Rut 2:2 | NETfull | STEP | One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields so I can gather grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” Naomi replied, “You may go, my daughter.”

Ruth 2:2

2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go ^{▼▼ The cohortative here (“Let me go”) expresses Ruth’s request. Note Naomi’s response, in which she gives Ruth permission to go to the field.} to the fields so I can gather ^{▼▼ Following the preceding cohortative, the cohortative with vav conjunctive indicates purpose/result.} grain behind whoever permits me to do so.” ^{▼▼ Heb “anyone in whose eyes I may find favor” (ASV, NIV similar). The expression אֶמְצָא־חֵן בְּעֵינָיו (’emtsa’-khen b^e’enayv, “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) appears in Ruth 2:2, 10, 13. It is most often used when a subordinate or servant requests permission for something from a superior (BDB 336 s.v. חֵן). Ruth will play the role of the subordinate servant, seeking permission from a landowner, who then could show benevolence by granting her request to glean in his field behind the harvest workers.} Naomi ^{▼▼ Heb “she”; the referent (Naomi) has been specified in the translation for clarity.} replied, “You may go, my daughter.”