# Genesis 38 📖: Judah and Tamar [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Genesis Overview]] | [[Genesis 37]] | [[Genesis 39]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### Judah and Tamar [[#Verse 01.]] At that time Judah left his brothers and stayed with an Adullamite man named Hirah.  [[#Verse 02.]] There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. Judah acquired her as a wife and slept with her.  [[#Verse 03.]] She became pregnant and had a son. Judah named him Er.  [[#Verse 04.]] She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan.  [[#Verse 05.]] Then she had yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. [[#Verse 06.]] Judah acquired a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar.  [[#Verse 07.]] But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him. [[#Verse 08.]] Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise up a descendant for your brother.”  [[#Verse 09.]] But Onan knew that the child would not be considered his. So whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he wasted his emission on the ground so as not to give his brother a descendant.  [[#Verse 10.]] What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him too. [[#Verse 11.]] Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house. [[#Verse 12.]] After some time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with his friend Hirah the Adullamite.  [[#Verse 13.]] Tamar was told, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”  [[#Verse 14.]] So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) [[#Verse 15.]] When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face.  [[#Verse 16.]] He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come, please, I want to sleep with you.” (He did not realize it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me so that you may sleep with me?”  [[#Verse 17.]] He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?”  [[#Verse 18.]] He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her, then slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.  [[#Verse 19.]] She left immediately, removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes. [[#Verse 20.]] Then Judah had his friend Hirah the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, but Hirah could not find her.  [[#Verse 21.]] He asked the men who were there, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” [[#Verse 22.]] So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’”  [[#Verse 23.]] Judah said, “Let her keep the things for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.” [[#Verse 24.]] After three months Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, and as a result she has become pregnant.” Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” [[#Verse 25.]] While they were bringing her out, she sent word to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong.” Then she said, “Identify the one to whom the seal, cord, and staff belong.”  [[#Verse 26.]] Judah recognized them and said, “She is more upright than I am, because I wouldn’t give her to Shelah my son.” He was not physically intimate with her again. [[#Verse 27.]] When it was time for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. [[#Verse 28.]] While she was giving birth, one child put out his hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” [[#Verse 29.]] But then he drew back his hand, and his brother came out before him. She said, “How you have broken out of the womb!” So he was named Perez.  [[#Verse 30.]] Afterward his brother came out—the one who had the scarlet thread on his hand—and he was named Zerah. ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary Overall. It may seem odd that Joseph’s story was interrupted by this small detour, but there could be many possible reasons. One principle to be learned is that justice comes from unlikely places. This helps the reader understand that justice will come to Joseph. ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. ###### Verse 29. ###### Verse 30. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. This chapter interrupts the Joseph story right after he is sold. 2. In levirate marriage, a man married his brother's widow to give his brother an heir (Deuteronomy 25:5-6). 3. Onan's sin was refusing to give his brother an heir while pretending to fulfill the duty (38:9). 4. Adullam (38:1) was a town in the lowlands of Judah, later where David hid in a cave (1 Samuel 22:1). 5. Tamar asked for Judah's seal, cord, and staff (38:18), items that worked like a modern ID. 6. Seals were often worn on a cord around the neck. 7. Judah's line continues through Perez to Boaz and David (Ruth 4:18-22). 8. Tamar is one of the few women named in Jesus' genealogy (Matthew 1:3). 9. The twins' birth echoes Jacob and Esau, with a struggle over who came first (38:27-30). 10. Perez means "breaking out" (38:29). ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the Savior who came through a broken family line by God's grace. Perez, born to Judah and Tamar (38:29), is named in Jesus' genealogy (Matthew 1:3), because Jesus came for sinners. ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. Judah moved away from his brothers and blended into Canaanite life (38:1-2). What kind of drift do you need to watch for? 2. Judah admitted that Tamar was more righteous than he was (38:26). What does real repentance sound like? 3. God worked through this scandal to continue the line of the Messiah. How does that encourage you about God's grace? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 7: Er was evil in the Lord's sight. - 📖 verse 26: Judah admits that Tamar is more righteous than he is. - 📖 verse 29: Perez is born. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[Matthew 01#Verse 03.|Matthew 1:3]] - Judah, Tamar, and Perez in Jesus' family line. - 🔗 [[Ruth 04#Verse 12.|Ruth 4:12]] - May your family be like the family of Perez. - 🔗 [[Deuteronomy 25#Verse 05.|Deuteronomy 25:5-10]] - The duty to raise up a name for a brother. - 🔗 [[Genesis 49#Verse 08.|Genesis 49:8-10]] - Judah's blessing. - 🔗 [[Luke 03#Verse 33.|Luke 3:33]] - Perez in Luke's genealogy. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Genesis 38- SOAP|The Importance of Self-Awareness]] ## 📂 Internal Notes