• “An Excellent Woman”
    Imitate Their Faith

    • 22, 23. (a) What may have been the meaning behind the gift that Boaz bestowed on Ruth? (See also footnote.) (b) What did Naomi urge Ruth to do?

      22 “Who are you, my daughter?” Naomi said when Ruth arrived home. Perhaps it was the darkness that prompted the question, but Naomi also wanted to know whether Ruth was still the same unattached widow or one with prospects of marriage before her. Ruth quickly told her mother-in-law of all that had passed between her and Boaz. She also presented the generous gift of barley that Boaz had told her to give to Naomi.c​—Ruth 3:16, 17.

  • “An Excellent Woman”
    Imitate Their Faith

    • c Boaz gave Ruth six measures of unspecified weight​—perhaps to suggest that just as six work days were followed by a Sabbath rest, Ruth’s own days of toil as a widow were soon to be followed by the “rest” that a secure home and a husband could provide. On the other hand, the six measures​—perhaps shovelfuls—​may simply have been all that Ruth could carry.