‘ And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here, and eat of the bread, and dip your morsel in the vinegar.” And she sat beside the reapers, and they passed her parched grain, and she ate, and was satisfied, and left some of it.'
When mealtime came around for the shearers Boaz invited Ruth to join them calling on her to share their food and sour wine mixed with oil. And in consequence, rather than being treated as a gleaner, she sat among the reapers while they passed to her edible parched grain, to such an extent that she was more than satisfied and was able to leave some over, which she carefully stored up so as to take it back to Naomi. It was royal treatment indeed for such a one as Ruth. Such edible parched grain is still partaken of by reapers in the Middle East today. The grains of barley or wheat, not yet fully dry and hard, are roasted in a pan or on an iron plate. They constitute a very palatable type of food; It was food near to hand, and there was as much as they wanted.