Judah: The Foolish and the Wise
Background and Printed Text: Genesis 38:1-30
Genesis 38:1 And he was at that time. And He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] went down from with his brothers. And he inclined unto an Unto-Their-Poverty [Adullamite] man. And his name is Her-Cave-Dweller [Hirah]. 2And He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] saw a daughter of a Merchant [Canaanite] man there. And his name is Shout-For-Help [Shua]. And he took her. And he came unto her. 3And she conceived. And she childed a son. And he called his name Ardent [Er].
4And she conceived again. And she childed a son. And she called his name Potent [Onan]. 5And she gathered again. And she childed a son. And she called his name Security [Shelah]. And he was in Liar [Cheziv] in her childing him.
6And He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] took a woman for Ardent [Er] his firstborn. And her name is Palm [Tamar]. 7And Ardent [Er], He-Confessed-Yehovah’s [Judah’s] firstborn, was bad in the eyes of Yehovah. And Yehovah killed him.
8And He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] said unto Potent [Onan], “Come unto the woman of thy brother. And ‘levirate’ her. And raise seed to thy brother.” 9And Potent [Onan] knew that the seed will not be his. And he will be, if he came unto the woman of his brother, and he will destroy groundward so as to not give seed to his brother. 10And what he did was bad in the eyes of Yehovah. And He also killed him.
11Then He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] said to Palm [Tamar] his daughter in law, “Sit a widow the house of thy father until Security [Shelah] my son will biggen.” For he said, “Lest also he will die as his brothers.” And Palm [Tamar] walked. And she sat the house of her father.
12And the days multiplied. And the daughter of Shout-For-Help [Shua] woman of He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] died. And He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] was consoled. And he ascended upon sheepshearers of his flock—he and Her-Cave-Dweller [Hirah] his neighbour the Unto-Their-Poverty [Adullamite] Thou-Shalt-Reckon-ward [Timnat-ward]. 13And he told to Palm [Tamar] to say, “Behold, thy father-in-law ascended Thou-Shalt-Reckon-ward [Timnat-ward] to shear his flock.” 14And she removed garments of her widowhood from upon her. And she blanket-covered via a sari. And she overlaid herself. And she sat in an opening of the eyes that is upon the way Thou-Shalt-Reckon-ward [Timnat-ward]. For she saw that Security [Shelah] biggened, and he was not given {fem.} to him for a woman. 15And He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] saw her. And he thought her for a harlot because she blanket-covered her faces. 16And he inclined unto her unto the way. And he said, “Come-on, na! I will come unto thee!” For he didn’t know that this is his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What wilt thou give to me that thou wilt come unto me?” 17And he said, “I, I will send a kid of goats from the flock.” And she said, “If thou wilt give a pledge until thy sending…” 18And he said, “What is the pledge that I will give to thee?” And she said, “Thy signet and thy bracelet and thy staff that is in thine hand.” And he gave to her. And he came unto her. And she conceived to him. 19And she arose. And she walked. And she removed her veil from upon her. And she put-on the garments of her widowhood.
20And He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] sent the kid of the goats via the hand of his neighbour the Unto-Their-Poverty [Adullamite] to take the pledge from the hand of the woman. And he didn’t find her. 21And he asked men of her place, saying, “Where is the holy-woman? He is in eyes upon the way!” And they said, “There was not a holy-woman in this.” 22And he returned to He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah]. And he said, “I did not find her. And also men of the place said, ‘There was not a holy-woman in this.’” 23And He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] said, “She shall take to her lest we shall be to contemn. Behold, I sent this kid. And thou, thou didn’t find her.”
24And he was as from three months. And he told to He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] saying, “Palm [Tamar] thy daughter-in-law whored! And also behold, she conceived to whoredoms!” And He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] said, “Exit-ye her! And she was burnt!”
25He is-made-to-exit. And she sent unto her father-in-law saying, “I am pregnant to the man to whom these are!” And she said, “Recognize-thou, na. To whom are these—the signet and the bracelets and the staff?” 26And He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah] recognized. And he said, “More righteous than I. For therefore I didn’t give her to Security [Shelah] my son.” And he didn’t gather to know her again.
27And he was at the time of her childing. And behold, twins are in her womb. 28And he was in her childing. And he gave a hand. And the midwife took. And she bound a scarlet thread upon his hand to say, “This exited firstward.” 29And he was as he returns his hand. And behold, his brother exited. And she said, “What? Thou hast breached! A breach is concerning thee!” And he called his name Breach [Pharez]. 30And his brother upon whose hand is the scarlet thread exited after. And he called his name Sunrise [Zarah].
I. Judah’s Wife and Sons (verses 1-5)
At the same time Joseph was being trained as a slave, Judah, Joseph’s brother was continuing with normal life.
Judah went down to location away from his brothers. He inclined (tilted toward) an Adullamite man, becoming friends with him. His name is Hirah.
Judah also saw a woman—a daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. (The man’s name is Shua.) He took her, he came unto her, and she became pregnant. She childed a son, and Judah called his name Er.
She again became pregnant, and she childed a son. She called his name Onan.
She gathered again and childed a son. She called his name Shelah. Judah was in Cheziv while she childed Shelah.
Questions
1. Why did Judah leave his brothers? He had enough sheep, now, so that he didn’t have to follow the flock everywhere. He went to a small village to pursue village life.
2. What does “he inclined unto an Adullamite man” mean? This means that he was drawn into friendship with this man; he tended to think like him and to like being with him.
3. What is an Adullamite man? This either refers to a location (Adullam) or to a tribe or race.
4. Why would a man be named, “her cave dweller”? It could be because the baby given this name had parents who lived in a cave.
Cave dwelling can be very comfortable and cool in hot locations. Some folks today live in beautifully decorated caves with rooms that look like any normal home.
5. What was the name of the daughter of Shua whom Judah took for a woman (wife)? Curiously, the text never gives her name.
I can only guess why it never gives her name. The Bible gives names of valiant folks in genealogies even when they don’t have an important role in texts. Ignoring a name like this can be Yehovah’s way of showing that she was not a good woman. He later will ignore the name of a king (after mentioning it once), referring to him as the son of, then giving his father’s name.
6. What does “he took her, and he came unto her” mean? This means that he chose her, and led her to a place where he had sexual intercourse with her.
7. Was this wrong for him to do? Were they married? His taking a woman was not wrong. His taking a Canaanite woman was very wrong. Had he believed what happened to Avraham and Isaac, he would not have taken a Canaanite woman.
While there is no marriage ceremony, there usually was a wedding feast and celebration, though this wasn’t necessary. He did become married to her by taking her and coming unto her. He was not committing fornication with her (that is, having sexual intercourse without marriage, neither one being married).
8. What does she conceived mean? This means that she became pregnant.
9. Is becoming pregnant on the first sexual intercourse event usual? It happens often enough, though it is not guaranteed.
10. Who named this child? Judah named this child.
11. Who named the second child (Onan)? She did.
12. What does “she gathered again” mean? When any does something again that requires labour or work, the Hebrew language of the Bible will sometimes use gather to show bringing everything together to do the act.
13. Who named the third child? The mother also named the third child.
14. Why does the text tell readers that Judah was in Cheziv when his woman childed the third son? Judah named the first son, showing real interest. She named the second son, showing that Judah wasn’t so involved in the naming. He wasn’t even home for the third son.
II. Strike One! (verses 6-7)
Er, Judah’s firstborn, was now an adult. Judah took a woman for him. Her name was Palm [Tamar], referring to the tree.
Er was bad in the eyes of Yehovah. Yehovah killed him.
Questions
1. Why did Judah take a woman for his son? Couldn’t his son get his own woman (wife)? This was traditional, and it still is in many places in other countries. Parents can often judge good mates for their children by knowing the parents of the other mate.
2. From where did Tamar come? The Bible gives no background for her. Yet, she will be a very important person in the Bible.
3. Why would a parent name a child Palm? A palm tree is narrow, long, very pretty, and a lifesaver for desert peoples. Some palms bear dates which are very sweet and nutritious for persons and animals. Such palms give excellent shade from the heat.
4. Did Er have a good character? He had such a bad character, that Yehovah killed him.
5. Does Yehovah often kill folks with very bad character? He almost never does that! Many with very bad character live their lives in peace. Some become prisoners, and some are killed, but few are killed by Yehovah Himself.
6. Why did Yehovah kill Er? Er is Judah’s firstborn. Judah will be the most important tribe in Israel because the Messiah, Messiah Yeshua, will come from Judah. Since this tribe will be so important, Yehovah has a great investment in this tribe showing sense. Such evil must be removed. The Bible shows how this tribe went from such a bad person who began the tribe (Judah) to being the best of the tribes of Israel regarding righteousness. This is the first part of these details. Yehovah cleared out the garbage character; He killed Er.
7. What did Er do that made Er so bad in the eyes of Yehovah? The text doesn’t even give a clue. It gives no more information.
8. Why didn’t Yehovah explain what Er did that was so bad? I propose that He didn’t tell for the following reasons:
- Telling the bad things that folks do will sometimes give others ideas who also want to be ‘bad.’
- There was no need to tell the details; it was enough to say that he was bad in the eyes of Yehovah.
- Yehovah leaves some things up to the imaginations of readers so that a few will fear, and won’t even come close to being ‘bad’ in the eyes of Yehovah.
The expression, “He’s bad!” used for a person who is tough may see very good, but a person who is tough and who is unkind and cruel is bad in the eyes of Yehovah, too; it isn’t a commendation—it isn’t something good.
9. Does Yehovah kill everyone who dies? Yehovah rarely kills. He brought death into the world to limit how much one person can sin, but He rarely takes lives of folks. His interest is in giving life—everlasting life. He sees Death as an enemy:
1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
III. Strike Two! (verses 8-10)
Judah recognized that Tamar was left in a childless position, and that Er his firstborn son had not had a child. Therefore he told Onan, the second son, to levirate her—that is, to do the service of a brother in law by taking his dead brother’s woman as his own woman, and giving the first son to be reared with the surname of the dead brother.
Onan had no love for his dead brother. He knew that the seed (offspring) will not be his own. So he decided to make sure that the semen fell on the ground and would not fertilize Tamar for pregnancy. This was bad in the eyes of Yehovah, and Yehovah also killed him.
Questions
1. Explain what “levirate her” means: When there is more than one brother, and the older brother is married and the younger one is not married, there is a special relationship between the brothers and the wife of the older brother. If the older brother dies, not having a child, the younger brother is responsible to take the wife of the older brother, and get her pregnant as his own wife. If she becomes pregnant, the child who is born will be surnamed as the child of the deceased (dead) brother. This is usually what happens if the child is a son. That son, then, will grow up, and will have the inheritance of the deceased brother who would have been his papa. If the living brother has more children, those children will have the living brother’s surname as usual. Thus, two brothers from the same mama and papa can have two different surnames!
Suppose there are two brothers: Samuel and John. Samuel is married to Jill. Samuel and Jill don’t yet have children. Samuel dies. John is responsible to take Jill and get her pregnant, if possible, as his own wife. Jill becomes pregnant by John, and names the baby Brian. Brian’s full name is Brian, son of Samuel, even though Samuel died. If John and Jill have another child, say Tom, the second child will be Tom, son of John. This way, inheritances in Israel don’t get lost when there is a death, and women, like Jill, can still serve their deceased husbands by continuing their names.
2. Are brothers responsible to do this same thing today? It depends on the culture. Some cultures still do this today. The Israeli culture of the Bible includes this as righteousness.
3. What does “raise seed” mean? This means to cause pregnancy so that the seed produces an offspring: a child.
4. What does “And Onan knew that the seed will not be his. And he will be, if he came unto the woman of his brother, and he will destroy groundward so as to not give seed to his brother” mean?
First, Onan didn’t like the idea of the seed, the firstborn son, not being his own. He had no love for his brother, and he didn’t want to give a child to his brother. Yet, he was willing to have sexual joy with Tamar, yet making sure to destroy the seed (the semen) by spilling it on the ground, and refusing to let it remain where it could fertilize Tamar’s egg to make a baby. Thus, he was willing to use Tamar for his own pleasure, but he refused to give her what belonged to her and to his own brother. He hated his brother, and therefore determined to annihilate his brother’s name from the planet.
5. Why was destroying the seed groundward so bad in the eyes of Yehovah? This was an act of genocide (trying to stamp out a race) against his brother. It was also an act of theft from Tamar to whom that seed belonged. On top of that, Onan was using Tamar like a whore instead of her being treated as a wife. Yehovah was furious.
6. Why did Yehovah kill Onan? Onan was a murderer of his brother’s name. What Onan did was terrible and cruel. Thus, Onan wasn’t much better than Er.
IV. The Agreement (verse 11)
Judah did not want to lose another son. So he told Tamar, his daughter-in-law, to remain a widow at the house of her father until Judah’s third son, Shelah, will grow up. Tamar walked to her father’s house, and she remained (sat) at the house of her father.
Questions
1. Why did Judah tell Tamar to sit as a widow (for years) until Shelah will ‘biggen’ (grow up)? Judah wanted Tamar to let all others know that she is a widow in mourning so that no other man would try to take her as a wife. This way, she is still as married.
2. Why did Tamar agree to this? Tamar was determined to raise seed to her deceased husband (Er), and I propose, even to her deceased husband (Onan). She was a faithful woman, and she had sense.
3. Wasn’t living in the same widowhood garments for years bad, and wouldn’t the garments get dirty? If her garments became soiled, she would wash them. If they wore out, she would make herself others. They would still be widowhood garments so that others would know that she is not available for marriage.
4. Why did Judah send her to her father’s house instead of keeping her with him and his wife? If she had stayed with Judah, that could have been a morally bad situation. Besides this, Shelah had to grow up. If Shelah grew up with Tamar, they would be more like brother and sister. Thus, Tamar would go to live with her father and work there until Shelah was ready for a wife.
5. Why did Judah state, “Lest also he will die as his brothers”? Judah knew that Shelah wasn’t any better. He might end up also being killed by Yehovah.
6. Did Judah know that Yehovah had killed two of his sons? Yes, he knew. The Bible doesn’t state how he knew.
7. Did Tamar have a sad life as she lived in her widow’s mourning garments? She had a goal, and she had wisdom. She didn’t live in sadness.
8. Why did she just sit in the house of her father? The Hebrew word for sit also means to live in a location. She lived in her father’s house, and that is where she worked and rested (sitting and sleeping).
V. Tamar’s Wisdom (verses 12-19)
Days multiplied. Judah’s woman, the daughter of Shua, died. Judah mourned, and was consoled.
He went up to visit the sheepshearers of his flock with Hirah at Timnat.
Someone unidentified told Tamar, “Behold, thy father-in-law ascended Timnat-ward to shear his flock.”
She had an idea. She took off her widowhood garments that she had continuously worn for all this time, and she completely covered herself with a sari (an outfit that is wrapped several times). She sat in an opening “of the eyes” (a place that can be seen) that is on the way to Timnat where Judah was. She knew that Shelah had grown, and Judah had not given her to Shelah to be his woman.
Judah came by and saw her. He figured she was a prostitute because she completely covered her faces. He bent his direction (went out of his way) toward her.
He said to her, “Come-on, na! I will come unto thee!” He didn’t know that this is his daughter-in-law.
She said, “What wilt thou give to me that thou wilt come unto me?” His response was, “I, I will send a kid of goats from the flock.”
She told him she would if he would give a pledge until he sent the goat kid. Judah wanted to know what the pledge item would be. Her response was, “Thy signet and thy bracelet and thy staff that is in thine hand.” He gave them to her.
He then came unto her and had sexual intercourse with her. She conceived to him.
She then arose, walked, and took off the veil that covered her. She dressed in the garments of her widowhood, and continued as normal.
Questions
1. How much time passed if the text states, “the days multiplied”? That indicates years.
2. Who died in verse 12? The unnamed Canaanite woman (who was married to Judah and was the daughter of Shua) died. She was also Tamar’s mother-in-law.
3. Of what did she die? The text doesn’t say.
4. What does consoled mean? To be consoled means to finish grieving and mourning over an important loss (like over the death of someone who was close). Consolation includes new joys in life that finally diminish remembering the loss of the person (or item) over which a person grieves.
5. How was Judah consoled? The text doesn’t say how he was consoled. His friends probably helped in this process.
6. What does “He ascended upon sheepshearers of his flock” mean? This means that Judah went up to visit the men (and women) who sheared the wool of the sheep and goats of his flock. A sheepshearer who is trained can trim one sheep in about one minute, getting all the wool off the sheep so that it can be carded (separated into strands) and spun into wool, a very nice material for warmth. Judah had been busy with mourning. He laborers continued the work of shearing.
7. What is Timnat? It is the location where Judah’s flock and shepherds were located.
8. Why did Judah go with Hirah? Judah and Hirah were good male friends. They ‘hung out’ together.
9. Who told Tamar what was told in verse 13? The text doesn’t identify this person. Whoever it was, she needed to hear this exactly at the time she heard it. I get suspicious in texts like this that Yehovah or an angel of Yehovah might be involved.
10. Why is “Behold, thy father-in-law ascended Timnat-ward to shear his flock” important for her to know? Verse 14 explains: “For she saw that Shelah biggened [grew up], and he was not given {fem.} to him for a woman.” She is therefore going to take action.
11. Why did she remove her widowhood garments and put a sari on her, and what is a sari? A sari is a very sheer (thin) cloth wrap-around garment used to this day in places like India. The following is from the web site, http://hinduism.about.com (since Hindu folks also use saris).
It is a very comfortable garment that is very pretty. It covers very well, and is very modest.
Tamar put this on because she desired to appear to not be a widow who was mourning, but rather to be another person. She didn’t want Judah to recognize her.
12. What does “she sat in an opening of the eyes that is upon the way” mean? This means that she sat in a very exposed place where the eyes of passers-by could see her.
13. Identify the pronoun he in, “he was not given {fem.} to him for a woman”: The pronoun refers to Tamar. It is masculine because it refers to Tamar as a species, as a human.
Tamar is saying this of herself. This means that Tamar recognized that she, as a member of Adam’s race, was not given to Shelah for a woman (wife). The Hebrew language of the Bible often does this when it refers to a person of any gender as one of Adam’s offspring.
14. What is a harlot? A harlot is a whore, a prostitute. Those are the same thing. That describes a woman who has sexual intercourse with men for money or pay of some kind.
15. How did the prostitutes dress back then? The main distinguishing characteristic was that they covered their faces.
16. What women cover their faces today? Some cover their faces as part of their religion.
17. What does “he inclined unto her unto the way” mean? He was going in a direction; he changed direction so that he went on the way to her.
18. What did Judah mean by, “Come-on, na! I will come unto thee”? He was speaking in a way that wasn’t harsh (because of the use of na in Hebrew). He wanted her to come on so that he could come unto her—that is, to have sexual intercourse with her.
19. For what was she asking when she said, “What wilt thou give to me that thou wilt come unto me”? Since she was playing the role of being a prostitute, she was asking how much he would pay for her sexual services.
20. Why was she doing this? The entire plan that she had will become clear later. She is playing a role, and therefore has to charge as if she were a prostitute.
21. Was the price he was willing to pay a good price for a whore? She acted as if the price was fine.
22. What is a pledge? It is something that is valuable that is given until the promised price has been paid. It must be of personal value to the one who receives it, since it normally isn’t as valuable as what was promised, but makes the one who receives it feel confident that the promised price will be paid.
23. Why did she ask for a pledge? If she would play the role of a whore, she could not trust clients to pay, once they got what they wanted. Thus, she asked for security (the assurance that the debt would be paid).
24. Doesn’t Judah always keep his promises? He didn’t keep the promise about giving her to Shelah!
25. Why did Judah let her decide what the pledge would be? He knew he was carrying nothing of value. Thus, he was glad for her to choose.
26. Why did she ask for three things (his signet, his bracelet and his staff)? This is part of her plan; I will discuss it later. In the meantime, she wanted three things because anything can be established at the mouth of three witnesses. While she might be accused of stealing one of the three items, no one would accuse her of stealing all three; Judah would be very embarrassed to lose all three to a woman.
27. What is a signet? It is like a ring, but with a shape carved (engraved) into it so that it can be used to stamp an identification onto something else, like a document. Wax sometimes held a document closed, and a signet stamped into the wax left the shape of the signet so that the recipient (receiver) of the document knew it was authentic (the real thing). Below is an example of a signet ring from the web site www.regimentalbrooches.co.uk/Price%20list.htm:
28. What is a bracelet? It is a jewelry item worn around the wrist or on the arm. Every bracelet used to be unique, meaning that there was only one of a kind.
29. What is the purpose of a staff held in the hand? Its purpose is to act like a third leg when walking, since the ground is very uneven. A staff could help steady folks who often walked, and could be used to push things without the hand being exposed to a snake or a small dangerous creature.
30. Why did Judah give these things to her as a pledge? Weren’t they far more valuable than a kid of the goats? They were far more valuable, but she wouldn’t be able to do anything with them. If she tried to sell them, folks would know that they belonged to Judah. Thus, he felt safe that they would be returned for something useful, like the kid of goats.
31. Did she immediately know that she conceived and was pregnant? Unless Yehovah told her, she had no way of knowing this. The text tells us. Yet, she didn’t try to offer her sexual services to him again, as if she did know that she was pregnant. (This is very curious!)
32. Why did she change back to her widowhood garments? She desired to return to her normal state, and wait to see what next occurred.
VI. Missing Lady (verses 20-23)
Judah sent the goat kid by mans of the hand of his neighbour, the Adullamite man, in order to take the pledge items from the hand of the woman. Judah’s friend looked, but he didn’t find her.
He asked men of her location, “Where is the holy-woman? He is in eyes upon the way!” They said, “There was not a holy-woman in this.”
He returned to Judah, and told him, “I did not find her. And also men of the place said, ‘There was not a holy-woman in this.’” Judah responded, “She shall take to her lest we shall be to contemn. Behold, I sent this kid. And thou, thou didn’t find her.”
Questions
1. Why did Judah send his friend to take the goat kid to the whore and to retrieve the pledge items? I don’t give Judah credit for much sense. Sending a friend to pay a whore makes no sense. Judah wasn’t even embarrassed by this. It was something normal to him. It was as if his friend were a messenger sent to take care of a business deal.
2. Why did Judah’s friend ask the men of the place where she had been, “Where is the holy-woman?” In the Bible, anyone who is holy is owned. The owner must be identified. A holy woman can be owned by Yehovah/Yeshua, but she can also be owned by a pagan temple, in which case she will sometimes be a whore who works for a temple god or goddess to raise money for the priests of that pagan temple.
Judah and his friend assumed that this woman was such a pagan temple whore; thus Hirah asked for the holy woman.
3. What did he mean by, “He is in eyes upon the way”? He meant that she was in plain sight on the main road.
4. What did the men mean by, “There was not a holy-woman in this”? They meant that there was no pagan temple whore in this place.
5. What did Judah mean by, “She shall take to her lest we shall be to contemn”? Judah meant that she would have to come and get the goat kid for herself (“she shall take to her”), since folks are going to contemn Judah and Hirah (find them contemptible and real ‘low-life scum’) for seeking them out to find a whore to pay her!
6. Why did Judah add, “Behold, I sent this kid, and thou, thou didn’t find her”? Judah was preparing his testimony with Hirah, should the whore show up later, demanding payment: “I sent this kid.” I did what I promised. “Thou, thou didn’t find her.” Hirah looked, and he didn’t find her after looking hard for her. They will be witnesses that this is what occurred.
VII. Naughty Lady! (verse 24)
About three months later, someone told Judah, “Palm [Tamar] thy daughter-in-law whored! And also behold, she conceived to whoredoms!” Judah said, “Exit-ye her! And she was burnt!”
Questions
1. What occurred about three months later? That was enough time for Tamar to begin to show that she was pregnant.
2. Who stated, “Tamar thy daughter-in-law whored! And also behold, she conceived to whoredoms”? This person is also unnamed.
I can tell that this isn’t Yehovah or an angel of Yehovah, since the information is not true. She didn’t conceive “to whoredoms.” This was a gossip.
3. What did Judah mean by, “Exit-ye her”? He meant that they should take her outside of the city (by force).
4. Why did he state, “And she was burnt”? After they exit her from the city, she will be burned to death for whoring.
5. Was Judah’s justice good? No, it wasn’t good! It was very bad! He hired what he thought was a whore, and got her pregnant. Yet, what he did was fine (in his mind); what she did by becoming pregnant was just so terrible! No girl can get pregnant without a guy; yet girls are viewed as responsible when that occurs, and guys are thought to be just normal. (This is not the way the God of the Bible views these things.)
VIII. Recognition (verses 25-26)
She was made to exit. She sent unto Judah, her father-in-law, saying, “I am pregnant to the man to whom these are!” She also said, “Recognize-thou, na. To whom are these—the signet and the bracelets and the staff?” Judah recognized. He then responded, “More righteous than I. For therefore I didn’t give her to Shelah my son.” Judah never again gathered to have sexual intercourse with her.
Questions
1. Who is he in, “He is made to exit”? This again refers to Tamar (as if she is an item from Adam’s race, not a woman).
2. Why did she send to her father-in-law, and why did she have to send to him at all? She desired to have him judge, since he was the accuser. She had proof of the man who got her pregnant, and she wanted that man to also be held responsible.
She had to send because Judah didn’t even care enough about her to show up for her being burned to death. It was as if he just wanted her gone. (Did he consider that Yehovah may have killed his sons because they were vile, and Tamar was not?)
3. She told Judah, “Recognize-thou.” Why would these words have bothered Judah? Those were the same words that Judah and the brothers used when showing the blood-stained garment of Joseph to Jacob their father!
4. Why did Judah say, “More righteous than I,” and was this true? He was referring to Tamar, and it was very true! Actually, Judah wasn’t righteous at all.
5. Why did Judah state, “For therefore I didn’t give her to Shelah my son”? He realized that Tamar trapped him and got pregnant by him because he hadn’t kept his word.
6. What was Tamar’s plan? Give the details. Her plan was the following:
- Wait to see if Judah would give Shelah. When he didn’t, she went to the next part of the plan.
- She dressed up as a whore in order to get seed from Judah, because Judah had deprived her of what was legitimately hers: offspring from Judah’s line.
- She obtained the three items in order to trap him when he accused her, as she knew he would.
- She waited for him to accuse her, then she sent the items to Judah via a messenger so that the messenger would be a witness to what occurred.
- She put Judah in a position where he declared himself less righteous than she was so that Judah would back down.
7. Why was what Tamar did so very noble and heroic? Tamar’s plan was to continue the lineage of Judah through a good line (one that she reared), thus doing for Judah, the very man who was ready to burn her alive. She had a view to the future, whereas Judah only had a view between his legs.
8. Was what Tamar did by playing the role of a prostitute and becoming pregnant sin? No, it wasn’t! The seed from Judah’s lineage belonged to her because of Judah’s promise. What she did was absolutely righteous. What Judah did was sinful.
9. What does “he didn’t gather to know her again” mean and imply? Judah didn’t even attempt to have sexual intercourse with her again.
10. Did she take off her mourning garments of her widowhood? The text doesn’t say. I propose that she did; she now knew that she would not get Shelah. She now had a relationship with Shelah’s father, Judah. She could behave as a woman who is not mourning.
IX. Tamar’s Fruit (verses 27-30)
The time came for her to experience childbirth. Twins were in her womb!
During the time of birthing, one child reached out and ‘gave’ a hand. The midwife took and tied a scarlet thread upon his hand to identify which exited the womb first. Then, the little one returned his hand, and the brother exited first! The midwife said, “What hast thou breached! A breach is upon thee!” And he called his name Breach (Pharez).
His brother with the scarlet thread on his hand then exited, and he called his name Zarah.
Questions
1. How likely was she to have twins? This was very unlikely! Twins do not occur very often.
2. Why did Yehovah give her twins? Two of Judah’s sons died because they were vile. These two were born in their place (I propose). This way, she could rear two of Judah’s three children.
3. What was so important about marking which child came out first? The firstborn child has a greater inheritance and greater responsibilities. Determining which is the firstborn is very important in many cultures.
Though these were not the firstborn of Judah, they were the firstborn of Tamar.
4. What does the made-up word firstward mean? It means toward the first.
5. What did the midwife mean by, “What? Thou hast breached!”? She was surprised by how the other child broke through (breached) and came out first, as if he was victorious in the race to enter into the world!
6. What did she mean by, “A breach is concerning thee”? She was prophesying! There will be a breach, a breaking out, a bursting into position by that child’s offspring far into the future, and from Judah itself. This child will also breach (break out of) the evil of Judah, the father, and the evil of his offspring through the unnamed Canaanite woman.
7. Who named the child Zarah (Sunrise, as in Sunny)? I can only suppose that Judah himself did this. Perhaps he was there when she had these two children.
8. Did Judah participate in rearing the two children that Tamar had? Again, the text doesn’t tell this. I would like to think that he had very little to do with these children, since the tribe of Judah becomes the best of the tribes of Israel with the highest standards, but I don’t know. I don’t even know if Judah took part in supporting Tamar and the two boys. Perhaps he finally did right in that way, but Tamar would be better off without much from Judah (except perhaps some money).
9. Did Tamar have good character? Tamar had excellent character! The text doesn’t say anything about her faith. I can’t tell if she had faith in any god, including in Yehovah. Yet, she is a heroine of the Bible, and Yehovah backed up her excellent plans by giving her success in every way, including twins.
I love the way that the Bible shows heroes and heroines, and doesn’t mention a thing about their faiths or religions.
What Tamar did was a selfless act (an act that didn’t consider what she would have to pay), since she now had to rear two boys on her own. As far as I know, she never had a husband from that time.