Genesis 38
Legacy Standard Bible
Judah and Tamar
38 Now it happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain (A)Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was (B)Shua; and he took her and went in to her. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he named him (C)Er. 4 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and she named him (D)Onan. 5 And she bore still another son, and she named him (E)Shelah; and it was at Chezib [a]that she bore him.
6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But (F)Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so Yahweh put him to death. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, “(G)Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a seed for your brother.” 9 And Onan knew that the (H)seed would not be his; and it happened that when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted it on the ground in order not to give seed to his brother. 10 But what he did was displeasing in the sight of Yahweh; so He (I)put him to death also. 11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “(J)Live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up”; for he [b]thought, “I am afraid lest he also die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
12 And [c]after a considerable time, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Then Judah was comforted, and he went up to his sheepshearers at (K)Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 Then it was told to Tamar, “[d]Behold, your father-in-law is going up to (L)Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she removed her widow’s garments from herself and (M)covered herself with a [e]veil and wrapped herself. And she sat at the entrance of [f]Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and (N)she had not been given to him as a wife. 15 Then Judah saw her, and he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face. 16 So he turned aside to her by the road and said, “Here now, let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 17 He said, therefore, “I will send you a [g]young goat from the flock.” She said, moreover, “Will you give a pledge until you send it?” 18 Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” And she said, “(O)Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 Then she arose and went. And she removed her [h]veil from herself and put on her widow’s garments.
20 Then Judah sent the [i]young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take the pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. 21 So he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the cult prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?” But they said, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I did not find her; and furthermore, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” 23 Then Judah said, “Let her [j]keep them, lest we become a laughingstock. Behold, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her.”
24 Now it happened about three months later that it was told to Judah saying, “[k]Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot, and behold, she is also with child by harlotry.” Then Judah said, “Bring her out and (P)let her be burned!” 25 It was while she was being brought out that she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man to whom these things belong.” And she said, “(Q)Please recognize this and see, whose signet ring and cords and staff are these?” 26 And Judah recognized them and said, “(R)She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as (S)I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not [l]know her again.
27 Now it happened at the time she was giving birth, that behold, there were (T)twins in her womb. 28 And it happened, while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 And then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out. So she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” So he was named [m](U)Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand; and he was named [n](V)Zerah.
Footnotes
- Genesis 38:5 Lit when
- Genesis 38:11 Lit said
- Genesis 38:12 Lit the days became many and
- Genesis 38:13 Lit saying, Behold
- Genesis 38:14 Or shawl
- Genesis 38:14 In Josh 15:34, Enam
- Genesis 38:17 Lit kid of goats
- Genesis 38:19 Or shawl
- Genesis 38:20 Lit kid of goats by the hand of
- Genesis 38:23 Lit take for herself
- Genesis 38:24 Lit saying, Your
- Genesis 38:26 Or have relations with
- Genesis 38:29 Lit a breach
- Genesis 38:30 Lit a dawning, brightness
Genesis 38
Common English Bible
Tamar’s place in Judah’s family
38 At that time, Judah moved away from his brothers and settled near an Adullamite named Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her. After he slept with her, 3 she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, whom she[a] named Er. 4 She became pregnant again, gave birth to a son, and named him Onan. 5 Then she gave birth to one more son and named him Shelah. She was in Chezib when she gave birth to him.
6 Judah married his oldest son Er to a woman named Tamar. 7 But the Lord considered Judah’s oldest son Er immoral, and the Lord put him to death. 8 Judah said to Onan, “Go to your brother’s wife, do your duty as her brother-in-law, and provide children for your brother.” 9 Onan knew the children wouldn’t be his so when he slept with his brother’s wife, he wasted his semen on the ground, so he wouldn’t give his brother children. 10 The Lord considered what he did as wrong and put him to death too. 11 Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Stay as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” He thought Shelah would die like his brothers had. So Tamar went and lived in her father’s household.
12 After a long time, Judah’s wife the daughter of Shua died. Then, after a period of mourning, he and his neighbor Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah, to those who were shearing his sheep. 13 Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is now on his way up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So Tamar took off the clothing she wore as a widow, covered herself with a veil, put on makeup,[b] and sat down at the entrance to Enaim on the road to Timnah, since she realized that although Shelah had already grown up, she hadn’t been given to him as a wife.
15 Judah saw her and thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. 16 He turned to her beside the road and said, “Let me sleep with you,” because he didn’t know she was his daughter-in-law.
She said, “What will you give me for sleeping with you?”
17 He said, “I will give you a kid goat from my flock.”
She said, “Only if you give me some deposit, as security to guarantee that you will send it.”
18 He said, “What kind of deposit should I give you?”
And she said, “Your seal, its cord, and the staff in your hand.” He gave these to her, slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.
19 Then she got up, left, and took off her veil, dressing once again in the clothing she wore as a widow. 20 Judah sent the kid goat with his neighbor Hirah the Adullamite so he could take back the deposits from the woman, but he couldn’t find her. 21 He asked the locals of that place, “Where’s the consecrated worker[c] who was at Enaim on the road?”
But they said, “There’s no consecrated worker here.”
22 So he went back to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. The locals even said, ‘There’s no holy woman here.’”
23 Judah said, “Let her keep everything so we aren’t laughed at. I did send this kid goat, but you couldn’t find her.”
24 About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has become a prostitute and is now pregnant because of it.”
And Judah said, “Bring her out so that she may be burned.”
25 When she was brought out, she sent this message to her father-in-law, “I’m pregnant by the man who owns these things. See if you recognize whose seal, cord, and staff these are.”
26 Judah recognized them and said, “She’s more righteous than I am, because I didn’t allow her to marry my son Shelah.” Judah never knew her intimately again.
27 When she gave birth, she discovered she had twins in her womb. 28 At birth, one boy put out his hand, and the midwife took it and tied a red thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 As soon as he pulled his hand back, his brother came out, and she said, “You’ve burst out on your own.” So he was named Perez.[d] 30 Afterward, his brother with the red thread on his hand came out, and he was named Zerah.[e]
Footnotes
- Genesis 38:3 Sam, Tg; MT he
- Genesis 38:14 Or perfumed herself or wrapped herself up
- Genesis 38:21 Traditionally cultic prostitute
- Genesis 38:29 Or bursting out
- Genesis 38:30 Or dawn
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