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After the seven weeks of barley and wheat harvests (2:23), Naomi decides to take the initiative. She has Ruth’s best interests in mind. After Naomi’s old age and death, Ruth’s life as an unprotected, widowed foreigner would be difficult. But marriage could alter her situation. She expresses her desire to provide for Ruth a home (mānôah, cognate to word for “rest” in 1:9). The season of harvest was ending, and Boaz would be spending the night on the threshing floor, away from the crowded city. The time seemed appropriate for Ruth to make her request for marriage.
Naomi encouraged Ruth to look her best and secretly to observe Boaz’s actions. At the desired moment, when Boaz was comfortably asleep, Ruth was to uncover his feet and lie down (v.4). The full significance of these instructions is not known to us. Commentators have offered many explanations; among them the following are plausible: the exposure of his feet to the cold was to awaken Boaz; her position at his feet was one of humility in preparation to present a petition; or feet is a euphemism for sexual organs. It is best to admit that we do not know the full implications of Ruth’s actions. They reflect an ancient custom now lost to us. What is clear is that Boaz understood Ruth to be proposing marriage as a function of his kinsman’s role (vv.10-13).