The utter surprise of Boaz is captured in the narration. Quite naturally he probingly exclaims: “Who are you?” (v. 9). Ruth’s words are carefully chosen. She begins by identifying herself: “I am your servant [’amah] Ruth.” Earlier in 2:13, Ruth referred to herself as Boaz’s shiphah, although she does not really have even this status (she is officially a nokriyah, “foreign woman”; see comments on 2:13, pp. 559–60). Now she uses ’amah; the choice of the socially higher term is doubtless Ruth’s attempt to suggest that she is within the class of women who might be married. This word emphasizes her
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