84 | Genesis 38:1
Judah and Tamar
At that time, Ju dah left his broth ers and went down to stay with a man of Adul lam
38 named Hi rah. 2 There Ju dah met the daugh ter of a Ca naan ite man named Shua. u He mar ried her and made love to her; 3 she be came preg nant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. v 4 She con ceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. 5 She gave birth to still an other son and named him She lah. It was at Ke zib that she gave birth to him.
6 Ju dah got a wife for Er, his first born, and her name was Ta mar. 7 But Er, Ju dah’ s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’ s sight; so the Lord put him to death. w
8 Then Ju dah said to Onan,“ Sleep with your broth er’ s wife and ful fill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up off spring for your brother.” x 9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so when ever he slept with his broth er’ s wife, he spilled his se men on the ground to keep from pro vid ing off spring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’ s sight; so the Lord put him to death also. y
11 Ju dah then said to his daugh ter-in-law Ta mar,“ Live as a widow in your fa ther’ s household un til my son She lah grows up.” z For he thought,“ He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Ta mar went to live in her fa ther’ s house hold.
12 Af ter a long time Ju dah’ s wife, the daugh ter of Shua, died. When Ju dah had re cov ered from his grief, he went up to Tim nah, a to the men who were shear ing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.
13 When Ta mar was told,“ Your fa ther-in-law is on his way to Tim nah to shear his sheep,” 14 she took off her wid ow’ s clothes, cov ered her self with a veil to dis guise her self, and then sat down at the en trance to Enaim, which is on the road to Tim nah. For she saw that, though Shelah b had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.
15 When Ju dah saw her, he thought she was a pros ti tute, for she had cov ered her face. 16 Not re al iz ing that she was his daugh ter-in-law, c he went over to her by the road side and said,“ Come now, let me sleep with you.”“ And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked. 17“ I’ ll send you a young goat d from my flock,” he said.“ Will you give me some thing as a pledge e un til you send it?” she asked. 18 He said,“ What pledge should I give you?”“ Your seal f and its cord, and the staff in your hand,” she an swered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she be came preg nant by him. 19 Af ter she left, she took off her veil and put on her wid ow’ s clothes g again.
20 Mean while Ju dah sent the young goat by his friend the Adul lam ite in or der to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. 21 He asked the men who lived there,“ Where is the shrine pros ti tute h who was be side the road at Enaim?”“ There hasn’ t been any shrine pros ti tute here,” they said. 22 So he went back to Ju dah and said,“ I didn’ t find her. Be sides, the men who lived there said,‘ There hasn’ t been any shrine pros ti tute here.’”
38:2 u 1Ch 2:3
38:3 v ver 6; Ge 46:12; Nu 26:19
38:7 w ver 10; Ge 46:12; 1Ch 2:3
38:8 x Dt 25:5-6; Mt 22:24‐28
38:10 y Ge 46:12; Dt 25:7‐10
38:11 z Ru 1:13
38:12 a ver 14; Jos 15:10, 57
38:14 b ver 11
38:16 c Lev 18:15; 20:12
38:17 d Eze 16:33 e ver 20
38:18 f ver 25 38:19 g ver 14
38:21 h Lev 19:29; Hos 4:14 probably explains why Potiphar later imprisons Joseph alongside those whom the king of Egypt has detained in prison( 39:20).
38:1 – 30 Judah and Tamar. Although ch. 38 abruptly interrupts the story of Joseph in Egypt, it is an essential component within the overall story. It accounts for a remarkable transformation in the character of Judah, anticipating the positive role that he plays when later he and his brothers journey to Egypt in search of food. Additionally, and of equal importance, ch. 38 describes the continuation of Judah’ s family line, concluding with the birth of twins, when remarkably the“ firstborn”— marked by the scarlet thread— is pushed aside by his sibling. Given the significance of similar events in Genesis involving“ firstborn” sons, the birth of Perez is noteworthy, all the more so because he is the ancestor of the royal line of David( Ruth 4:18 – 22). 38:1 – 2 Judah’ s relocation to Adullam parallels Joseph’ s departure to Egypt. Judah’ s subsequent marriage to a Canaanite woman reinforces the impression that he cares little for his own family. The patriarchs discouraged marrying foreigners( 24:3; 26:34 – 35; 28:1).
38:6 – 7 With minimal detail, the narrator presents Er as“ wicked”( v. 7), and God punishes him by death. The twofold reference to him as“ firstborn” is noteworthy in a book that is especially interested in tracing the assumed rights of firstborns. 38:8 Since Tamar is a childless widow, Judah arranges for his second-born son, Onan, to marry her, an arrangement known as levirate marriage( see Deut 25:5 – 10; Ruth 1:11 – 13; Matt 22:24 – 25; Luke 20:28). 38:9 he spilled his semen on the ground. The narrator does not fully explain the reason for Onan’ s action. Perhaps Onan despised his deceased brother and did not want Tamar’ s child to have Er’ s share of Judah’ s inheritance. Not only would this reduce Onan’ s portion of his father’ s possessions but, as firstborn heir,“ Er’ s son” would receive a double portion. 38:11 The deaths of Er and Onan make Judah highly protective of Shelah. Out of selfinterest, Judah sends Tamar back to her own family, giving little thought to her future well-being. 38:12 The death of Judah’ s wife sets the stage for an unexpected development.
38:13 – 14 Observing that Judah has not kept his promise regarding Shelah( v. 11), Tamar takes unusual steps to become pregnant by Judah. By hiding her face with a veil, Tamar disguises herself as a“ shrine prostitute”( v. 21; see note there). Given Judah’ s inability to recognize Tamar, the name of the location where she waits for Judah is somewhat ironic: Enaim means“ two springs” or“ a pair of eyes.” Its precise location is unknown. 38:15 – 18 Taking Tamar to be a prostitute, Judah, now a widower, looks to gratify his sexual desires. This further evidences his self-centered approach to life. Tamar, knowing that Judah is untrustworthy, asks for a guarantee that he will pay her with a young goat from his flock. 38:18 seal and its cord. This may have been a necklace that consisted of a small cylinder seal that produced an impression unique to the owner. 38:20 his friend the Adullamite. Hirah( v. 12). 38:21 shrine prostitute. Occurs infrequently in the OT( Deut 23:17; Hos 4:14). Fertility rituals were an accepted part of Canaanite religious practices but played no part in orthodox Israelite worship.