Rut 2:2, 8 | JFB | STEP | 2. Ruth ... said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean-- The right of gleaning was conferred by a positive law on the widow, the poor, and the stranger (see on and ). But liberty to glean behind the reapers [Ru 2:3] was not a right that could be claimed; it was a privilege granted or refused according to the good will or favor of the owner.

‏ Ruth 2:2

CHAPTER 2 Ru 2:1-3. Ruth Gleans in the Field of Boaz.

2. Ruth ... said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean--The right of gleaning was conferred by a positive law on the widow, the poor, and the stranger (see on Le 19:9 and De 24:19). But liberty to glean behind the reapers [Ru 2:3] was not a right that could be claimed; it was a privilege granted or refused according to the good will or favor of the owner.

‏ Ruth 2:8

8-9. said Boaz unto Ruth, ... bide here fast by my maidens--The reaping was performed by women while the assortment of sheaves was the duty of men-servants. The same division of harvest labor obtains in Syria still. Boaz not only granted to Ruth the full privilege of gleaning after his reapers, but provided for her personal comfort.