The Hebrew that is typically translated in English as “So she lay there at his feet, but she got up before it was light enough for her to be seen, because Boaz did not want anyone to know that she had been there.” needed to be reordered in languages like Bribri and Poqomchi’ “to reverse the order of the cause and effect, putting the cause first: ‘Boaz didn’t want anybody to know that Ruth had slept there. Because of that, Ruth got up very early the next morning (to go).'”
threshing floor
Translation commentary on Ruth 3:14: A Cultural Commentary for Central Africa
Boaz’ desire for secrecy was to avoid any gossip, or worse, an open scandal in the community. But in view of everything that has preceded, his actions do arouse suspicions in the minds of readers who are very familiar with the opposite situation—where subterfuge is necessary in order to cover up an illegitimate relationship and to avoid a court case. Thus a footnote explaining his motivation here may be required.
Source: Wendland 1987, p. 180.
complete verse (Ruth 3:14 - 3:15)
Following are a number of back-translations of Ruth 3:14-15:
- Noongar: “So Ruth lay beside Boaz’ feet until sunrise. Ruth got up before people could see her. Boaz said to her, ‘People must not know you came to this place.’ Then Boaz said, ‘Give me your shawl.’ Ruth gave him her shawl. Boaz poured six dishes of wheat into the shawl, and lifted the wheat onto Ruth’s back. Then Boaz went home to Bethlehem.” (Source: Bardip Ruth-Ang 2020)
- Eastern Bru: “Then Ruth slept near to Boaz’s feet until morning. She rose very early while it was still dark, before anyone could recognize anyone. And Boaz told Ruth: ‘Don’t let anyone know you have come to my rice floor here.’ And Boaz said: ‘You take the cloth you are wearing and bring it here.’ When Ruth brought the cloth, Boaz measured into it six measures of grain and helped her put it on her shoulder. After that Ruth took the grain and went back to the town.” (Source: Bru Back Translation)
- Hiligaynon: “So Ruth slept at the feet-side of Boaz until morning, but (while it was) still a-bit-dark Ruth got-up so-that she would- not -be-recognized, because Boaz does- not -want that someone-will-know that Ruth came to him there at the place-of-threshing. Boaz said to Ruth, ‘Bring here to me the cloak-for-the-back/cape you(sg) are-wearing and spread-it-out.’ Ruth spread- it -out, and then Boaz poured-into-it about six kilos of barley and had- Ruth -carry-(it)-on-(her)-shoulder. And Ruth returned to town.'” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
- English: “So she lay at his feet until morning. But she got up and left before it was light enough that people would be able to recognize her, because Boaz said, ‘I do not want anyone to know that a woman was here.’ He also said to her, ‘Bring to me your cloak and spread it out.’ When she did that, he poured into it six measures/24 liters/50 pounds of barley, and put in on her back. Then he (OR, she) went back to the town.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
Translation commentary on Ruth 3:14
Before it was light enough for her to be seen translates what in Hebrew is literally “before one could recognize another,” but the basis for such recognition must be made explicit in most languages. Accordingly, Good News Translation employs a reference to light. One may, however, employ a negative expression, “when it was still so dark that no one would recognize her.” The necessity for making the reason explicit was already felt by ancient translators. So the Syriac translator, who makes the setting explicit in adding after the verbal form “she got up”: “in the morning when it was still dark.” In some languages there is a special term for designating early morning darkness, and therefore a reference to such a period of relative obscurity can be employed in this context.
Because Boaz did not want is in Hebrew “and he said.” There is no doubt that Boaz is the subject which needs to be made explicit, For reason of a more logical sequence, the Syriac translator made Ruth the subject of the utterance: “she said to him, ‘Nobody should know that I came to you on the threshing floor.’ ” but no modern translation states clearly to whom the utterance is addressed. Failure to do this is probably due to the fact that there are three different possible interpretations: (1) Boaz may be addressing his servants; This is the interpretation found in the Targum. (2) he may be addressing Ruth directly to warn her; So Vulgate: et dixit Booz, cave ne quis noverit quod huc veneris. or (3) he may be understood as speaking to himself, and therefore the direct discourse may be introduced by a verb meaning “to think”; for example, “Boaz thought to himself.” This is the interpretation of some modern commentators such as Haller and Gerleman (op. cit., ad loc.). The first interpretation seems rather unlikely, for nothing has been said previously about the servants’ noticing Ruth’s presence at the threshing floor. If Boaz wanted to address this statement to the servants, it is strange that the Hebrew text would not have indicated clearly to whom the statement was made. In the case of the second interpretation, it would be necessary to alter the direct discourse so as to read “no one must know that you came here.” Accordingly, it is probable that the third interpretation is to be accepted. This interpretation may also suggest that, since Boaz had concluded that no one must know that she was there, he had told her to get up before it was light enough for her to be seen. Rudolph (op. cit., ad loc.) has already seen this, and he inserts bidbaro (“at his command”) after wattaqom (“she got up”). In this he is followed by Haller. Hertzberg, on the other hand, thinks that such an operation is not necessary. However, we should make a distinction between an emendation of the source text and the necessity of making implicit information explicit in translation. The former is not justified, the latter is often obligatory. The entire verse may then be restructured as: “So she slept at his feet until morning. Since Boaz had concluded that no one should know that she (or this woman, or a woman This is the reading according to the Septuagint.) had come there, he told her to get up when it was still dark so that no one would recognize her.”
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 .
SIL Translator’s Notes on Ruth 3:14
3:14a
So she lay down at his feet: The Hebrew conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as So introduces what Ruth did in response to what Boaz told her in 3:13.
Because this is the beginning of a new paragraph, it may be appropriate to identify the participants by name here. For example:
So Ruth stayed near his feet until morning (New Century Version)
-or-
Ruth lay beside Boaz’s feet… (Easy English Bible)
until morning: From the statement in 3:14b, it is obvious that Ruth got up before the sun arose. Use a suitable word that can indicate a time very early in the morning, even before the sun rises.
3:14b
but she got up before anyone else could recognize her: In some languages, it will be necessary to explain why people could not recognize one another. They could not recognize one another because it was still too dark to see well. For example:
but she got up before it was light enough for her to be seen (Good News Translation)
-or-
But she got up and left before it was light enough that people would be able to recognize her (Translation for Translators)
-or-
but rose before it was light enough for one man to recognize another (Revised English Bible)
-or-
She got up while it was still dark, before it was light enough for people to recognize each other. (English Easy-to-Read Version)
A few translations just translate the meaning that it was still dark. They leave implied the idea that people could not recognize others. For example:
She woke up while it was still dark. (NET Bible)
-or-
but she got up before daylight (Contemporary English Version)
The Hebrew phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as before anyone else could recognize her is more literally “before one could recognize his companion.”
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
She rose before one person could distinguish another (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
-or-
Then she got up before anyone could see her. (Easy English Bible)
3:14c
Then Boaz said: The Hebrew verb that the Berean Standard Bible translates as said can be used in some cases for a person speaking to himself (thinking). Therefore, there are two ways to interpret 3:14c:
(1) This is something Boaz thought. For example:
for he thought (Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures)
(2) This is something Boaz said aloud. For example:
for Boaz had said (New American Bible, Revised Edition)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). If Boaz were talking aloud to Ruth, he would probably not refer to her in the third person, especially as “the woman” (see below).
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
Boaz thought (NET Bible)
-or-
And Boaz said to himself
“Do not let it be known that a woman came to the threshing floor.”: There is a textual issue concerning the Hebrew word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as a woman :
(1) The Masoretic Text (Hebrew) has “the woman.” For example:
“People in town must not know that the woman came here to the threshing floor.” (New Century Version)
(2) The Septuagint (LXX) has “a woman.” For example:
“No one must know that a woman visited the threshing floor.” (NET Bible)
It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). There is no reason to doubt the accuracy of the MT. Boaz was worried about the reputation of Ruth, not the reputation of any woman.
The Berean Standard Bible does not follow interpretation (1) for either of the above issues, so the New Jerusalem Bible has been used as an alternate Source Line in the Display.
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