Kejadian 19:19

19:19 Your ¹  servant has found favor with you, ²  and you have shown me great ³  kindness ⁴  by sparing ⁵  my life. But I am not able to escape to the mountains because ⁶  this disaster will overtake ⁷  me and I’ll die. ⁸ 

Rut 2:10

2:10 Ruth ⁹  knelt before him with her forehead to the ground ¹⁰  and said to him, “Why are you so kind ¹¹  and so attentive to me, ¹²  even though ¹³  I am a foreigner?” ¹⁴ 

Rut 2:1

Ruth Works in the Field of Boaz

2:1 Now Naomi ¹⁵  had a relative ¹⁶  on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech. ¹⁷ 

1 Samuel 20:3

20:3 Taking an oath, David again ¹⁸  said, “Your father is very much aware of the fact ¹⁹  that I have found favor with you, and he has thought, ²⁰  ‘Don’t let Jonathan know about this, or he will be upset.’ But as surely as the Lord lives and you live, there is about one step between me and death!”

1 Samuel 20:2

20:2 Jonathan ²¹  said to him, “By no means are you going to die! My father does nothing ²²  large or small without making me aware of it. ²³  Why would my father hide this matter from me? It just won’t happen!”

1 Samuel 14:22

14:22 When all the Israelites who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, they too pursued them in battle.

Ester 5:2

5:2 When the king saw Queen Esther standing in the court, she met with his approval. ²⁴  The king extended to Esther the gold scepter that was in his hand, and Esther approached and touched the end of the scepter.

Yeremia 31:2

Israel Will Be Restored and Join Judah in Worship

31:2 The Lord says,

“The people of Israel who survived

death at the hands of the enemy ²⁵ 

will find favor in the wilderness

as they journey to find rest for themselves.

[19:19]  ¹ tn The second person pronominal suffixes are singular in this verse (note “your eyes,” “you have made great,” and “you have acted”). Verse 18a seems to indicate that Lot is addressing the angels, but the use of the singular and the appearance of the divine title “Lord” (אֲדֹנָי, ’adonay) in v. 18b suggests he is speaking to God.

[19:19]  ² tn Heb “in your eyes.”

[19:19]  ³ tn Heb “you made great your kindness.”

[19:19]  ⁴ sn The Hebrew word חֶסֶד (khesed) can refer to “faithful love” or to “kindness,” depending on the context. The precise nuance here is uncertain.

[19:19]  ⁵ tn The infinitive construct explains how God has shown Lot kindness.

[19:19]  ⁶ tn Heb “lest.”

[19:19]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew verb דָּבַק (davaq) normally means “to stick to, to cleave, to join.” Lot is afraid he cannot outrun the coming calamity.

[19:19]  ⁸ tn The perfect verb form with vav consecutive carries the nuance of the imperfect verbal form before it.

[2:10]  ⁹ tn Heb “she”; the referent (Ruth) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “she fell upon her face and bowed to the ground” (KJV, NASB similar).

[2:10]  ¹¹ tn Heb “Why do I find favor in your eyes…?” The expression מָצַא חֵן בְּעֵינֶי (matsa’ khen bÿ’eney, “to find favor in the eyes of [someone]”) is often characterized by the following features: (1) A subordinate or servant is requesting permission for something from a superior (master, owner, king). (2) The granting of the request is not a certainty but dependent on whether or not the superior is pleased with the subordinate to do so. (3) The granting of the request by the superior is an act of kindness or benevolence; however, it sometimes reciprocates loyalty previously shown by the subordinate to the superior (e.g., Gen 30:27; 32:6; 33:8, 10, 15; 34:11; 39:4; 47:25, 29; 50:4; Num 32:5; Deut 24:1; 1 Sam 1:18; 16:22; 20:3, 29; 27:3; 2 Sam 14:22; 16:4; 1 Kgs 11:19; Esth 5:8; 7:3; BDB 336 s.v. חֵן). While Boaz had granted her request for permission to glean in his field, she is amazed at the degree of kindness he had shown – especially since she had done nothing, in her own mind, to merit such a display. However, Boaz explains that she had indeed shown kindness to him indirectly through her devotion to Naomi (v. 11).

[2:10]  ¹² tn Heb “Why do I find favor in your eyes by [you] recognizing me.” The infinitive construct with prefixed לְ (lamed) here indicates manner (“by”).

[2:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “and I am a foreigner.” The disjunctive clause (note the pattern vav + subject + predicate nominative) here has a circumstantial (i.e., concessive) function (“even though”).

[2:10]  ¹⁴ sn The similarly spelled Hebrew terms נָכַר (nakhar, “to notice”) and נָכְרִי (nokhriy, “foreigner”) in this verse form a homonymic wordplay. This highlights the unexpected nature of the attentiveness and concern Boaz displayed to Ruth.

[2:1]  ¹⁵ tn The disjunctive clause (note the vav [ו] + prepositional phrase structure) provides background information essential to the following narrative.

[2:1]  ¹⁶ tc The marginal reading (Qere) is מוֹדַע (moda’, “relative”), while the consonantal text (Kethib) has מְיֻדָּע (miyudda’, “friend”). The textual variant was probably caused by orthographic confusion between consonantal מְיֻדָּע and מוֹדַע. Virtually all English versions follow the marginal reading (Qere), e.g., KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV “kinsman”; NIV, NCV, NLT “relative.”

[2:1]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and [there was] to Naomi a relative, to her husband, a man mighty in substance, from the clan of Elimelech, and his name [was] Boaz.”

[20:3]  ¹⁸ tc The LXX and the Syriac Peshitta lack the word “again.”

[20:3]  ¹⁹ tn The infinitive absolute appears before the finite verb for emphasis.

[20:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “said,” that is, to himself. So also in v. 25.

[20:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Jonathan) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[20:2]  ²² tc The translation follows the Qere, many medieval Hebrew mss, and the ancient versions in reading “he will not do,” rather than the Kethib of the MT (“do to him”).

[20:2]  ²³ tn Heb “without uncovering my ear.”

[5:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “she obtained grace in his eyes”; NASB “she obtained favor in his sight”; NIV “he was pleased with her”; NLT “he welcomed her.”

[31:2]  ²⁵ tn Heb “who survived the sword.”

[31:2]  sn This refers to the remnant of northern Israel who had not been killed when Assyria conquered Israel in 722 b.c. or who had not died in exile. References to Samaria in v. 5 and to Ephraim in vv. 6, 9 make clear that northern Israel is in view here.