Ruth 2:14 (ASV)

Passage

And at meal-time Boaz said unto her, Come hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers, and they reached her parched grain, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left thereof.

Nearby Context

Ruth 2:12 Jehovah recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of Jehovah, the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge.

Ruth 2:13 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.

Ruth 2:14 And at meal-time Boaz said unto her, Come hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers, and they reached her parched grain, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left thereof.

Ruth 2:15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not.

Ruth 2:16 And also pull out some for her from the bundles, and leave it, and let her glean, and rebuke her not.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "meal-time", "boaz", "said", "come", "hither", "bread", "morsel", and "vinegar". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "meal-time" and "boaz", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 13's "Then she said Let me find favor..." into verse 15's "And when she was risen up to...", so "meal-time" and "boaz" belong inside that flow. In Ruth context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "meal-time" and "boaz" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.