Texts in Conversation
In the Hebrew version of Ruth, she is described as a woman of nobility, the same word given to Boaz, pairing them as a matched couple. The Greek Septuagint uses a different word for each, so the deliberate link between the two disappears.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Ruth 3:11
Hebrew Bible
10 He said, “May you be rewarded by the Lord, my dear! This act of devotion is greater than what you did before. For you have not sought to marry one of the young men, whether rich or poor. 11 Now, my dear, don’t worry! I intend to do for you everything you propose, for everyone at the town gate42 knows that you are a woman of noble character.43 12 Now yes, it is true that I am a guardian, but there is another guardian who is a closer relative than I am.
LXX Ruth 3:11
Septuagint
10 Then Boaz said, “May the Lord God bless you, daughter, because you have magnified your final compassion beyond the first, by not going after young men whether poor or rich. 11 Now daughter, don’t be afraid. Everything that you requested I will do for you because the whole tribe of my people knows that you are a woman of ability. 12 While truly I am a next of kin, there also exists a next of kin closer than I.
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Notes and References
... Second, when speaking of people, their functions and characteristics, the Septuagint tends to introduce distinctions that are foreign to the Hebrew text. Thus Ruth has δύναμις (3:11; 4:11), while Boaz has ἰσχύς (2:1) where the Masoretic Text has the same noun in both cases (חיל). Also striking is the vocabulary of the semantic field of service/slavery which is used in chapters 2–3 in the description of the subordinates of Boaz. The Masoretic Text uses six different nouns without apparently any logic to their use. The Septuagint translates these terms by a range of equivalents without aiming at a concordant translation. Instead, the translator through his very choice of words draws a precise differentiation between Ruth and the other women. ...
Bons, Eberhard
"Ruth" in Aitken, James K. (ed.) The T&T Clark Companion to the Septuagint
(p. 122) 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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