Genesis 38
Judah Has 3 Sons
Around that time, Judah visited a man from Adullam named Hirah [which means “a noble family”]. During his visit, he met a woman who was the daughter of Shua, the Canaanite. Judah married her and they had a son named Er [which means “awake”]. Then they had another son named Onan [which means “strong”]. Then they had another son named Shelah [“a petition”] in the town of Chezib [a town in Judah which means “false”].
Judah Withholds from Daughter-in-Law
Judah gave a wife to his oldest son, Er. Her name was Tamar [which means “palm tree”], but the Existing One viewed Er as evil, so He took Er’s life. So then Judah told his next son, Onan,
“As Er’s next brother in line, it’s your duty to sleep with Tamar, give her a child, and raise that child on Er’s behalf.”
Onan knew that the child wouldn’t be his own, so when he slept with his brother’s wife, he made sure his sperm went on the ground to avoid giving his brother an heir. The Existing One saw that as evil, so God took his life too. At that point, Judah was afraid that his third son would die too, so he told Tamar,
“Go back to your dad’s house and remain as a widow until my son Shelah becomes older and more established.”
So Tamar went and lived with her parents.
Judah Sleeps with Daughter-in-Law
A long time passed by and Judah’s wife died. One day when Judah was grieving, he and his friend Hirah went to the town of Timnah to get Judah’s sheep sheared. When Tamar heard that her father-in-law Judah would be passing through, she changed out of her widows clothes, disguised herself with a veil, and sat at the gate of Enaim, which was on the way to Timnah. She did that because she knew Judah’s third son, Shelah, had become older and more established, yet hadn’t married her like Judah promised. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because of her disguise. Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he pulled her to the side and told her,
“Hey, pretty lady. I’d like to hire you for the night.”
She replied,
“Well then, what do you have to offer me in exchange for my services?”
He answered,
“How bout a nice, young, male goat from my flock?”
She said,
“Alright. What can you give me as collateral before the goat is delivered?”
He said,
“What did you have in mind?”
She said,
“How about your signet ring, your fine belt, and your walking stick?”
So he gave her those as collateral and they slept together. When she left, she took off her disguise and put her widow’s clothes back on. Little did they know that she had just become pregnant.
Tamar Keeps Judah’s Things
When Judah had his Adullamite friend try to deliver the goat, he couldn’t find her. He went back to that spot and asked everyone,
“Where can I find that temple prostitute who was by the road in Enaim?”
But everyone said,
“Temple prostitute? They usually don’t hang out around here.”
When Judah’s friend reported back to him, Judah said,
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to let her keep the collateral then, because I’ll get a bad reputation if we keep asking everyone about prostitutes. After all, we tried our best to deliver the goat but couldn’t find her.”
Judah’s Scandal Exposed
About 3 months later someone told Judah,
“Your daughter-in-law, Tamar, got pregnant through prostitution!”
Judah said,
“Bring her here! She deserves to be burned at the stake!”
While she was being brought to Judah, Judah received a message from her, saying,
“I’m pregnant—whoever is the owner of these items is the father. Please inspect this signet ring, belt, and walking stick so we can find out who they belong to.”
When Judah recognized them, he said,
“She acted with even more integrity than I did, because I should have let her marry my son, Shelah.”
After that, Judah never slept with her again.
Tamar has Twins
Tamar ended up having twins. When she was giving birth, one of the babies stuck out its hand, so the midwife tied a red string around its wrist so they could tell which one came out first. But then that baby pulled its hand back in, and the other one came out first. So when that one was delivered, the midwife said,
“What a dramatic entrance you’ve made for yourself!”
So that first boy was named Perez [which means “breach”]. His brother with the red string came out second, and he was named Zerah [which means “rising”].
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