Texts in Conversation
The Hebrew version of Ruth has Boaz eat, drink, and grow content before he lies down for the night. The Greek Septuagint removes any hint that he had been drinking and might approach Ruth drunk and irresponsibly.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Ruth 3:7
Hebrew Bible
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything her mother-in-law had instructed her to do. 7 When Boaz had finished his meal and was feeling satisfied, he lay down to sleep at the far end of the grain heap. Then Ruth crept up quietly, uncovered his legs, and lay down beside him. 8 In the middle of the night he was startled and turned over. Now he saw a woman lying beside him!
LXX Ruth 3:7
Septuagint
6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did everything just as her mother-in-law directed her. 7 After Boaz ate and his heart was of good cheer, he went to fall asleep in a section of the pile of grain. Then she went surreptitiously and uncovered his feet. 8 When it was the middle of the night, the man was alarmed and stirred. And behold, a woman was asleep at his feet.
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Notes and References
... Thus, no equivalent is given in Ruth 1:12 for הלילה '[still] in [that] night', in the testimony that Naomi could have sons by any man. In Ruth 3:7 it is not stated Boaz had been drinking, in case he be accused of acting irresponsibly as a result of alcohol consumption. ...
Bons, Eberhard
"Ruth" in Aitken, James K. (ed.) The T&T Clark Companion to the Septuagint
(p. 124) Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2015
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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