Boaz said he had been told all Ruth had done for Naomi and how she left her country to come to a people she did not know. He told her to stay in his fields and ordered his young men not to touch her. His explanation and protection are in Ruth 2:8–12.
In Ruth 2:8–9 Boaz speaks directly to Ruth and gives her clear, practical instructions meant to keep her safe while she gathers leftover grain. He tells her not to look for food in other places but to stay close to his female workers. He also sets boundaries for his male workers so they will not bother her. This moment comes right after Ruth has begun gleaning and Boaz has asked about her identity and heard of her story (2:5–7). The narrative shifts from Ruth’s risky, uncertain work to a personal conversation where Boaz takes responsibility for her wellbeing.
Ruth 2:8–9 presents Boaz using his authority as a landowner to create a safer space for Ruth while she gleans. The text explicitly shows him limiting where she gleans (his field), how she gleans (in step with his crew), and who she stays near (his female workers).
A careful answer keeps the immediate passage, the book's argument, and the whole-Bible storyline together, so the question is answered in context instead of as a detached idea.
Start with Ruth 2:8-12, then read the surrounding section so the answer stays connected to the passage's flow.
8Then said Boaz to Ruth, Don`t you hear, my daughter? Don`t go to glean in another field, neither pass from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens.
9Let your eyes be on the field that they reap, and go after them: haven`t I charged the young men that they shall not touch you? and when you are thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink of that which the young men have drawn.
10Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground, and said to him, Why have I found favor in your sight, that you should take knowledge of me, seeing I am a foreigner?
11Boaz answered her, It has fully been showed me, all that you have done to your mother-in-law since the death of your husband; and how you have left your father and your mother, and the land of your birth, and have come to a people that you didn`t know before.
12Yahweh recompense your work, and a full reward be given you of Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you are come to take refuge.