What is the meaning of gleaning in the Bible?
Answered from the commentary of William J. Hocking, William Kelly, Morrish Bible Dictionary and 7 others
Gleaning means gathering the grain or fruit left in a field or vineyard after the main harvest, which Israelite landowners were commanded to leave for the poor and the stranger. They were not to reap the field’s corners or gather every fallen or scattered crop, so people in need could gather food for themselves. Ruth, a poor stranger, gleaned in Boaz’s field and found provision for herself and Naomi.
Most of the passages explain gleaning as this practical provision and as a lesson in God’s care for the poor and the stranger, calling His people to show the same mercy. A smaller group also reads the law as a figure: several see the gleanings as blessing for Israel’s remnant and Gentiles after the Church’s gathering, while other interpretations describe a heavenly calling beyond the Church, Gentile blessing after Israel’s storehouse is filled, or the believer’s taking hold of spiritual blessings.
Verses: Leviticus 19:9, Leviticus 19:10, Leviticus 23:22, Deuteronomy 24:19, Deuteronomy 24:20, Deuteronomy 24:21, Deuteronomy 24:22, Ruth 2:2, Ruth 2:3, Ruth 2:4, Ruth 2:5, Ruth 2:6, Ruth 2:7, Ruth 2:8, Ruth 2:9, Ruth 2:10, Ruth 2:11, Ruth 2:12, Ruth 2:13, Ruth 2:14, Ruth 2:15, Ruth 2:16, Ruth 2:17, Ruth 2:18, Ruth 2:19, Ruth 2:20, Ruth 2:21, Ruth 2:22, Ruth 2:23, Judges 8:2, Isaiah 17:5, Isaiah 17:6, Jeremiah 6:9, Micah 7:1
The above is AI generated summary based on the writers below.
What the commentators say
The passages the answer is drawn from, the most direct first, with the words that bear on the question marked.
At the harvest and the vintage gleaning was strictly forbidden to be carried out by the owners: the residue must always he left for the poor. Lev. 19:9-10; Lev. 23:22; Ruth 2:2-23, etc. Gideon appeased the wrath of Ephraim by saying "Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abi-ezer?" (Gideon's family name). Judges 8:2.
The landowners of Israel were enjoined not to forget the needs of the poor, particularly at harvest-time, but to allow them to share in the bounties bestowed by the God of heaven. A special clause to this effect was attached to Jehovah's instructions regarding the annual observance of "the feast of weeks," when the tribute of a freewill offering was to be given Him according as He had blessed them (Deut. 16:10). The children of Israel were then to bring with their animal sacrifices "the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering" before Him. But it was added, "Thou shalt not in thy harvest entirely reap the corners of thy field, and the gleaning of thy harvest shalt thou not gather: thou shalt leave them to the poor and to the stranger" (Lev. 23:20, 22). See also Lev. 19:9-10; Deut. 24:19. A similar combination of giving our thanks to God and our goods to the needy is found in the New Testament (Heb. 13:15-16); our worship will be incomplete and unacceptable if it lack either the one or the other.
Jehovah desired to develop a merciful spirit in His people. By its exercise they would themselves be blessed, and would obtain still further mercy (Matt. 5:7). The nation should remember the kindness of God to themselves when they were all "strangers" and bondmen in the land of Egypt (Ex. 22:21). Therefore they ought to show their kindness to any "strangers" in their midst by allowing them to glean in their fields and vineyards, taking care that the reapers left something specially for the gleaners. Though the strangers were not of "the seed of Abraham according to the flesh," and though they had taken no part in the ploughing or sowing or reaping, they were not to be stinted in their share of the bounties of God at harvesting-time.
Ruth, with lovely energy of faith, desiring support for her mother-in-law as well as herself, urged Naomi to allow her to glean heads of grain after the reapers had passed (v. 2). It may be she had learned of the provision God had directed to be made for the poor when the harvest was reaped (Lev. 19:9-10). The harvesters were not to reap the corners of their fields nor to gather up any gleanings, but leave them for the poor and the stranger.
Obtaining Naomi's permission Ruth went out and happened (surely by the direction of God) to come to the field of Boaz where she gleaned. Her gleaning speaks of her gathering up small portions of the word of God, just as the godly remnant of Israel will find for themselves after the Church of God has been raptured to heaven, so that the truth will not then be proclaimed as it is today, though God will provide some measure of blessing for those whose faith is awakened to seek Him.
And, now, one word as to the second class of statutes contained in our section — namely, those which so touchingly bring out divine tenderness and care. Take the following: "and when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God." (Lev. 19:9-10) This ordinance will meet us again in Lev. 23, but there we shall see it in its dispensational bearing. Here, we contemplate it morally, as unfolding the precious grace of Israel's God. He would think of "the poor and stranger;" and He would have His people think of them likewise. When the golden sheaves were being reaped, and the mellow clusters gathered, "the poor and stranger" were to be remembered by the Israel of God, because Jehovah was the God of Israel. The reaper and the grape-gatherer were not to be governed by a spirit of grasping covetousness, which would bare the corners of the field and strip the branches of the vine, but rather by a spirit of large-hearted, genuine benevolence, which would leave a sheaf and a cluster "for the poor and stranger," that they, too, might rejoice in the unbounded goodness of Him whose paths drop fatness, and on whose open hand all the sons of want may confidently wait.
The Book of Ruth furnishes a fine example of one who fully acted out this most benevolent statute. "And Boaz said to her, (Ruth,) At meal-time 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. And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and reproach her not: and let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she may glean them, and rebuke her not." (Ruth 2:14-16) Most touching and beautiful grace! Truly, it is good for our poor selfish hearts to be brought in contact with such principles and such practices. Nothing can surpass the exquisite refinement of the words, "let fall also some of the handfuls of purpose for her." It was, evidently, the desire of this noble Israelite that "the stranger" might have abundance, and have it, too, rather as the fruit of her own gleaning than of his benevolence. This was the very essence of refinement. It was putting her in immediate connection with, and dependence upon, the God of Israel, who had fully recognised and provided for "the gleaner." Boaz was merely acting out that gracious ordinance of which Ruth was reaping the benefit. The same grace that had given him the field gave her the gleanings. They were both debtors to grace. She was the happy recipient of Jehovah's goodness. He was the honoured exponent of Jehovah's most gracious institution. All was in most lovely moral order. The creature was blessed and God was glorified. Who would not own that it is good for us to be allowed to breathe such an atmosphere?
Self discipline was also to be exercised in harvesting. They must not reap the corners of their fields, nor go back to glean what had been left in the first harvest. This was to be left for the poor or for strangers who had little means of support (vv. 9-10). Such a law tested whether they loved their neighbor and whether their faith was really in God.
When one harvested his crops, if he left a sheaf in the field he was not to return for it, but leave it for either a stranger, a fatherless child, or a widow (v.19). This is added to the command in Leviticus 19:9-10 that the corners of the field were not to be reaped, but left for the poor. Ruth was blessed in taking advantage of this law in the field of Boaz (Ruth 2:2-23). A similar command was given as regards their beating their olive trees to make the olives fall. Some would be left if they did not beat it a second time, and they were to leave these for the stranger, the father less and the widow (v.20). Also, when grapes had been gathered, the gleanings were to be left (v.21). Thus God showed His gracious consideration of those who were oppressed, as Israel must remember they were in the land of Egypt. We too who are Christians must remember that we were once in the bondage of sin before being saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus. If so, we shall be concerned about the needs of those who have not been delivered from the poverty of their sinful state, and should gladly sacrifice something of our own prosperity for their sakes.
This portion of Ruth's story will discover to us the secret of growth in grace. Here it is evident that Ruth is viewed as a gleaner. In verse 2 we find her saying to Naomi, "Let me go to the field and glean." In verse 7 she says to the servant, "Let me glean." In verse 17 we read, "So she gleaned," and again in the last verse, "So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean."
Ruth then is presented as a gleaner. But what is the spiritual significance of gleaning? We must remember that the first chapter ends by telling us that it was "the beginning of barley harvest." Naomi and Ruth found themselves in the midst of plenty. But however plentiful the harvest, unless gathered in it will be useless to feed the hungry. The reapers and the gleaners must do their work or otherwise they will starve in the midst of plenty. By gleaning Ruth appropriated for her own need, and that of Naomi, the rich supply put at their disposal by the lord of the harvest.
Jehovah would also train His people in gracious feeling. If He would bless their harvest and their vintage, He inculcates kindness to the needy, and instructs them to leave a margin of their good crop, and the scattered or fallen grapes, for the poor and the stranger. Such had once been their own lot in the land of Egypt; but the ground is Himself, Jehovah their God (9, 10).
But with Ruth it is different. She represents, as we have seen, the faith in the remnant, which makes no claim of right, but comes to glean in the fields of divine mercy. Hence she is called the Moabitess here, her gentile origin debarring her from all legal claim to any portion in Israel. And yet God had made provision for just such. "When ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger" (Lev. 23:22). Here are the crumbs which fall from the Master's table, and which will prove for Ruth, as for the woman of Canaan, an abundance for all her need.
We have previously noted that under the law, Ruth had no claim nor place in Bethlehem, but there was a provision made for the poor and the stranger in the time of harvest, and she casts herself entirely upon the grace of God in thus providing ears of corn for those who had no right to the full harvest.
"When ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest . . . thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger. I am the Lord your God." (Lev. 19:9-10)
Verses
- Leviticus 19:9–109And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, and the gleaning of thy harvest thou shalt not gather. 10And thy vineyard shalt thou not glean, neither shalt thou gather what hath been left of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and the stranger I am Jehovah your God.
- Leviticus 23:22And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not in thy harvest entirely reap the corners of thy field, and the gleaning of thy harvest shalt thou not gather thou shalt leave them unto the poor and to the stranger I am Jehovah your God.
- Deuteronomy 24:19–2219When thou reapest thy harvest in thy field, and forgettest a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not return to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that Jehovah thy God may bless thee in all the work of thy hands. 20When thou shakest thine olive-tree, thou shalt not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 21When thou gatherest the grapes of thy vineyard, thou shalt not glean it afterwards; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow. 22And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt; therefore I command thee to do this thing.
- Ruth 2:2–232And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, Let me, I pray, go to the field and glean among the ears of corn after [him] in whose sight I shall find favour. And she said to her, Go, my daughter. 3And she went; and she came and gleaned in the fields after the reapers; and she chanced to light on an allotment of Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem; and he said to the reapers, Jehovah be with you! And they said to him, Jehovah bless thee! 5And Boaz said to his servant that was set over the reapers, Whose maiden is this? 6And the servant that was set over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish maiden who came back with Naomi out of the fields of Moab; 7and she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers. And she came, and has continued from the morning until now her sitting in the house has been little as yet. 8And Boaz said to Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from here, but keep here with my maidens. 9Let thine eyes be on the field which is being reaped, and go thou after them; have I not charged the young men not to touch thee? And when thou art athirst, go to the vessels and drink of what the young men draw. 10Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favour in thine eyes, that thou shouldest regard me, seeing I am a foreigner? 11And Boaz answered and said to her, It has fully been shewn me, all that thou hast done to thy mother-in-law since the death of thy husband; and how thou hast left thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and art come to a people that thou hast not known heretofore. 12Jehovah recompense thy work, and let thy reward be full from Jehovah the God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to take refuge. 13And she said, Let me find favour in thine eyes, my lord; for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast spoken kindly to thy handmaid, though I am not like one of thy handmaidens. 14And Boaz said to her at mealtime, Come 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 ate and was sufficed, and reserved [some]. 15And when she rose up to glean, Boaz commanded his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the sheaves, and ye shall not reproach her. 16And ye shall also sometimes draw out for her [some ears] out of the handfuls, and leave them that she may glean, and rebuke her not. 17And she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out what she had gleaned; and it was about an ephah of barley. 18And she took [it] up, and came into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned; and she brought forth and gave to her that which she had reserved after she was sufficed. 19And her mother-in-law said to her, Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? Blessed be he that did regard thee! And she told her mother-in-law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man's name with whom I wrought to-day is Boaz. 20And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, Blessed be he of Jehovah, who has not left off his kindness to the living and to the dead! And Naomi said to her, The man is near of kin to us, one of those who have the right of our redemption. 21And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said to me also, Thou shalt keep with my young men until they have ended all my harvest. 22And Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens, that they meet thee not in any other field. 23So she kept with the maidens of Boaz to glean, until the end of the barley-harvest and of the wheat-harvest. And she dwelt with her mother-in-law.