14At mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some of this bread and dip your morsel in the sour wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he heaped up for her some parched grain. She ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.
Chichewa “spoiled wine” (vinyo wosasa — the word “wosasa” is used to refer to any food or drink that has become bad and produces bad smell because it has either overstayed or exposed to bacteria and other infections) (source: Mawu a Mulungu mu Chichewa Chalero Back Translation)
Bariai: “sour wine juice” (source: Bariai Back Translation)
The Greek and Hebrew that is translated in English as “grain” (or: “corn”) is translated in Kui as “(unthreshed) rice.” Helen Evans (in The Bible Translator 1954, p. 40ff. ) explains: “Padddy [unthreshed rice] is the main crop of the country and rice the staple diet of the people, besides which [grain] is unknown and there is no word for it, and it seemed to us that paddy and rice in the mind of the Kui people stood for all that corn meant to the Jews.” “Paddy” is also the translation in Pa’o Karen (source: Gordon Luce in The Bible Translator 1950, p. 153f. ).
Other translations include: “wheat” (Teutila Cuicatec), “corn” (Lalana Chinantec), “things to eat” (Morelos Nahuatl), “grass corn” (wheat) (Chichimeca-Jonaz) (source: Viola Waterhouse in Notes on Translation August 1966, p. 86ff.), “millet” (Lambya) (source: project-specific notes in Paratext), “food” (Nyamwezi) (source: Pioneer Bible Translators, project-specific notes in Paratext)or ntimumma lujia / “seeds for food” (Lokạạ — “since Lokạạ does not have specific terms for maize and rice that can be described as grains”) (source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )
The Hebrew and Greek that is transliterated as “Boaz” in English is translated in Spanish Sign Language with the sign that combines the letter Z and “sandal” referring to Ruth 4:7 and 4:8. (Source: Steve Parkhurst)
Following are a number of back-translations of Ruth 2:14:
Noongar: “When the people were eating, Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Come here. Eat, and dip your bread in the vinegar.’ So Ruth sat by the wheat workers and Boaz handed her the bread the workers had cooked. She ate well, belly full, and some bread was left over.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)
Eastern Bru: “When they were eating, Boaz said to Ruth: ‘You take rice/bread and dip it into the sauce here.’ So Ruth ate and was filled, an she kept back some of it.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When (it was) now time to eat, Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Come, you(sg) get some food and dip (it) in the vinegar.’ Therefore Ruth sat-down together with the harvesters, and Boaz handed her some roasted grain. She ate until she was full, and she still had some-left-over.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “At mealtime, Boaz said to her, ‘Come over here. Take some bread and dip it in the wine vinegar and eat it.’ Then when she sat down with the men who had been harvesting, he offered her some roasted grain. She ate all the grain she wanted, and had some left over.’” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Apart from the unfamiliar food being eaten (“bread” in “wine,” which would seem very much like a reference to the Lord’s Supper to churchgoers today), Boaz’ invitation must not be made to sound too direct, such as “Come here,” or he could be misinterpreted as having an improper motivation. Furthermore, the whole idea of the master preparing a meal for his servants to eat (as a literal translation into Chichewa/Chitonga suggests) appears to be out of place, for that would signify a great reduction in his social status. Besides, he could have expected that they would have already helped themselves to a portion of his harvest, and so why should he “subsidize” them even more?
At mealtime is the temporal setting for the event of speaking; this is in full accord with the syntactic division of the Hebrew text, though it is different from what is found in one of the ancient versions. In many Septuagint manuscripts the time setting is part of Boaz’s speech: “It is now time to eat.” It is always possible that ēdē hōra is a simple scribal error for tēj dē hōraj, a reading which occurs in some other Septuagint manuscripts. See also Joüon, par. 15. In some languages, however, one cannot employ a phrase such as “at mealtime.” Rather, a clause is needed, such as “when it was time to eat” or “when the people began to eat.”
For the term bread, see the comments on 1.6. This is essentially a term with generic meaning, often translatable as “food.” In some instances it may be better to translate it as “have something to eat.”
It is important to indicate in an expression such as have a piece of bread that this is something which Boaz is giving to Ruth. He is not commanding her to eat her own food, but rather is offering her something. This may be expressed in some languages as “let me give you a piece of bread,” “I want to give you a piece of bread,” or “take this piece of bread.”
Sauce represents a Hebrew expression which is often translated merely as “wine,” for the liquid seems to have been a kind of sour wine. Compare J. Löw, Die Flora der Juden, I, 1924, pages 102 ff., and G. Dalman, op. cit., III, page 18, and IV, page 388. The Syriac reading chalba (“milk”) can be interpreted as a scribal error for challa (“vinegar”). Such an error may have had a cultural background, as the custom described in Ruth 2.14 was not widespread. This is the only allusion to it in the Old Testament., A parallel solution is to be found in the BJ: “trempe ton morceau dans la piquette.”
In this context the expression the workers is literally “the reapers,” but this is not restricted to the male servants. It is better, therefore, to employ a general expression such as the workers, rather than place Ruth exclusively with the male servants or segregate her with the female servants. Such a separation would likewise be inappropriate in view of the fact that Boaz passed the roasted grain to Ruth, who evidently was not sitting far from him.
The verb translated passed, referring to Boaz’s act of giving roasted grain to Ruth, occurs only at this point in the Old Testament, and its meaning is uncertain. Even in late Hebrew the verb is very rare and used only in contexts describing that part of a vessel or jar which one touches in handling it. So Chagigah 22b (Talmud). For other references see Jastrow, s.v. tsabat. Translators of ancient versions did not understand the meaning of this Hebrew verb, and they read into it another Hebrew verb meaning “to heap up.” Septuagint and Vulgate. The Greek verb bounizō (which is found only in Septuagint Greek) may translate a Hebrew verb tsabar. It should, however, be noted that Septuagint uses a form of the same verb bounizō to translate the Hebrew noun tsebatim in 2.16. So it is not to be excluded that the Greek translator of Ruth thought of a verbal root tsbt in spite of its nonoccurrence in biblical Hebrew. The Chaldaic form of the verb (tsebat) is attested in the Talmud (Chullin 60a) with the meaning “to present.” Could the Greek translator have thought of such a meaning, and could he have marked the quantity which was presented by way of interpretation? The object alphiton may also have influenced the translation of the verb! The reading of the Vulgate congessit may come from the Greek. This reading is also found in some modern translations So, e.g., BJ: et Booz lui fit aussi un tas de grains rôtis. and is defended by some commentators who argue that the meaning of “to pass” would be incorrect in speaking of what Boaz did. So, e.g., R. Tamisier, op. cit., ad loc. However, the meaning of “to heap up” should not be employed. There is just a slight possibility that the verb had reference to some particular process in the preparation of the grain, Compare Gerleman (op. cit., ad loc), who refers to Ugaritic msbtm (“pair of tongs”) and Arabic and Ethiopic dabata (“to hold firmly”). but since there is no certainty with regard to the meaning of the term, the rendering of “to pass” seems to be the most satisfactory, at least until new evidence as to its meaning is found.
Roasted grain is very common food in the Middle East Compare Dalman, op. cit., III, pages 265-266. and is greatly appreciated in many other parts of the world. There should therefore be no difficulty in finding an appropriate equivalent.
Until she was satisfied should not be translated in such a way as to imply that she was in any way gluttonous; what is important is to indicate that Boaz was sufficiently generous to her to make her feel satisfied and happy. Until she was satisfied is often rendered “until she had had enough,” “until she felt good,” “until she had all she wanted,” or “until she was no longer hungry.”
Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Ruth. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .
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