Ruth 2:14. Boaz said unto her, 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.
1. Chomets—”vinegar”—was a beverage consisting generally of wine or strong drink turned sour. At present it is made in the East by pouring water on grape juice and leaving it to ferment. The Nazarites were forbidden to drink it (Num. 6:3). It was doubtless excessively sour (Prov. 10:26). It was similar to the posea of the Romans, which was a thin sour wine, unintoxicating, and used only by the poor. This is what is referred to under the name of vinegar in the narrative of the crucifixion of our Lord. See Matthew 27:34,48; Luke 23:36; John 19:29-30.
In Turkey grape juice is boiled from four to five hours, until it is reduced to one fourth the quantity put in. This is called Nardenk. It is of a dark color, has an agreeable sour-sweet taste, is turbid, and not intoxicating. It is sometimes used in the manner in which the chomets is said in the text to be used: the bread is dipped into it. It is thought by some to be the “vinegar” referred to in this passage. (See Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. 5, p. 289.)
2. The “parched corn” is prepared from grains of wheat not yet fully ripe. These are sometimes roasted in a pan or on an iron plate; sometimes the stalks are tied in small bundles, by which the ears are held in a blazing fire until roasted. Grain thus parched may be eaten with bread or without. In Leviticus 23:14, it is classed with bread and with green ears. Jesse sent an ephah of it and ten loaves of bread to his sons in the army, by the hand of David (1 Sam. 17:17). Abigail took five measures of it as part of her present to David (1 Sam. 25:18). David also received it with other provision from the hands of his friends when he was in want, after having fled from his rebellious son Absalom (2 Sam. 17:28). In Leviticus 2:14, it is called “green ears of corn dried by the fire.” It is a common article of food in Palestine and in Egypt to this day.