaidens.
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This verse in Ruth 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
May the LORD repay your work
on Ruth 2:12-13
The phrase "under whose wings you have taken refuge" uses kanaph, wing, the word for the garment's corner Ruth asks him to spread at 3:9. What he prays for here, he is later asked to become. The image runs through Psalm 17:8, 36:7, 57:1 and 91:4.
This site's exposition
though I am not like one of your servant girls
Ruth calls herself his maidservant and then ranks herself below his servant girls. The phrase for spoken kindly is to speak to the heart, used of tender speech at Genesis 34:3 and Isaiah 40:2. She takes comfort from his words before any grain is given.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Tho' I be not - I humbly implore the continuance of thy good opinion of me, though I do not deserve it, being a person more mean, necessitous, and, obscure, a stranger, and one born of heathen parents, and not of the holy and honourable people of Israel, as they are.
Then she said, let me find favour in thy sight, my lord,....
(3.) She gratefully acknowledged his kindness to her; though it was no great expense to him, nor much more than what he was obliged to by the divine law, yet she magnifies and admires it: Why have I found grace in thy eyes?
Those that are great, and in high places, know not how much good they may do to their inferiors with a kind look or by speaking friendly to them; and so small an expense, one would think, they should not grudge, when it shall be put upon the score of their charity.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Not like unto one of thine hand-maidens - I am as unworthy of thy regards as any of thine own maidservants, and yet thou showest me distinguished kindness.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
I cannot even be considered as one of your handmaidens. I am not as worthy as one of your handmaidens.
2 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
And dip your bread in the vinegar. From here [we derive] that vinegar is good for the heat. 12 Maseches Shabbos 113b. It is a popular and refreshing drink for those who toil in extremely hot climates.
Thy reward. Like "the tally of bricks," it is a noun from the intensive binyan (conjugation) with an additional mem (מ).
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
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַ֠תֹּאמֶר | vatomer | and she said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶמְצָא־ | ʾemtza'- | I am finding | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חֵ֨ן | chen | favor | H2580 → | 69 times |
| בְּעֵינֶ֤יךָ | beeineikha | in view your | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אֲדֹנִי֙ | ʾadoni | O lord my | H113 → | |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִֽחַמְתָּ֔נִי | nichamtani | you have comforted me | H5162 → | |
| וְכִ֥י | vekhi | and for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| דִבַּ֖רְתָּ | dibarta | you have spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| לֵ֣ב | lev | [the] heart of | H3820 → | |
| שִׁפְחָתֶ֑ךָ | shifchatekha | maidservant your | H8198 → | |
| וְאָנֹכִי֙ | veanokhi | and I | H595 → | 359 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶֽהְיֶ֔ה | ʾehyeh | I am | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| כְּאַחַ֖ת | keachat | like one of | H259 → | |
| שִׁפְחֹתֶֽיךָ׃ | shifchoteikha | maidservants your | H8198 → |
וַ֠תֹּאמֶרand she said
vatomerH559 →5305 times
אֶמְצָא־I am finding
ʾemtza'-H4672 →455 times
חֵ֨ןfavor
chenH2580 →69 times
בְּעֵינֶ֤יךָin view your
beeineikhaH5869 →887 times
אֲדֹנִי֙O lord my
ʾadoniH113 →
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
נִֽחַמְתָּ֔נִיyou have comforted me
nichamtaniH5162 →
וְכִ֥יand for
vekhiH3588 →4482 times
דִבַּ֖רְתָּyou have spoken
dibartaH1696 →1141 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
לֵ֣ב[the] heart of
levH3820 →
שִׁפְחָתֶ֑ךָmaidservant your
shifchatekhaH8198 →
וְאָנֹכִי֙and I
veanokhiH595 →359 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶֽהְיֶ֔הI am
ʾehyehH1961 →3559 times
כְּאַחַ֖תlike one of
keachatH259 →
שִׁפְחֹתֶֽיךָ׃maidservants your
shifchoteikhaH8198 →
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
Philippians 2:3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.
it leads to
- Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.
- Galatians 5:26
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.
- Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
- Ephesians 4:2
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
- 1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Romans 12:10
Through
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.
it leads to
- Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- Ecclesiastes 9:7
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works:
- Genesis 33:15
“Let me leave some of my people with you,” Esau said. But Jacob replied, “Why do that? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.”
- Romans 15:13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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On this verse
About Ruth
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; 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.