Back to Genesis 38

Genesis 38:21-22

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.’ ”

World English Bible · Public Domain
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Genesis 38:21-22 sits inside this longer paragraph.

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.”

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Parallel Translations

  • WEB World English Bible

    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.’ ”

  • KJV King James Version

    Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.

    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.

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  • JPS JPS Tanakh (1917)

    Then he asked the men of her place, saying: 'Where is the harlot, that was at Enaim by the wayside?' And they said: 'There hath been no harlot here.'

    And he returned to Judah, and said: 'I have not found her; and also the men of the place said: There hath been no harlot here.'

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Cross-references

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Explain this passage (9 sources)

Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.

John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv21–22 Gen 38:21 Then he asked the men of that…

Gen 38:21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where [is] the harlot, that [was] openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this [place].

Ver. 21. Where is the harlot?] The holy whore, as the Hebrew word importeth; such as committed that filthiness, under a pretence of holiness. Such, among the heathens, were the lewd worshippers of Priapus (this is thought to be Baalpeor); and Venus at Cyprus; where the maids, in honour of their goddess, prostituted their chastity to all that would, once a year. So in their Lupercals and Bacchanals at Rome, in quibus discurrebatur ad publicos concubitus, for like reason. Of such unclean persons, even by God’s house, we read in 2Ki 23:7, and of such as "sacrificed with harlots" in Hos 4:14, who brought their hire for a vow; called therefore, the price of a salt bitch (dog). {Deu 23:17-18} Vah propudium!

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.

John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv21–22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot…
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On v21 Verse 21. Where is the harlot that was openly…
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On v21 Harlot. Hebrew Kedesha a person consecrated to good or…
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On v21 21. Openly by the wayside — Rather, at Enajim…
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On v21 21. harlot] Heb. ḳedêshah, that is, a woman dedicated…
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On v21 (21) Where is the harlot . . .?—Heb.,Whercisthe kedeshah…
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv21–22 Then he asked the men of that place, saying,…
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v21 a person who lives in the village of Adullam.…
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