וַ֠תֹּאמֶר אֶמְצָא־חֵ֨ן בְּעֵינֶ֤יךָ אֲדֹנִי֙ כִּ֣י נִֽחַמְתָּ֔נִי וְכִ֥י דִבַּ֖רְתָּ עַל־לֵ֣ב שִׁפְחָתֶ֑ךָ וְאָנֹכִי֙ לֹ֣א אֶֽהְיֶ֔ה כְּאַחַ֖ת שִׁפְחֹתֶֽיךָ׃
Lalu ia berkata: “Biarlah aku mendapat kemurahan di matamu, tuanku, sebab engkau telah menghibur aku dan telah berbicara menenangkan hati hambamu ini, padahal aku ini tidak layak disamakan dengan seorang pun dari hamba-hamba perempuanmu.”
Radak
May [the Lord] grant what you have asked: The [letter,] alef is missing (in shelatekh) and its movement is placed upon the shin. As its rule (it usual spelling) is [with an alef]. And its explanation is that it is in the way of a prayer. Or he said it in the way of prophecy, for he was a prophet. So he said to her, "Go in peace," because "the Lord of Israel will grant you what you asked." Hence her heart was gladdened and she ate, for she hoped [about the fulfillment of] the words of the prophet. And she said, "May your maidservant find favor in your eyes" - in the way of (Ruth 2:13), "May I find favor in the eyes of my master, since you have comforted me." But according to the first explanation, the explanation would be, may your maidservant find favor in your eyes, that you should still pray more for me. And hence her heart was gladdened and she ate, since she thought that Eli's prayer would be effective for her. And in the homiletical teachings, it appears that he spoke in the way of prophecy: He said to her, "Go in peace" - he said to her, "This peace is from me; however your peace is from your children."
Ramban
VAYIKRA LAH NOBACH’ (AND HE CALLED IT NOBACH). “[The word lah] has no dot in the [letter] hei [as it usually has when it means “to it”]. And I have seen in the work of Rabbi Moshe the Preacher170See above in Seder Naso, Note 146. that because it did not keep this name permanently, therefore [the letter hei in the word lah] is pronounced softly [without the dot], and the interpretation implied is [as if it said] lo [meaning “not”]. But I am astonished at this, for what interpretation will he [Rabbi Moshe the Preacher] give in the case of two other similar words: ‘Vayomer lah Boaz’ (And Boaz said to her);171Ruth 2:14. ‘livnoth lah bayith’ (to build her a house)172Zecharia 5:11. [in both of which places the word lah is also written without a dot in the letter hei]!” This is the language of Rashi.
Now although the Rabbi [Rashi] is “like a filled treasury of knowledge”173Gittin 67a. of Torah, Halachoth and Agadoth, yet the explanation of the Rabbis in Midrash Ruth escaped his attention, [for they remarked174Ruth Rabbah 5:5. on the verse: “Though I [Ruth] be not as one of thy handmaids.175Ruth 2:13. Said Boaz to Ruth: Far be it from me [to consider you like one of the handmaids!] You are not like one of the handmaids, but like one of the matriarchs!176Thus the phrase ‘Vayomer lah Boaz’ (and Boaz said to her), which follows Ruth’s remark [though I be not as one of thy handmaids] is written without the dot in the letter hei, the idea being, as Rabbi Moshe the Preacher explained, to convey the thought of lo, meaning a negation. Boaz is therefore saying to Ruth: “‘Lo’ — it is not as you say that you are like one of the handmaids in my eyes; on the contrary, you are like one of the matriarchs, and you are destined to be the ancestress of kings.” Similarly, And Nobach went and conquered Kenath, and the villages thereof, ‘vayikra lah Nobach bi’shmo’ (and he called it Nobach, after his own name) — this [lack of the dot in the letter hei] indicates that this name did not remain. So also, And he said unto me: To build ‘lah’(for her) a house in the land of Shinar172Zecharia 5:11. — this teaches us that falsehood does not lead to any salvation.”177The point here is that the prophet Zechariah saw a measure of falsehood being flown to a certain country. When he asked the angel, Whither do these [messengers] bear the measure? (Zechariah 5:10) he received the answer: ‘livnoth lah bayith’ (to build her a house) in Shinar [which is another name for Babylon]. Now since the word lah is written without the dot in the letter hei, the Rabbis interpreted that this is a negation, as if it said lo, conveying the idea that one may build a house of falsehood, but it will not last. — Thus the Midrash explains both the verses which Rashi found difficult. Thus far is the Agadah. And similarly in the Gemara of Tractate Sanhedrin178Sanhedrin 24a. the Rabbis said [with reference to the measure seen by the prophet Zechariah]:177The point here is that the prophet Zechariah saw a measure of falsehood being flown to a certain country. When he asked the angel, Whither do these [messengers] bear the measure? (Zechariah 5:10) he received the answer: ‘livnoth lah bayith’ (to build her a house) in Shinar [which is another name for Babylon]. Now since the word lah is written without the dot in the letter hei, the Rabbis interpreted that this is a negation, as if it said lo, conveying the idea that one may build a house of falsehood, but it will not last. — Thus the Midrash explains both the verses which Rashi found difficult. “This was the measure of flattery and conceit which came down to Babylon;” [Whereupon the Gemara asked that we find elsewhere that conceit settled in Elam, and the answer was:] “It indeed came down [originally] to Babylon, and became dragged along to Elam. You may deduce this also from the verse, ‘livnoth lah bayith’ (to build her a house),”172Zecharia 5:11. [which is written without the usual dot in the letter hei]. Thus the interpretation is based upon the absence of this dot [in the letter hei of the word lah, which indicates] that the house [of flattery and conceit] did not last in the land of Shinar [but was dragged along the Elam].
Mas’ei
Now although the Rabbi [Rashi] is “like a filled treasury of knowledge”173Gittin 67a. of Torah, Halachoth and Agadoth, yet the explanation of the Rabbis in Midrash Ruth escaped his attention, [for they remarked174Ruth Rabbah 5:5. on the verse: “Though I [Ruth] be not as one of thy handmaids.175Ruth 2:13. Said Boaz to Ruth: Far be it from me [to consider you like one of the handmaids!] You are not like one of the handmaids, but like one of the matriarchs!176Thus the phrase ‘Vayomer lah Boaz’ (and Boaz said to her), which follows Ruth’s remark [though I be not as one of thy handmaids] is written without the dot in the letter hei, the idea being, as Rabbi Moshe the Preacher explained, to convey the thought of lo, meaning a negation. Boaz is therefore saying to Ruth: “‘Lo’ — it is not as you say that you are like one of the handmaids in my eyes; on the contrary, you are like one of the matriarchs, and you are destined to be the ancestress of kings.” Similarly, And Nobach went and conquered Kenath, and the villages thereof, ‘vayikra lah Nobach bi’shmo’ (and he called it Nobach, after his own name) — this [lack of the dot in the letter hei] indicates that this name did not remain. So also, And he said unto me: To build ‘lah’(for her) a house in the land of Shinar172Zecharia 5:11. — this teaches us that falsehood does not lead to any salvation.”177The point here is that the prophet Zechariah saw a measure of falsehood being flown to a certain country. When he asked the angel, Whither do these [messengers] bear the measure? (Zechariah 5:10) he received the answer: ‘livnoth lah bayith’ (to build her a house) in Shinar [which is another name for Babylon]. Now since the word lah is written without the dot in the letter hei, the Rabbis interpreted that this is a negation, as if it said lo, conveying the idea that one may build a house of falsehood, but it will not last. — Thus the Midrash explains both the verses which Rashi found difficult. Thus far is the Agadah. And similarly in the Gemara of Tractate Sanhedrin178Sanhedrin 24a. the Rabbis said [with reference to the measure seen by the prophet Zechariah]:177The point here is that the prophet Zechariah saw a measure of falsehood being flown to a certain country. When he asked the angel, Whither do these [messengers] bear the measure? (Zechariah 5:10) he received the answer: ‘livnoth lah bayith’ (to build her a house) in Shinar [which is another name for Babylon]. Now since the word lah is written without the dot in the letter hei, the Rabbis interpreted that this is a negation, as if it said lo, conveying the idea that one may build a house of falsehood, but it will not last. — Thus the Midrash explains both the verses which Rashi found difficult. “This was the measure of flattery and conceit which came down to Babylon;” [Whereupon the Gemara asked that we find elsewhere that conceit settled in Elam, and the answer was:] “It indeed came down [originally] to Babylon, and became dragged along to Elam. You may deduce this also from the verse, ‘livnoth lah bayith’ (to build her a house),”172Zecharia 5:11. [which is written without the usual dot in the letter hei]. Thus the interpretation is based upon the absence of this dot [in the letter hei of the word lah, which indicates] that the house [of flattery and conceit] did not last in the land of Shinar [but was dragged along the Elam].
Mas’ei
Siftei Chakhamim
How he would expound two [similar] words. Ramban, together with the other commentators raise the difficulty: How is it that Rashi did not see in Midrash Rus (5:5) [which teaches]: “I am not even like one of your maidservants” (Rus 2:13). Boaz said to her, "Heaven forbid! You are not one of the maidservants, rather one of the matriarchs." Similarly regarding “Novach went…” [which teaches that the name did not endure] and similarly, “He said to me: To build her a house in the land of Shinar” (Zechariah 5:11), which teaches that there is no salvation for falsehood. See there. It appears to me that Rashi was also aware of the Midrash, however when he wrote, “I wonder…” this is in accordance with R’ Moshe Hadarshan’s comment that the name of the city did not endure and therefore it is written לה which is silent, as if it had written לא נבח ["not Novach"], for its name did not endure, rather it received another name. Thus one needs to expound the same inference for “Boaz said to her,” that Boaz did not [say it himself], rather it was an emissary, but this could not be. Similarly with “To build her a house,” [it would mean] not a house, rather a tent but this could not be. Therefore, Rashi chose his words and said, “How he would expound” meaning that since he expounds like this here, he should also do so there, but this would not be possible. In truth, the name of the city was not changed, for it was named after Novach. Yet, when it is written לה which is silent, this is because although Novach and the others named the city after Novach, his sons did not call it Novach. As Rambam writes (Mamrim 6:3) and is brought by Tur (Yoreh De’ah 240) that if the name of one's father was the same as that of others, one should change the name of the others [in order to avoid mentioning the name of one's father]. This appears to me to be the explanation of Rashi’s words.