Ruth 2

The LORD God of Israel, under whose wings

LORD God of Israel — Jehovah, the covenant God of Israel

The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. Ruth 2:12

Boaz says Ruth has come to take shelter under the wings of Jehovah, the God of Israel. Jesus Christ used exactly that picture of Himself — a hen gathering her chickens under her wings — when He wept over Jerusalem and over the Nephites.

How we know: Jehovah is the premortal Christ (Abraham 1:16; D&C 110:3–4) · the verse itself names Him · another scripture interprets it of Him · a footnote points to Him

• alluded to by 3 Nephi 10:4-6 — Verified: the voice of Christ, “how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,” three times over.
• alluded to by Matthew 23:37 — Verified: “how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
• alludes to Psalm 91:4 — Verified: “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust” — the same image of taking refuge under Jehovah's wings.
• alluded to by Ruth 3:9 — Verified: Ruth asks Boaz to spread his “skirt” (Hebrew kanaph, the same word as “wing”) over her, so Boaz is drawn into answering his own blessing.

Boaz, type of Christ the provider

And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither, and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar. And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left. Ruth 2:14–16

Boaz calls the foreign woman to his own table, feeds her until she is satisfied with food left over, and quietly orders his reapers to drop extra grain where she will find it. It is a small picture of Christ, who invites the outsider to His table and always gives more than is needed.

How we know: a traditional type, cited · proposed by the reading

Boaz, the kinsman-redeemer (type of Christ)

Next kinsman (Hebrew go’el) — the redeemer, the near relative with the right to buy back

And Naomi said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the LORD, who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin unto us, one of our next kinsmen. Ruth 2:20

Naomi realises Boaz is a go’el — a near kinsman with the legal right to buy back a family's lost land and raise up its lost name. Jesus Christ is our Kinsman-Redeemer: He became our brother in the flesh so that He would have the right, and the willingness, to buy us back.

How we know: a footnote points to Him · a traditional type, cited

• alludes to Leviticus 25:25 — Verified: “if any of his kin come to redeem it, then shall he redeem that which his brother sold” — the law standing behind Naomi's words.
• a type of what is in Hebrews 2:14-17 — Verified: Christ “took part of the same” flesh and blood and “in all things… was made like unto his brethren” so He could redeem them — the antitype of the near kinsman.
• the same title in Isaiah 54:5 — Verified: “thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel” — Jehovah bears the very title (go’el / Redeemer) that Boaz holds here.