Genesis 38
38
1And it cometh to pass, at that time, that Judah goeth down from his brethren, and turneth aside unto a man, an Adullamite, whose name [is] Hirah;
2and Judah seeth there the daughter of a man, a Canaanite, whose name [is] Shuah, and taketh her, and goeth in unto her.
3And she conceiveth, and beareth a son, and he calleth his name Er;
4and she conceiveth again, and beareth a son, and calleth his name Onan;
5and she addeth again, and beareth a son, and calleth his name Shelah; and he was in Chezib in her bearing him.
6And Judah taketh a wife for Er, his first-born, and her name [is] Tamar;
7and Er, Judah's first-born, is evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah doth put him to death.
8And Judah saith to Onan, ‘Go in unto the wife of thy brother, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother;’
9and Onan knoweth that the seed is not [reckoned] his; and it hath come to pass, if he hath gone in unto his brother's wife, that he hath destroyed [it] to the earth, so as not to give seed to his brother;
10and that which he hath done is evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and He putteth him also to death.
11And Judah saith to Tamar his daughter-in-law, ‘Abide a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son groweth up;’ for he said, ‘Lest he die — even he — like his brethren;’ and Tamar goeth and dwelleth at her father's house.
12And the days are multiplied, and the daughter of Shuah, Judah's wife, dieth; and Judah is comforted, and goeth up unto his sheep-shearers, he and Hirah his friend the Adullamite, to Timnath.
13And it is declared to Tamar, saying, ‘Lo, thy husband's father is going up to Timnath to shear his flock;’
14and she turneth aside the garments of her widowhood from off her, and covereth herself with a vail, and wrappeth herself up, and sitteth in the opening of Enayim, which [is] by the way to Timnath, for she hath seen that Shelah hath grown up, and she hath not been given to him for a wife.
15And Judah seeth her, and reckoneth her for a harlot, for she hath covered her face,
16and he turneth aside unto her by the way, and saith, ‘Come, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee,’ (for he hath not known that she [is] his daughter-in-law); and she saith, ‘What dost thou give to me, that thou mayest come in unto me?’
17and he saith, ‘I — I send a kid of the goats from the flock.’ And she saith, ‘Dost thou give a pledge till thou send [it]?’
18and he saith, ‘What [is] the pledge that I give to thee?’ and she saith, ‘Thy seal, and thy ribbon, and thy staff which [is] in thy hand;’ and he giveth to her, and goeth in unto her, and she conceiveth to him;
19and she riseth, and goeth, and turneth aside her vail from off her, and putteth on the garments of her widowhood.
20And Judah sendeth the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the hand of the woman, and he hath not found her.
21And he asketh the men of her place, saying, ‘Where [is] the separated one — she in Enayim, by the way?’ and they say, ‘There hath not been in this [place] a separated one.’
22And he turneth back unto Judah, and saith, ‘I have not found her; and the men of the place also have said, There hath not been in this [place] a separated one,’
23and Judah saith, ‘Let her take to herself, lest we become despised; lo, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.’
24And it cometh to pass about three months [after], that it is declared to Judah, saying, ‘Tamar thy daughter-in-law hath committed fornication; and also, lo, she hath conceived by fornication:’ and Judah saith, ‘Bring her out — and she is burnt.’
25She is brought out, and she hath sent unto her husband's father, saying, ‘To a man whose these [are], I [am] pregnant;’ and she saith, ‘Discern, I pray thee, whose [are] these — the seal, and the ribbons, and the staff.’
26And Judah discerneth and saith, ‘She hath been more righteous than I, because that I did not give her to Shelah my son;’ and he hath not added to know her again.
27And it cometh to pass in the time of her bearing, that lo, twins [are] in her womb;
28and it cometh to pass in her bearing, that [one] giveth out a hand, and the midwife taketh and bindeth on his hand a scarlet thread, saying, ‘This hath come out first.’
29And it cometh to pass as he draweth back his hand, that lo, his brother hath come out, and she saith, ‘What! thou hast broken forth — on thee [is] the breach;’ and he calleth his name Pharez;
30and afterwards hath his brother come out, on whose hand [is] the scarlet thread, and he calleth his name Zarah.
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Genesis 38: YLT98
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Genesis 38
38
The Story of Judah and Tamar
1Around that time, Judah left his brothers at Hebron and went to Adullam # 38:1 From Hebron to Adullam was a day’s journey of about twelve miles. to stay with a man named Hirah. # 38:1 Hirah means “fading” or “to turn pale.” 2There he met and married a Canaanite girl, the daughter of Shua. He slept with her and 3she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and Judah # 38:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts, the Samaritan Pentateuch, and one ancient Targum have “she [Bath-Shua] named him.” named him Er. 4She conceived again and gave birth to another son and named him Onan. # 38:4 Onan means “strong” or “vigorous.” 5While they # 38:5 Or “he” or “she” (LXX). were staying in Chezib, # 38:5 Chezib was a village about three miles south of Adullam and is likely the “Achzib” mentioned in Josh. 15:44. Chezib means “false.” she gave birth to a third son and named him Shelah. # 38:5 Shelah means “a request” or “something asked for.”
6When their sons were grown, Judah arranged for Er, his oldest son, to marry a girl named Tamar. # 38:6 Tamar means “date palm.” The Midrash states that Tamar was the daughter of Noah’s son, Shem. See Bereshit Rabbah 85:10. This conjecture would mean that Tamar was not Canaanite (since Canaan was the cursed son of Ham), but was a descendant of Shem, just like the sons of Israel. 7But Er had become so wicked in the sight of Yahweh that Yahweh ended his life. 8Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “Your duty # 38:8 This custom, called “levirate marriage,” was later adopted into Hebrew law (see Deut. 25:5–10). It was a disgrace for a dead man’s living brothers to fail to have children with the widow of the deceased. is to join yourself to her. Go perform your duty as a brother-in-law and provide an heir for your brother.”
9Onan, however, did not want to produce a child that would not be his own rightful heir, # 38:9 Since Onan’s brother Er, the firstborn, died, Onan stood in line to receive a great inheritance from his father Judah. But if he fathered a child with Er’s widow, that inheritance would be greatly diminished. so whenever he and Tamar had intercourse, he purposely spilled his semen onto the ground to keep her from getting pregnant and having a child that would belong to his dead brother. 10But what he did was wicked in Yahweh’s sight, so he took Onan’s life also.
11Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until my youngest son Shelah grows up.” So Tamar went home to her parents, but Judah worried that Shelah would end up dead like his brothers. # 38:11 In other words, since Judah lost two of his sons already, he had no intention of ever giving Shelah to Tamar, fearing he would lose him too.
12After some time passed, Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When his time of mourning was over, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went to Timnah # 38:12 Timnah is about four miles northeast of Adullam. to enjoy the festivities at the sheep-shearing. # 38:12 The time of shearing the sheep was a time of celebration and festivities. See 1 Sam. 25:11, 36; 2 Sam. 13:23, 28. 13-14Meanwhile, Tamar had learned that Shelah had grown up, but Judah had still not given him to her to father a child for her deceased husband. So, when Tamar found out her father-in-law was coming to Timnah for the sheep-shearing, she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil to disguise herself. And she sat waiting at the crossroads # 38:13–14 Or “She sat at the entrance to Enaim.” Enaim means “crossroads” or “intersection.” where Judah would have to pass by.
15-16When Judah saw her, she was wearing a veil over her face, so he thought she was a prostitute. He had no clue that she was his own daughter-in-law. So he approached her and said, “Come sleep with me.”
“What will you give me if I do?” she answered.
17He responded, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.”
“What guarantee can you give me that you will really send it?” she asked.
18-19“Well, what pledge do you want?” Judah asked.
Tamar answered, “Give me your necklace with your personal signet # 38:18–19 This “signet” refers to an engraved cylinder seal. “The center was hollowed out and a cord passed through so that the seal could be worn around the neck. When the cylinder was rolled over soft clay, the resultant impression served as a means of identifying personal possessions and of sealing and legitimating clay documents. It was a highly personal object that performed the function of the signature in modern society” (JPS Torah Commentary: Genesis, Nahum M. Sarna). and the staff # 38:18–19 Or “[tribal] scepter.” The leaders of the twelve tribes of Israel each had scepters (see Num. 24:17). you’re holding.” So, he gave them to her, and he went and slept with her. When she got up and went home, she removed her veil and put her widow’s garment back on. Later, she discovered she was pregnant.
20Soon afterward, Judah sent the young goat by his friend Hirah the Adullamite to recover his items from the prostitute, but she was nowhere to be found. 21So he asked the townspeople, “Where is the temple prostitute that sits by the crossroads?”
They answered, “No prostitute has been there.” 22So he returned to Judah and informed him, “I couldn’t find her, and besides that, the townspeople said that no prostitute has been there.”
23Judah replied, “Let her keep my pledge. If we try to go get it now, we’ll become a laughingstock. # 38:23 Or “we’ll appear contemptible [dishonest].” After all, I did send you with the payment I promised her, and you couldn’t find her.”
24About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been promiscuous, and now she is pregnant!” Indignant, Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned!” # 38:24 See Lev. 21:9. 25As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “Look, the one who owns these things got me pregnant! See, whose signet and staff are these?” 26Judah recognized them as his and said, “She is more righteous than I, for I never gave my son Shelah to marry her.” And he let her go free and never slept with her again. # 38:26 Or “he did not know her again.” “To know her” is a Hebrew figure of speech for having sex with her. In chs. 38 and 39 we have two contrasting accounts of lust and the evil it spawns. Why this abrupt interruption of the incredible story of Joseph? Why did God include this chapter in his inspired Word? One reason is that God wanted to paint a contrast between Judah’s unwise choices and immorality and Joseph’s righteous character, which is revealed in the following chapter.
27When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb! 28While she was in labor, one hand popped out, so the midwife wrapped a crimson thread around its wrist, saying, “This one came out first.” 29But immediately, he drew his hand back, and out came his brother; and she said, “Look how you have broken out of the womb!” So, he was named Perez, the one who breaks through. # 38:29 Perez means “breach” or “breaking through.” Perez was an ancestor of King David (see Ruth 4:18–22; Matt. 1:3–6). 30Afterward, his brother came out, the one with the crimson thread on his wrist. That’s why they named him Zerah # 38:30 Zerah comes from a word that sounds like “[dawn’s] crimson brightness.” Or, it could be taken from an Aramaic root for “crimson [thread].” Achan (see Josh. 7:1) was a descendant of Zerah (see Num. 26:20). (“the crimson one”).
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