She took off the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she wasn’t given to him as a wife. When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He turned to her by the way, and said, “Please come, let me come in to you,” for he didn’t know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
He said, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She said, “Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?”
He said, “What pledge will I give you?” She said, “Your signet and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” He gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him.
She arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand, but he didn’t find her. Then he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the road?” They said, “There has been no prostitute here.”
He returned to Judah, and said, “I haven’t found her; and also the men of the place said, ‘There has been no prostitute here.’ ” Judah said, “Let her keep it, lest we be shamed. Behold, I sent this young goat, and you haven’t found her.”
About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute. Moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution.” Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 20, 24 14. And sat in an open place Interpreters expound…
14. And sat in an open place Interpreters expound this passage variously. Literally, it is “in the door of fountains, or of eyes.” Some suppose there was a fountain which branched into two streams; others think that a broad place is indicated, in which the eyes may look around in all directions. But a third exposition is more worthy of reception; namely, that by this expression is meant a way which is forked and divided into two; because then, as it were, a door is opened before the eyes, that they which are really in one way may diverge in two directions. Probably it was a place whence Tamer might be seen, to which some by-way was near, where Judah might turn, so that he should not be guilty of fornication, in a public way, under the eyes of all. When it is said she veiled her face, we hence infer that the license of fornication was not so unbridled as that which, at this day, prevails in many places. For she dressed herself after the manner of harlots, that Judah might suspect nothing. And the Lord has caused this sense of shame to remain engraved on the hearts of those who live wickedly, that they may be witnesses to themselves of their own vileness. For if men could wash out the stains from their sins, we know that they would do so most willingly. Whence it follows, that while they flee from the light, they are affected with horror against their will, that their conscience may anticipate the judgment of God. By degrees, indeed, the greater part have so far exceeded all measure in stupor and impudence, that they are less careful to hide their faults; yet God has never suffered the sense of nature to be so entirely extinguished, by the brutal intemperance of those who desire to sin with impunity, but that their own obscenity shall compel even the most wicked to be ashamed. Base was therefore the impudence of that cynic philosopher, who, being catched in vice, boasted of planting a person. In short, the veil of Tamer shows that fornication was not only a base and filthy thing in the sight of God and the angels; but that it has always been condemned, even by those who have practiced it.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv14, 16, 18, 20, 23, 24 Or, in the door of the fountain, or, where…
Or, in the door of the fountain, or, where were two ways.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Gen 38:14 And she put her widow’s garments off…
Gen 38:14 And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which [is] by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
Ver. 14. Covered her with a vail.] As they that do evil shun the light. She was going about a deed of darkness.
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For she saw that Shelah was grown.] She ran into this foul sin, partly for revenge, and partly for issue. But this excuseth her not: for the revenge she took was private; and she should have sought a godly seed by lawful wedlock, and not by abominable incest. Discontent is the mother of much mischief; as it was in Judas, Haman, &c.
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 On vv14, 15, 18, 23, 24 Covered her with a vail, as harlots used to…
Covered her with a vail, as harlots used to do in those modester ages of the world, when they had not learnt to outface the sun, nor to glory in their villanies.
In an open place, where she night be soonest discovered by passengers. This is noted as the practice of harlots, Pro 7:12; 9:14; Jer 3:2; Eze 16:24,25.
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 On v24 Here is, I. Judah's rigour against Tamar, when he…
Here is, I. Judah's rigour against Tamar, when he heard she was an adulteress. She was, in the eye of the law, Shelah's wife, and therefore her being with child by another was looked upon as an injury and reproach to Judah's family: Bring her forth therefore, says Judah, the master of the family, and let her be burnt; not burnt to death, but burnt in the cheek or forehead, stigmatized for a harlot. This seems probable, Gen 38:24. Note, it is a common thing for men to be severe against those very sins in others in which yet they allow themselves; and so, in judging others, they condemn themselves, Rom 2:1; Rom 14:22. If he designed that she should be burnt to death, perhaps, under pretence of zeal against the sin, he was contriving how to get rid of his daughter-in-law, being loath to marry Shelah to her. Note, It is a common thing, but a very bad thing, to cover malice against men's persons with a show of zeal against their vices.
II. Judah's shame, when it was made to appear that he was the adulterer. She produced the ring and the bracelets in court, which justified the fathering of the child upon Judah, Gen 38:25, Gen 38:26. Note, The wickedness that has been most secretly committed, and most industriously concealed, yet sometimes is strangely brought to light, to the shame and confusion of those who have said, No eye sees. A bird of the air may carry the voice; however, there is a destroying day coming, when all will be laid open. Some of the Jewish writers observe that as Judah had said to his father, See, is this thy son's coat? (Gen 37:32) so it was now said to him, "See, are these thy signet and bracelets?" Judah, being convicted by his own conscience, 1. Confesses his sin: She has been more righteous than I. He owns that a perpetual mark of infamy should be fastened rather upon him, who had been so much accessory to it. Note, Those offenders ought to be treated with the greatest tenderness to whom we have any way given occasion of offending. If servants purloin, and their masters, by withholding from them what is due, tempt them to it, they ought to forgive them. 2. He never returned to it again: He knew her again no more. Note, Those do not truly repent of their sins that do not forsake them.
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III. The building up of Judah's family hereby, notwithstanding, in the birth of Pharez and Zarah, from whom descended the most considerable families of the illustrious tribe of Judah. It should seem, the birth was hard to the mother, by which she was corrected for her sin. The children also, like Jacob and Esau, struggled for the birthright, and Pharez obtained it, who is ever named first, and from him Christ descended. He had his name from his breaking forth before his brother: This breach be upon thee, which is applicable to those that sow discord, and create distance, between brethren. The Jews, as Zarah, bade fair for the birthright, and were marked with a scarlet thread, as those that came out first; but the Gentiles, like Pharez, as a son of violence, got the start of them, by that violence which the kingdom of heaven suffers, and attained to the righteousness of which the Jews came short. Yet, when the fulness of time is come, all Israel shall be saved. Both these sons are named in the genealogy of our Saviour (Mat 1:3), to perpetuate the story, as an instance of the humiliation of our Lord Jesus. Some observe that the four eldest sons of Jacob fell under very foul guilt, Reuben and Judah under the guilt of incest, Simeon and Levi under that of murder; yet they were patriarchs, and from Levi descended the priests, from Judah the kings and Messiah. Thus they became examples of repentance, and monuments of pardoning mercy.
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 On vv14–24 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be…
When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot,.... By her posture and the place she was in:
because she had covered her face; with her veil, that he did not know her; for this is not given as a reason why he took her to be an harlot; the reason of this was, because she sat in the public road; but having covered her face he could not discern who she was, and therefore, from the other circumstance, concluded that she was an harlot, and sat there to prostitute herself to any that passed by.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv14, 17, 23 Some excuse this by suggesting that she believed the…
Some excuse this by suggesting that she believed the promise made to Abraham and his seed, particularly that of the Messiah, and that she was therefore 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. She covered her with a veil - It was the custom of harlots in those times to cover their faces, that tho' they were not ashamed, yet they might seem to be so: the sin of uncleanness did not then go so bare-faced as it now doth.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv15, 17, 21, 23, 24 Verse 15. Thought her to be a harlot] See…
Verse 15. Thought her to be a harlot] See the original of this term, Ge 34:31. The Hebrew is זונה zonah, and signifies generally a person who prostitutes herself to the public for hire, or one who lives by the public; and hence very likely applied to a publican, a tavern-keeper, or hostess, Jos 2:1; translated by the Septuagint, and in the New Testament, πορνη, from περναω, to sell, which certainly may as well apply to her goods as to her person.
It appears that in very ancient times there were public persons of this description; and they generally veiled themselves, sat in public places by the highway side, and received certain hire. Though adultery was reputed a very flagrant crime, yet this public prostitution was not; for persons whose characters were on the whole morally good had connections with them. But what could be expected from an age in which there was no written Divine revelation, and consequently the bounds of right and wrong were not sufficiently ascertained? This defect was supplied in a considerable measure by the law and the prophets, and now completely by the Gospel of Christ.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv14, 17, 23, 24 Gen 38:14. She put her widow’s garments off, &c.…
Gen 38:14. She put her widow’s garments off, &c. — Some excuse her conduct in this by suggesting that she believed the promise made to Abraham and his seed, particularly that of the Messiah, and that she was therefore desirous to have a child by one of that family, that she might have the honour, or at least stand fair for being the mother of the Messiah. She covered her with a veil — 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 go so bare-faced as it now doth.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv14, 18, 21, 23 Veil; (theristrum) a long robe, covering the whole body,…
Veil; (theristrum) a long robe, covering the whole body, except the eyes. Thus she was disguised; or, as it were, masked, as Aquila translates. Harlots herein imitated modest women, chap. xxiv. 65. --- Cross way. Hebrew Henayim, which the Septuagint and Syriac take for a proper name. Others translate "at the gate of the eyes," which means two roads, where a person must open his eyes to judge which is the right one---or "at the gate of the two fountains leading to Thamnas," Judges xiv. 1. Prostitutes formerly infested the high roads. (Jeremias iii. 2; Ezechiel xvi. 25.) Chrysippus says, "at first harlots remained out of the city, and covered their faces; but afterwards growing more hardened, they laid aside the mask," &c.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv18, 24 signet, &c.--Bracelets, including armlets, were worn by men as…
signet, &c.--Bracelets, including armlets, were worn by men as well as women among the Hebrews. But the Hebrew word here rendered "bracelets," is everywhere else translated "lace" or "ribbon"; so that as the signet alone was probably more than an equivalent for the kid, it is not easy to conjecture why the other things were given in addition, except by supposing the perforated seal was attached by a ribbon to the staff.
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 On vv14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 24 14. In an open place — Rather, at the…
14. In an open place — Rather, at the entrance of Enajim. This Enajim was probably the same as the Enam of Jos_15:35, which is mentioned in connexion with Jarmuth and Adullam. This act of Tamar reveals the shameful state of morals among the Canaanites, and furnishes also the occasion of showing the strength of Judah’s sensuality, and his low life as compared with what we see in Joseph.
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 On vv14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 24 14. And she put off, &c.] The neglect on…
14. And she put off, &c.] The neglect on Judah’s part to satisfy the requirements of the levirate rule provoked Tamar to have recourse to trickery. To our moral sense such conduct is bad and disgusting. But to Orientals, whose life depended so largely upon the sanctity of racial customs, her action may have seemed not only entertaining in its cleverness, but even honourable and justifiable in its devotion to a deceased husband’s rights.
her veil] Tamar apparelled herself in the guise of a religious prostitute (ḳedêshah, Gen_38:21), one who dedicated herself to the goddess Astarte, the Babylonian Istar. The veil was one of the symbols of Istar.
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in the gate of Enaim] i.e. in the open space at the entrance into the town. The name of the town means “wells,” possibly Enam, mentioned in Jos_15:34, in the same context with Adullam.
by the way] i.e. on “the way side” (Gen_38:21): see Jer_3:2; Eze_16:15-25.
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 On vv14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 24 (14) In an open place.—Heb., in the gate of…
(14) In an open place.—Heb., in the gate of Enajim. Enajim means “the two fountains,” and we learn from Gen_38:21 that it was the town where Tamar’s father dwelt, and where Tamar was living with him in her widowhood. In the exploration of Palestine, Enajim has been identified with a place called Allin, Anin, or Anaim, three miles east of Tibneh, and situated upon an ancient road coming from Adullam. This makes the conclusion come to for other reasons certain, that the Timnath on the Philistine border was the town meant.
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 On vv14–24 And she put her widow"s garments off from her…
And she put her widow"s garments off from her (to prevent detection by Judah), and covered her with a veil, to conceal her features, after the fashion of a courtesan (ver. 15; cf. Job_24:15) and wrapped herself, possibly with some large mantle (Alford)and sat in an open place, literally, in the opening (i.e. gate) of Enaim (LXX, Gesenius, Keil, Kalisch, Lange, et alii); less happily, in the opening of the eyes, i.e. in a public and open place (Calvin), in the parting of the ways, in bivio itineris (Vulgate), in the opening (or breaking forth) of the two fountains (Aben Ezra, Rosenmwhich is by (or upon) the way to Timnath; to the site of Thamna, now Tibneh, three miles to the east, on an ancient road coming from Adullam, the very road by which the patriarch Judah would have come from Adullam to Timnah, is a ruin called Allin, or Anita, or Ainim" ("Palestine Exploration," quoted by Inglis)for she saw that Shelah was grown (he was probably not much younger than either of his brothers who had died), and she was not given unto him to wife literally, for a wife.
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 On v24 The children of Tamar
The children of Tamar
v. 24. And it came to pass about three months after that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar, thy daughter-in-law, hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. Tamar was not only the widow of two of Judah’s sons, but the promised wife of the third. "In his patriarchal authority he commanded her to be brought forth to be burned. Tamar was regarded as betrothed, and was, therefore, to be punished as a bride convicted of unchastity. But in this case the Mosaic Law imposes only the penalty of being stoned to death, Deu 22:20, whilst burning to death was inflicted only upon the daughter of a priest, and upon carnal intercourse both with mother and daughter, Lev 21:19; Lev 20:14. Judah’s sentence, therefore, is more severe than that of the future Law. " (Keil. )
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v. 25. When she was brought forth for execution, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man whose these are am I with child; and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff, the signet-ring with its cord and the staff with its peculiar carved work.
v. 26. And Judah acknowledged them, he could not help but recognize them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I, because that I gave her not to Shelah, my son. That was the result of his not having kept his word to Tamar: deceit, harlotry, incest. By managing to obtain children from Judah himself, Tamar had become guilty of a great sin, but her guilt was smaller than that of Judah. And he knew her again no more; it was a lesson for him to conquer the desires of his flesh and to struggle against sin in every form with greater earnestness.
v. 27. And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.
v. 28. And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand, due to an abnormal position; and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. She thought this would be the first-born
v. 29. And it came to pass as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out; and she said, How hast thou broken forth? This breach be upon thee; therefore his name was called Pharez (breach). The midwife’s cry of vexation: Why didst thou make a breach in thy interest; upon thee be the breach! was thus retained in the name of the son.
v. 30. And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand; and his name was called Zarah (rising), because he wanted to appear first. The entire story of Tamar, with all the attendant sins, is here told because Pharez, the son of harlotry, became one of the ancestors of Christ, whose suffering and death atoned also for these sins of His forefathers, whose perfect righteousness covers the sin and shame of all men. Cf Mat 1:3.
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 On vv15, 17, 19, 21, 24 because she had covered her face
because she had covered her face
Judah did not think she was a prostitute just because her face was covered but also because she was sitting in the gate. AT: "because she had covered her head and sat where prostitutes often sat" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
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He went to her by the road
Tamar was sitting by the road. AT: "He went to where she was sitting by the road" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
Come, please
"Come with me, please" or "Come now, please"
When Judah saw her
"When Judah saw Tamar"
his daughter-in-law
"his son's wife"
translationWords
prostitute
had relations with
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 On vv14, 17, 18, 20, 24 38:14-19 Tamar realized that she would have to take…
38:14-19 Tamar realized that she would have to take matters into her own hands if the family were to have a future. Tamar acted in keeping with the levirate custom (see study note on 38:8) out of loyalty to her deceased husband. She had a legal right to an heir by Judah’s son or by Judah, so she lured her father-in-law into having sex with her. Jacob’s family was deceived again, this time by a Canaanite daughter-in-law.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.