This first verse forms a transition with the last verse of chapter 2, since it takes up the matter of Ruth’s need for having security and a home of her own rather than living with her mother-in-law. But this verse is not merely transitional; it establishes the theme of the rest of the book, namely a husband and a home for Ruth.
Some time later: the adverbial conjunction in Hebrew should not be understood as “immediately” or “right then,” but as a reference to the next significant element in the sequence of events. For the use of wayyiqtol see Joüon, par. 118c, and already S. D. Luzzatto, Grammatica ebraica, 1853, par. 1271. The lapse of time could not have been more than a few weeks at most, for the threshing of the barley had not been completed, even though both the barley and the wheat had been harvested. The harvest included cutting the stalks in the field, gathering and tying them into sheaves, and transporting the sheaves to the threshing floor.
After a paragraph break and section heading, it is important to introduce the participants in the dialogue; therefore the introductory statement should read: Naomi said to Ruth.
The sentence I must find a husband for you, so that you will have a home of your own is in Hebrew literally “Should I not seek a home for you, that it may be well with you?” (On the use of the question in Hebrew, see the comments on “Let me give you some advice” and “I have ordered my men…” in 2.7.) In the verbal form of the Hebrew text an aspect of obligation is implicit, and for this reason one should translate “I must find” or “I must arrange.” Compare Joüon, par. 113.
A literal translation of the clause I must find a husband for you can easily be misunderstood, since it might imply that Naomi would actually go out and search for a husband for Ruth. Such a translation becomes especially misleading if for find one employs the same word as may be used in the receptor language in speaking of a young man going out to find (or to court) a wife. In many languages, therefore, find a husband for you must be expressed as a causative; for example, “I must cause you to have a husband.” In other languages one can employ a more or less technical term; for example, “I must arrange a marriage for you.”
Both here and in 1.9 the Hebrew terms for home indicate a condition of rest and security attained through marriage. Compare Brown-Driver-Briggs, s.v. manoach and manuchah. See also Hertzberg, op. cit., ad loc.: “Wie 1.9 meint es konkret die Ehe.” In general it is necessary to make explicit the basis for this rest and security, though in some modern English translations the basis is left implicit; for example, “I want to see you happily settled” (New English Bible; cf. also Moffatt). The Good News Translation text, however, makes the basis for this happiness and security quite explicit, I must find a husband for you. There are other ways in which this can be expressed; for example, “I want to see you married,” “I want to be sure you have a husband,” or “I want you to be married so that you will be happy and secure.” (Cf. Smith-Goodspeed and Jerusalem Bible. For ʾasher as introduction of a consecutive clause, see Brockelmann, Hebräische Syntax, par. 161. Dhorme and NAB take ʾasher as introduction of a relative clause, “a home … that will please you,” an interpretation which is not generally followed.)
In some languages there is no such term as home. Rather, one must specify a relation between husband and wife; for example, “I must cause you to get married so that you will have someone to live with” or “I must arrange for some man to marry you so that you will live happily.” It is usually not enough to employ a term which simply designates a house, such as “so that you may have a house.” As noted in 1.9, a widow would live in a house, but this would not imply having a home.
Quoted with permission from de Waard, Jan and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on Ruth. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1978, 1992. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .