After many days, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite.
Parallel Translations
-
After many days, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite.
-
And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
-
And in process of time Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheep-shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Genesis 38:12 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Joshua 15:10 and the border turned about from Baalah westward to Mount Seir, and passed along to the side of Mount Jearim (also called Chesalon) on the north, and went down to Beth Shemesh, and passed along by Timnah;
- Genesis 24:67 Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah’s tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife. He loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
- Judges 14:1 Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines.
- 2 Samuel 13:39 King David longed to go out to Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, since he was dead.
- Genesis 31:19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep; and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father’s.
- Genesis 38:1 At that time, Judah went down from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
- Joshua 15:35 Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,
- Joshua 15:37 Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad,
- Joshua 15:57 Kain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages.
- Joshua 19:43 Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
- 1 Samuel 25:4-8 David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep. David sent ten young men, and David said to the young men, “Go up to Carmel, and go to Nabal, and greet him in my name. Tell him, ‘Long life to you! Peace be to you! Peace be to your house! Peace be to all that you have! Now I have heard that you have shearers. Your shepherds have now been with us, and we didn’t harm them. Nothing was missing from them all the time they were in Carmel. Ask your young men, and they will tell you. Therefore let the young men find favor in your eyes; for we come on a good day. Please give whatever comes to your hand, to your servants, and to your son David.’ ”
- 1 Samuel 25:36 Abigail came to Nabal; and behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king. Nabal’s heart was merry within him, for he was very drunk. Therefore she told him nothing until the morning light.
- 2 Samuel 13:23-29 After two full years, Absalom had sheep shearers in Baal Hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and Absalom invited all the king’s sons. Absalom came to the king, and said, “See now, your servant has sheep shearers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant.” The king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let’s not all go, lest we be burdensome to you.” He pressed him; however he would not go, but blessed him. Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” The king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” But Absalom pressed him, and he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him. Absalom commanded his servants, saying, “Mark now, when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine; and when I tell you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Haven’t I commanded you? Be courageous, and be valiant!” The servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose, and every man got up on his mule, and fled.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (14 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hebrew, was comforted.
Hebrew, was comforted.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 38:12 And in process of time the daughter…
Gen 38:12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
Ver. 12. The daughter of Shuah, &c.] This was just in God upon Judah, for his fraudulent dealing with Tamar; whom he neither married to his son Shelah, nor suffered to be married to another. Sin is oft punished in kind.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain In process of time, when many days had passed,…
In process of time, when many days had passed, and Shelah, though grown, was not given to Tamar,
Judah went up unto his sheep-shearers, to feast and rejoice with them at that time, as the manner was then and afterwards. See 1Sa 25:36.
Read full note →
Timnath; a place not far from Adullam; of which see Jos 15:57.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain It is a very ill-favoured story that is here…
It is a very ill-favoured story that is here told concerning Judah; one would not have expected such folly in Israel. Judah had buried his wife; and widowers have need to stand upon their guard with the utmost caution and resolution against all fleshly lusts. He was unjust to his daughter-in-law, either through negligence or design, in not giving her his surviving son, and this exposed her to temptation.
I. Tamar wickedly prostituted herself as a harlot to Judah, that, if the son might not, the father might raise up seed to the deceased. Some excuse this by suggesting that, though she was a Canaanite, yet she had embraced the true religion, and believed the promise made to Abraham and his seed, particularly that of the Messiah, who was to descend from the loins of Judah, and that she was therefore thus earnestly desirous to have a child by one of that family that she might have the honour, or at least stand fair for the honour, of being the mother of the Messiah. And, if this was indeed her desire, it had its success; she is one of the four women particularly named in the genealogy of Christ, Mat 1:3. Her sinful practice was pardoned, and her good intention was accepted, which magnifies the grace of God, but can by no means be admitted to justify or encourage the like. Bishop Patrick thinks it probable that she hoped Shelah, who was by right her husband, might have come along with his father, and that he might have been allured to her embraces. There was a great deal of plot and contrivance in Tamar's sin. 1. She took an opportunity for it, when Judah had a time of mirth and feasting with his sheep-shearers. Note, Time of jollity often prove times of temptation, particularly to the sin of uncleanness; when men are fed to the full, the reins are apt to be let loose. 2. She exposed herself as a harlot in an open place, Gen 38:14. Those that are, and would be, chaste, must be keepers at home, Tit 2:5. It should seem, it was the custom of harlots, in those times, to cover their faces, that, though they were not ashamed, yet they might seem to be so. The sin of uncleanness did not then go so barefaced as it does now.
Read full note →
II. Judah was taken in the snare, and though it was ignorantly that he was guilty of incest with his daughter-in-law (not knowing who she was), yet he was willfully guilty of fornication: whoever she was, he knew she was not his wife, and therefore not to be touched. Nor was his sin capable, in the least, of such a charitable excuse as some make for Tamar, that though the action was bad the intention possibly might be good. Observe, 1. Judah's sin began in the eye (Gen 38:15): He saw her. Note, Those have eyes, and hearts too, full of adultery (as it is Pe2 2:14), that catch at every bait that presents itself to them and are as tinder to every spark. We have need to make a covenant with our eyes, and to turn them from beholding vanity, lest the eye infect the heart. 2. It added to the scandal that the hire of a harlot (than which nothing is more infamous) was demanded, offered, and accepted - a kid from the flock, a goodly price at which her chastity and honour were valued! Nay, had the consideration been thousands of rams, and ten thousand rivers of oil, it had not been a valuable consideration. The favour of God, the purity of the soul, the peace of conscience, and the hope of heaven, are too precious to be exposed to sale at any such rates; the Topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal them: what are those profited that lose their souls to gain the world? 3. It turned to the reproach of Judah that he left his jewels in pawn for a kid. Note, Fleshly lusts are not only brutish, but sottish, and ruining to men's secular interests. It is plain that whoredom, as well as wine, and new wine, takes away the heart first, else it would never take away the signet and the bracelets.
III. He lost his jewels by the bargain; he sent the kid, according to this promise, to redeem his pawn, but the supposed harlot could not be found. He sent it by his friend (who was indeed his back-friend, because he was aiding and abetting in his evil deeds) the Adullamite, who came back without the pledge. It is a good account (if it be but true) of any place which they here gave, there is no harlot in this place; for such sinners are the scandals and plagues of any place. Judah sits down content to lose his signet and his bracelets, and forbids his friend to make any further enquiry after them, giving this reason, lest we be shamed, Gen 38:23. Either, 1. Lest his sin should come to be known publicly, and be talked of. Fornication and uncleanness have ever been looked upon as scandalous things and the reproach and shame of those that are convicted of them. Nothing will make those blush that are not ashamed of these. 2. Lest he should be laughed at as a fool for trusting a strumpet with his signet and his bracelets. He expresses no concern about the sin, to get that pardoned, only about the shame, to prevent that. Note, There are many who are more solicitous to preserve their reputation with men than to secure the favour of God and a good conscience; lest we be shamed goes further with them than lest we be damned.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And it was told Tamar,.... By some of her…
And it was told Tamar,.... By some of her neighbours, or by some of Judah's family:
saying, behold, thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep; which might be told her as an indifferent thing, without any design in it; but she took notice of it, and it gave her an opportunity she wanted.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 12. In process of time] This phrase, which…
Verse 12. In process of time] This phrase, which is in general use in the Bible, needs explanation; the original is וירבו הימים valyirbu haiyamim, and the days were multiplied. Though it implies an indefinite time, yet it generally embraces a pretty long period, and in this place may mean several years.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Judah . . . went up unto his sheep-shearers--This…
Judah . . . went up unto his sheep-shearers--This season, which occurs in Palestine towards the end of March, was spent in more than usual hilarity, and the wealthiest masters invited their friends, as well as treated their servants, to sumptuous entertainments. Accordingly, it is said, Judah was accompanied by his friend Hirah.
Timnath--in the mountains of Judah.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 12. Went up… to Timnath — Probably the Timnath…
12. Went up… to Timnath — Probably the Timnath of the Philistine valley, so famous in the history of Samson. Jdg_14:1. If so, it was at the modern Tibeh, and must have been some eight or ten miles north of Adullam. There was also another Timnath in the mountains of Judah. See Jos_15:57.
His friend Hirah — Comp. Gen_38:1. Note how intimate Judah had become with the Canaanites.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 12–26. Tamar and Judah
12–26. Tamar and Judah
12. Timnah] Possibly the same as in Jos_15:10; Jos_15:57; Jdg_14:1.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (12) Timnath.—There were two places of this name (Jos_15:10;…
(12) Timnath.—There were two places of this name (Jos_15:10; Jos_15:57). One was a little to the west of Bethlehem, the other upon the Philistine border, beyond Bethshemesh. As it lay, however, only about seven miles beyond Adullam, and as the flocks there were Judah’s private property (Gen_38:13), and under the charge of Hirah, this remoter place, now called Tibneh, is probably the Timnath meant, as at Bethlehem the pastures were occupied by his father. (See also Gen_38:14.) For the sheep-shearing, see Gen_31:19. Instead of “his friend Hirah,” the LXX. and Vulg. render his shepherd Hirah. This would require no change in the consonants, but only in the vowels. Most of the other authorities agree with the Authorised Version; but even so, there was most probably some partnership between Judah and Hirah in these flocks, and they would be under Hirah’s charge whenever Judah was absent, tending the flocks of his father.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And in process of timeliterally, and the days were…
And in process of timeliterally, and the days were multiplied, (cf. Gen_4:3) which is rendered by the same words in the A.Vthe daughter of Shuah Judah"s wife died; and Judah was comforted (or, comforted himself, ceased to mourn), and went up unto his sheep-shearers (vide Gen_31:19) to Timnath, a border town between Ekron and Bethshemesh (Jos_15:10) in the plain of Judah (Kalisch, Wordsworth, W. L. Alexander in Kitto"s "Cyclopedia"); but more probably here a town (Jos_15:57) in the mountains of Judah (Robinson, 2:343, Keil, Alford, "Speaker"s Commentary")he and his friend oJ poimhn aujtou (LXX)Hirah the Adullamite.
Vers. 12-26.
Read full note →
Judah"s sin with Tamar.
I COMMITTED.
1. Suddenly. It was occasioned by the sight of a supposed courtesan. Much evil enters by the eye (cf. 2Sa_11:2) Great need for the prayer of. (Psa_119:37)
1. Openly. Judah was in the company of Hirah, his friend, when he beheld Tamar sitting in the gate of Enajim, and, without attempting to hide it from his friend, went to seek her society. Shamelessness in sin betokens great depravity.
2. Willfully. Though in a manner surprised by the temptation, Judah was not inadvertently betrayed into commission of his sin with Tamar, but, on the contrary, went about it in a remarkably deliberate manner.
3. Inexcusably. There was no reason why Judah should not have sought a second wife to succeed Shuah"s daughter, rather than consort with prostitutes.
II DETECTED.
1. Quickly. No doubt Judah thought he had heard the last of his indiscretion on the way to Timnath; but lo I in three short months his guilt is discovered. Not every offender is so speedily arrested; but sooner or later detection is inevitable for all. "Be sure thy sin will find thee out.
2. Unexpectedly. Judah never imagined that his own signet, and chain, and staff would be produced as witnesses against him; and criminals never can be sure from what quarter testimony shall arise to condemn them.
3. Completely. There was no possibility of Judah s evading the charge of Tamar. By no sort of ingenuity could he repudiate the articles of dress with which probably his household were familiar.
4. Publicly. At the very moment when Tamar was produced for execution Judah was obliged to confess his guilt in presence of his assembled household; and in like manner will the wicked yet be openly convicted in the sight of an assembled world.
III CONFESSED.
1. Candidly. Found out, Judah did not attempt either to deny or to palliate his guilt, but frankly acknowledged that Tamar"s condition was due to him.
2. Promptly. Nor did he hesitate to own his guilt, but.immediately confessed what he had done.
3. Penitently. This we may infer from the statement of the historian that the offence was not again repeated.
IV FORGIVEN. It does not fall within the scope of the historian"s design to indicate whether Judah obtained mercy; but this may be reasonably concluded from
1. The promptness of his confession.
2. The sincerity of his penitence.
3. The reality of his faith
as evinced by the fact that he was reckoned among the ancestors of our Lord.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain Judah Becomes Guilty of Incest
Judah Becomes Guilty of Incest
v. 12. And in process of time, after many days had elapsed, after some years, the daughter of Shuah, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted, after the usual period of mourning, and went up unto his sheep-shearers to Timnath, not the town in the Philistine plain, but that in the mountains of Judah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite. The occasion of the shearing of the sheep was always a great festival for the shepherds, and Judah, after the days of mourning for his wife, was able to attend.
Read full note →
v. 13. And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. She received the information simply in the manner in which a piece of news is passed on.
v. 14. And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, completely muffled and disguised both her face and her form, after the manner of the public harlots, or prostitutes, and sat in an open place, in the gate of Enajim or Enam, a town in the plain of Judah, Jos 15:34, which is by the way of Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. Although her plan and object seems revolting, it was not mere lust which drove her to this step, but a feeling of unjust treatment and the fear of lasting barrenness and mourning widowhood.
v. 15. When Judah saw her, upon his return from the festivities at Timnath, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face, after the custom of such women.
v. 16. And he turned unto her by the way, turned aside from the road, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee (for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law). And she said, What wilt thou give me that thou mayest come in unto me?
v. 17. And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge till thou send it?
v. 18. And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. Tamar had thus made her plans with full attention to detail; she had a special reason for demanding Judah’s seal-ring with its cord and the staff which he carried with him wherever he went, as badges of his dignity, by which he could definitely be identified. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him, through the sin of incest.
v. 19. And she arose, and went away, and laid by her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. Her object being accomplished, she immediately returned to her father’s house.
v. 20. And Judah sent the kid which he had promised to the supposed harlot by the hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand; but he found her not.
v. 21. Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot that was openly by the wayside? Judah had told him that the harlot had sat in the gate of Enayim, and Hirah, accommodating himself to the custom of the country, asked for the devotee of the goddess Astarte, the goddess of love, for to her certain Canaanite women sacrificed their bodies by a life of shame. And they said, There was no harlot in this place. Tamar had arranged it so that her presence in the gate of the town had not been noticed by the inhabitants.
v. 22. And he returned to Judah and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said that there was no harlot in this place. This report caused Judah some chagrin.
v. 23. And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed; behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. Judah feared that any further search for the woman would bring him, not moral condemnation, but mocking ridicule. It was characteristic of the times that he did not feel guilty, but expressed his satisfaction over the fact that she had his pledges, which were worth more than the kid. It is only by keeping the revolting aspect of sins and vices before the eyes all the time that we escape becoming callous with regard to them.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 This is the name of a man. See how…
Shua's
This is the name of a man. See how you translated this name in Genesis 38:2. (See: How to Translate Names)
Read full note →
Judah was comforted and
"When Judah was no longer grieving, he"
his sheepshearers at Timnah
"Timnah, where his men were shearing sheep"
Timnah ... Enaim
These are names of a places. (See: How to Translate Names)
he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite
"His friend Hiram, from Adullam, went with him"
Hirah the Adullamite
"Hiram" is the name of a man, and "Adullam" is the name of a village where he lived. See how you translated this name in Genesis 38:1. (See: How to Translate Names)
Tamar was told
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Someone told Tamar" (See: Active or Passive)
Look, your father-in-law
"Listen." Here the word "look" is used to get Tamar attention.
your father-in-law
"your husband's father"
of her widowhood
"that widows wear"
veil
a very thin material used to cover a woman's head and face
wrapped herself
This means that she hid herself with her clothing so that people would not recognize her. Traditionally, part of women's clothing were large pieces of cloth they wrapped themselves with. AT: "wrapped herself in her clothing so that people would not recognize her" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
by the road
"along the road" or "on the way"
she had not been given to him as a wife
This can be stated in active form. AT: "Judah had not given her to Shelah as a wife" (See: Active or Passive)
translationWords
Judah
Tamar
ewe
gate
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 38:12-13 Without a marriage, the family’s future was in…
38:12-13 Without a marriage, the family’s future was in jeopardy. • Judah’s wife died: This made Judah available to fulfill the responsibility of providing an heir.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.