Ruth 2:1–9
The time of barley harvest had come to Bethlehem. When they harvested their fields, the Israelites always left some grain standing. This grain was left for the poor and gleaned, or gathered, later.
Ruth went out to glean in the fields of a man named Boaz. He was of the family of Elimelech, Naomi’s dead husband. Boaz was watching the harvest and saw Ruth. “Who is the young woman gleaning in the field?” he asked the workers.
“She came back with Naomi from Moab,” they answered. Boaz gave Ruth water and urged her to stay in his field.
Questions: What is gleaning? Why was Ruth in the fields?