³¹ And the firstborn said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is not a man on earth to come in to us after the manner of all the world.^(A)

4 Seven women shall take hold of one man on that day, saying,

Levirate Marriage

⁵ “When brothers reside together and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her, taking her in marriage and performing the duty of a husband’s brother to her,^(A)

⁴ He went in to Hagar, and she conceived, and when she saw that she had conceived, she looked with contempt on her mistress.

² and Sarai said to Abram, “You see that the Lord has prevented me from bearing children; go in to my slave; it may be that I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai.^(A)

⁴ The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went in to the daughters of humans, who bore children to them. These were the heroes that were of old, warriors of renown.

Cain Murders Abel

4 Now the man knew his wife Eve, and she conceived and bore Cain,^[a] saying, “I have produced a man with the help of the Lord.”

¹⁴ she put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage.^{(A) 15} When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face. ¹⁶ He went over to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” ¹⁷ He answered, “I will send you a kid from the flock.” And she said, “Only if you give me a pledge until you send it.”^{(B) 18} He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and the staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him.^{(C) 19} Then she got up and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.^(D)

²⁰ When Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite to recover the pledge from the woman, he could not find her. ²¹ He asked the townspeople, “Where is the prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?” But they said, “No prostitute has been here.” ²² So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her; moreover, the townspeople said, ‘No prostitute has been here.’ ” ²³ Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, otherwise we will be laughed at; you see, I sent this kid, and you could not find her.”

²⁴ About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself; moreover, she is pregnant as a result of prostitution.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”^{(E) 25} As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “It was the owner of these who made me pregnant.” And she said, “Take note, please, whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.”^{(F) 26} Then Judah acknowledged them and said, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not lie with her again.^(G)

²⁷ When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb. ²⁸ While she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and bound on his hand a crimson thread, saying, “This one came out first.” ²⁹ But just then he drew back his hand and out came his brother, and she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore he was named Perez.^{[a](H) 30} Afterward his brother came out with the crimson thread on his hand, and he was named Zerah.^[b]

⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother.”^{(A) 9} But since Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, he spilled his semen on the ground whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, so that he would not give offspring to his brother.^(B)

²⁸ and he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and toward all the land of the plain and saw the smoke of the land going up like the smoke of a furnace.^(A)