Ruth 2:3. She went, and came, and gleaned in the field after the reapers.
The Israelites were commanded by their law to be merciful to the poor. The corners of the fields were not to be reaped (Lev. 19:9; Lev. 23:22). If a sheaf should be accidentally left in the field it was to be allowed to remain there (Deut. 24:19). This grain in the corners, and these odd sheaves in the field, were for the poor. The story of Ruth is a most beautiful illustration of this law. Reference is supposed to be made to this custom in Job 24:10, “They take away the sheaf from the hungry.”