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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. And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was (B)Shua; and he took her and went in to her. So she conceived and bore a son, and he named him (C)Er. Then she conceived again and bore a son, and she named him (D)Onan. And she bore still another son, and she named him (E)Shelah; and it was at Chezib [a]that she bore him.

Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But (F)Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so Yahweh put him to death. 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.” 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.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 38:5 Lit when
  2. Genesis 38:11 Lit said
  3. Genesis 38:12 Lit the days became many and
  4. Genesis 38:13 Lit saying, Behold
  5. Genesis 38:14 Or shawl
  6. Genesis 38:14 In Josh 15:34, Enam
  7. Genesis 38:17 Lit kid of goats
  8. Genesis 38:19 Or shawl
  9. Genesis 38:20 Lit kid of goats by the hand of
  10. Genesis 38:23 Lit take for herself
  11. Genesis 38:24 Lit saying, Your
  12. Genesis 38:26 Or have relations with
  13. Genesis 38:29 Lit a breach
  14. Genesis 38:30 Lit a dawning, brightness

Judah and Tamar

38 About that time Judah went down from his brothers and visited a man from Adullam named Hirah. There Judah saw a daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He took her as a wife and went to her. She conceived and gave birth to a son, and he named him Er. She conceived again and gave birth to another son, and she named him Onan. She gave birth to yet another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to Shelah.

Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn. Her name was Tamar. It turned out that Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord killed him.

Then Judah said to Onan, “Go to your brother’s wife. Perform your duty for her as the brother of her deceased husband and provide offspring[a] for your brother.” Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, so whenever he went to his brother’s wife, he wasted his semen on the ground, so that he would not provide offspring for his brother. 10 But the thing that he did was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord killed him also.

11 Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah is grown up.” Actually he had said to himself, “I do not want him to die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

12 After some time Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 Tamar was told, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 She took off the garments that identified her as a widow, covered herself with her veil, disguised herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah, because she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she was not going to be given to him as a wife.

15 When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, because she had covered her face. 16 He turned to her by the roadside and said, “Please, let me come to you,” because he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.

She said, “What will you give me, so that you may come to me?”

17 He said, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.”

She said, “Will you give me something as a security deposit until you send the goat?”

18 He said, “What should I give you as a deposit?”

She said, “Your stamp seal on its cord and your staff that is in your hand.”

He gave them to her and went to her, and she conceived by him. 19 Then she got up and left. Later she took off her veil and put her widow’s garments back on.

20 Judah sent the young goat with his friend, the Adullamite, to get back the deposit from the woman’s possession, but he could not find her. 21 So he asked the men from that place, “Where is the sacred prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?”

They said, “There hasn’t been any sacred prostitute here.”

22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I could not find her, and the men of the place said, ‘There hasn’t been any sacred prostitute here.’”

23 Judah said, “Let her keep it, so that we are not disgraced. Look, I did send this young goat, but you were unable to find her.”

24 About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has prostituted herself, and even worse, she is pregnant by prostitution.”

Judah said, “Bring her out and burn her.”

25 When she was brought, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these things belong.” She also said, “Please help me identify whose these are—this stamp seal on its cord and the staff.”

26 Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah, my son.” But he was not intimate with her again.

27 When the time came for her to go into labor, it turned out that there were twins in her womb. 28 When she was in labor, one of the twins put out a hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But then after he had pulled back his hand, his brother came out first, so she said, “What a breakthrough you made for yourself!” That is why he was named Perez.[b] 30 Afterward his brother who had the scarlet thread on his hand came out, so he was named Zerah.[c]

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 38:8 Literally seed, which alludes both to semen and to the child that is produced from it
  2. Genesis 38:29 Perez means breaking out.
  3. Genesis 38:30 Zerah means scarlet.