Genesis 38
1599 Geneva Bible
38 2 The marriage of Judah. 7, 9 The trespass of Er and Onan, and the vengeance of God that came thereupon. 18 Judah lieth with his daughter-in-law Tamar. 24 Tamar is judged to be burnt for whoredom. 29, 30 The birth of Perez and Zerah.
1 And at that time [a]Judah went down from his brethren, and turned into a man called Hirah an Adullamite.
2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a man called (A)Shua a [b]Canaanite: and he took her to wife, and went into her.
3 So she conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Er.
4 (B)And she conceived again and bare a son, and she called his name Onan.
5 Moreover she bare yet a son, whom she called Shelah: and Judah was at Chezib when she bare him.
6 Then Judah took a wife to Er his firstborn son, whose name was Tamar.
7 (C)Now Er the firstborn of Judah was wicked in the sight of the Lord: therefore the Lord slew him.
8 And Judah said to Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and do the office of a kinsman unto her, and raise [c]up seed unto thy brother.
9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his: therefore when he went in unto his brother’s wife, he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
10 And it was wicked in the eyes of the Lord, which he did: wherefore he slew him also.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, [d]Remain a widow in thy father’s house, till Shelah my son grow up (for he thought thus, Lest he die as well as his brethren,) So Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
12 ¶ And in process of time also the daughter of Shua Judah’s wife died. Then Judah, when he [e]had left mourning, went up to his sheepshearers to Timnah, he, and his neighbor Hirah the Adullamite.
13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnath, to shear his sheep.
14 Then she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat down in [f]Pethah-enam which is by the way to Timnah, because she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
15 When Judah saw her, he judged her an whore: for she had covered her face.
16 And he turned to the way towards her, and said, Come, I pray thee, let me lie with thee, (for he [g]knew not that she was his daughter-in-law.) And she answered, What wilt thou give me for to lie with me?
17 Then said he, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock, and she said, Well, if thou wilt give me a pledge, till thou send it.
18 Then he said, What is the pledge that I shall give thee? And she answered, Thy signet and thy [h]cloak and thy staff that is in thine hand. So he gave it her, and lay by her, and she was with child by him.
19 Then she rose, and went and put her veil from her and put on her widow’s raiment.
20 Afterward Judah sent a kid of the goats by the hand of his [i]neighbor the Adullamite, for to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.
21 Then asked he the men of the place, saying, Where is the whore, that sat in Enaim by the wayside? and they answered, There was no whore there.
22 He came therefore to Judah again, and said, I cannot find her, and also the men of the place said, There was no whore there.
23 Then Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be [j][k]shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
24 ¶ Now after three months, one told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter-in-law hath played the whore, and lo, with playing the whore, she is great with child. Then Judah said, Bring ye her forth and let her be [l]burnt.
25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man, unto whom these things pertain, am I with child: and said also, Look I pray thee, whose these are, the seal, and the cloak, and the staff.
26 Then Judah knew them, and said, She is [m]more righteous than I: for she hath done it because I gave her not to Shelah my son. So he lay with her [n]no more.
27 ¶ Now, when the time was come that she should be delivered, behold, there were twins in her womb.
28 And when she was in travail, the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound a red thread about his hand, saying, this is come out first.
29 But when he [o]plucked his hand back again, lo, his brother came out, and the midwife said, How hast [p]thou broken the breach upon thee? and his name was called (D)Perez.
30 And afterward came out his brother that had the red thread about his hand, and his name was called Zerah.
Footnotes
- Genesis 38:1 Moses describeth the genealogy of Judah, because the Messiah should come of him.
- Genesis 38:2 Which affinity notwithstanding was condemned of God.
- Genesis 38:8 This order was for the preservation of the stock, that the child begotten by the second brother should have the name and inheritance of the first: which is in the new Testament abolished.
- Genesis 38:11 For she could not marry in any other family so long as Judah would retain her in his.
- Genesis 38:12 Hebrew, was comforted.
- Genesis 38:14 Or, in the door of the fountain, or, where were two ways.
- Genesis 38:16 God had wonderfully blinded him that he could not know her by her talk.
- Genesis 38:18 Or, tyre of thine head.
- Genesis 38:20 That his wickedness might not be known to others.
- Genesis 38:23 Hebrew, in contempt.
- Genesis 38:23 He feareth man more than God.
- Genesis 38:24 We see that the Law, which was written in man’s heart, taught them that whoredom should be punished with death: albeit no law, as yet was given.
- Genesis 38:26 That is, she ought rather to accuse me than I her.
- Genesis 38:26 For the horror of the sin condemned him.
- Genesis 38:29 Their heinous sin was signified by this monstrous birth.
- Genesis 38:29 Or the separation between thee and thy brother.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
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