Lexical Summary tsebathim: Pincers, tongs Original Word: צֶבֶת Strong's Exhaustive Concordance handful From an unused root apparently meaning to grip; a lock of stalks -- handful. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom an unused word Definition bundles (of grain) NASB Translation bundles (1). Brown-Driver-Briggs צְבָתִים noun [masculine] plural bundles of grain Ruth 2:16 (VogelestLandwirthschaft 61 swaths [grasped and] lifted for binding). צדד (√of following; compare Arabic Topical Lexicon Semantic ProfileThe noun צֶבֶת denotes a discrete portion of harvested stalks that has been grasped and pulled out of a larger collection—“a bundle” or “handful.” In agrarian practice it stood midway between single fallen ears and the fully bound sheaf, marking produce intentionally separated from the main yield. Scriptural Occurrence Ruth 2:16: “Pull out for her some stalks from the bundles and leave them for her to gather. Do not rebuke her.” (Berean Standard Bible) This verse records the only biblical occurrence of צֶבֶת, yet its solitary appearance is packed with theological weight. Boaz commands his reapers not merely to tolerate Ruth’s gleaning but to create deliberate opportunities of provision by extracting bundles for her sake. Agricultural and Cultural Background Ancient Israelite harvesters cut grain with sickles, gathered it by the armful, and then tied it into sheaves. Anything that fell in the process was fair game for the poor, foreigners, orphans, and widows. A צֶבֶת, however, was not an accidental fall. It was a purposeful “handout” taken from the reapers’ own work. Thus the word sits at the intersection of labor and mercy: someone loses a little profit so that another might live. Legal Foundations 1. Leviticus 19:9-10 and Leviticus 23:22 command landowners to leave the edges of fields and the gleanings. By telling his workers to create extra bundles, Boaz goes beyond the letter of the Law to embody its spirit. The presence of צֶבֶת illustrates that the Law was never meant to be the ceiling of generosity, only its floor. Narrative and Theological Significance in Ruth • Covenant kindness (ḥesed). The act of extracting bundles mirrors the covenant loyalty that becomes the book’s keynote. Ministerial Insights 1. Intentional generosity. Churches and believers are urged to move from accidental sharing to purposeful provisioning (Proverbs 19:17; 2 Corinthians 9:7-8). Christological Foreshadowing Boaz, the benefactor, prefigures Jesus Christ, the supreme Redeemer who ensures that “grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift” (Ephesians 4:7). The deliberate pulling out of bundles anticipates the deliberate outpouring of divine favor at the cross, where salvation is not an after-thought but a planned act of love. Related Imagery and Cross-References • Sheaves and Harvest—Genesis 37:7; Psalm 126:6; Matthew 9:37-38 Practical Application Believers today can create modern-day צְבָתִים by: • Building margin into personal finances for spontaneous giving. Summary Though appearing only once, צֶבֶת crystallizes the biblical ethic of intentional, dignity-preserving generosity. In Ruth it feeds a Moabite widow, advances a lineage culminating in David, and ultimately points to the Messiah who purposefully “pulled out” grace for a gleaning world. Forms and Transliterations הַצְּבָתִ֑ים הצבתים haṣ·ṣə·ḇā·ṯîm haṣṣəḇāṯîm hatztzevaTimLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Ruth 2:16 HEB: לָ֖הּ מִן־ הַצְּבָתִ֑ים וַעֲזַבְתֶּ֥ם וְלִקְּטָ֖ה NAS: pull out for her [some grain] from the bundles and leave KJV: And let fall also [some] of the handfuls of purpose INT: pull from the bundles and leave may glean 1 Occurrence |
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turn away, then shun, alienate; Late Hebrew Biblical Aramaic צַד = Biblical Hebrew; Arabic 
vicinity, 
in front of, in the vicinity of; Aramaic צֵיד, 
by, apud).