Genesis / Judah and Tamar

Judah and Tamar

Genesis 38:1-30

Chapter 38

¹ And it was at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and pitched his tent toward a certain Adullamite, and his name was Hirah. ² And Judah saw there a daughter of a Canaanite man whose name was Shua, and he took her and came to her. ³ She conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. ⁴ She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. ⁵ She continued on and bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. And it was at Chezib when she bore him. ⁶ And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. ⁷ And Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD put him to death. ⁸ Judah said to Onan, "Go in to your brother's wife, marry her levirately, and raise up seed to your brother." ⁹ Onan knew that the seed would not be his, and it was: if he came to his brother's wife, he spoiled it earthward so as not to give seed to his brother. ¹⁰ And what he did was evil in the eyes of the LORD, and he put him to death also. ¹¹ And Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Remain a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up," for he said, "Lest he also die like his brother." And Tamar went and sat in her father's house. ¹² The days multiplied, and Bat-Shua, wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and he went up to the shearers of his flock—he and Hirah his friend the Adullamite—to Timnah. ¹³ And it was told to Tamar, saying, "Behold, your father-in-law has gone up to Timnah to shear the flock." ¹⁴ She removed her widow's garments, covered herself with a veil, veiled herself, and sat at the entrance of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah, because she saw that Shelah had grown up and she had not been given to him as a wife. ¹⁵ And when he saw her, Judah considered her a prostitute because she had covered her face. ¹⁶ He turned to her by the road and said, "Come now, let me come 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 to me?" ¹⁷ And he said, "I will send a kid of goats from the flock." And she said, "If you give a pledge until you send it." ¹⁸ He said, "What pledge shall I give you?" She said, "Your seal and your cord and your staff that is in your hand." And he gave them to her, and he came to her, and she conceived by him. ¹⁹ And she arose, went, removed the veil from upon her, and put on her widow's garments. ²⁰ Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his companion the Adullamite to take the pledge from the hand of the woman, but he did not find her. ²¹ He asked the men of her place, "Where is the cult prostitute? She was at the springs on the road." And they said, "No cult prostitute has been here." ²² He returned to Judah and said, "I did not find her. Also, the men of the place said, 'There was no cult prostitute here.'" ²³ And Judah said, "Take it for her, lest we become a derision. Behold, I sent this kid goat, and you did not find her." ²⁴ And it was after three new moons, and it was told to Judah, saying, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has prostituted herself; and also, behold, she is pregnant by prostitution." And Judah said, "Bring her out and she shall be burned." ²⁵ She was found with them, and she sent to her father-in-law, saying, "By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant." She said, "Please recognize whose these are—the signet and the cords and the staff." ²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to Shelah my son." And he did not know her again. ²⁷ When the time came for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. ²⁸ And it was when she was giving birth, and he put out a hand. The midwife took it and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, "This one comes out first." ²⁹ And it was, as he was putting back his hand—and behold, his brother came out—and she said, "What have you broken through upon you? A breach!" And he called his name Perez. ³⁰ And afterward his brother came out, who was second over his hand, and he called his name Zerah.