Put thy raiment upon thee, &c.— Her best clothes or ornaments, as some of the versions express it. It is not easy to tell at this distance of time, and under this difference of manners, why Naomi advised Ruth to this secret method of proceeding. To some persons, it will seem that it would have been better for her to have claimed publicly the right of redemption from Boaz: but, unquestionably, Naomi, who was a pious woman, had sufficient reasons for her mode of proceeding; and, well satisfied of the honour of Boaz, as well as the modesty of Ruth, she had no apprehensions of any consequences which might impugn the reputation of either.
REFLECTIONS.—We have here Naomi's solicitude to get her daughter comfortably settled, and at rest in the house of her husband, that she might no longer be exposed to the difficulties under which they now struggled. She informed Ruth, that Boaz's kindred to her, as she apprehended, laid him under an obligation to take his brother's widow, and raise up seed unto his brother. Note; (1.) It seems safest and best, that the younger widows marry, 1 Timothy 5:14. (2.) Parents should seek the settlement of their children in marriage, as one great part of their duty respecting them. (3.) The rest of the marriage state consists in union and affection. To have a wandering heart there, is not only to be criminal, but to be wretched.