And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
Ruth ... said ... Let me now go to the field, and glean. The right of gleaning was conferred by a positive law on the widow, the poor, and the stranger (see the note at Leviticus 19:9-10; Deuteronomy 24:21). But liberty to glean behind the reapers was not a right that could be claimed: it was a privilege granted or refused according to the good-will or favour of the owner.