Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in Yahweh’s sight. So Yahweh killed him. Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” Onan knew that the offspring wouldn’t be his; and when he went in to his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother. The thing which he did was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and he killed him also. Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;” for he said, “Lest he also die, like his brothers.” Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
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. Tamar was told, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 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 vv7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 24 7. And the Lord slew him. We know that…
7. And the Lord slew him. We know that long life is reckoned among the gifts of God; and justly: for since it is by no means a despicable honor that we are created after the image of God, the longer any one lives in the world, and daily experiences God’s care over him, it is certain that he is the more bountifully dealt with by the Lord. Even amidst the many miseries with which life is filled, this divine goodness still shines forth, that God invites us to himself, and exercises us in the knowledge of himself; while at the same time he adorns us with such dignity, that he subjects to our authority whatever is in the world. Wherefore it is no wonder that God, as an act of kindness, prolongs the life of man. Whence it follows, that when the wicked are taken away by a premature death, a punishment for their wickedness is inflicted upon them: for it is as if the Lord should pronounce judgment from heaven, that they are unworthy to be sustained by the earth, unworthy to enjoy the common light of heaven. Let us therefore learn, as long as God keeps us in the world, to meditate on his benefits, to the end that every one may the more cheerfully endeavor to give praise to God for the life received from him. And although, at the present day also, sudden death is to be reckoned among the scourges of God; since that doctrine is always true,
“Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days,” (Psalm 55:23;)
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yet God executed this judgment more fully under the law, when the knowledge of a future life was comparatively obscure; for now, since the resurrection is clearly manifested to us in Christ, it is not right that death should be so greatly dreaded. And this difference between us and the ancient people of God is elsewhere noted. Nevertheless, it can never be laid down as a general rule, that they who had a long life were thereby proved to be pleasing and acceptable to the Lord, whereas God has sometimes lengthened the life of reprobates, in aggravation of their punishment. We know that Cain survived his brother Abel many centuries. But as God does not always, and to all persons, cause his temporal benefits manifestly to flow in a perpetual and equable course; so neither, on the other hand, does he always execute temporal punishments by the same rule. It is enough that, as far as the present life is concerned, certain examples of punishments and rewards are set before us. Moreover, as the miseries of the present life, which spring from the corruption of nature, do not extinguish the first and special grace of God; so, on the other hand, death, which is in itself the curse of God, is so far from doing any injury, that it tends, by a supernatural remedy, to the salvation of the elect. Especially now, from the time that the first-fruits of the resurrection in Christ have been offered, the condition of those who are quickly taken out of life is in no way deteriorated; because Christ himself is gain both for life and death. But the vengeance of God was so clear and remarkable in the death of Er, that the earth might plainly appear to have been purged as from its filthiness.
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 vv8, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 23, 24 This order was for the preservation of the stock,…
This order was for the preservation of the stock, that the child begotten by the second brother should have the name and inheritance of the first: which is in the new Testament abolished.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Gen 38:6 And Judah took a wife for Er…
Gen 38:6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name [was] Tamar.
Ver. 6. And Judah took a wife for Er.] When he was but fourteen years of age, as appears by the Chronicle, seven years after the selling of Joseph. And here it is well observed, {a} that though Judah took a wife without his father’s consent, yet he will not have Er to do so.
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{a} Musculus.
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 vv7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 23, 24 Wicked in the sight of the Lord, i.e. notoriously…
Wicked in the sight of the Lord, i.e. notoriously wicked. Compare Gen 10:9; 13:13.
The Lord slew him, in some extraordinary and remarkable manner, as Gen 38:10.
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 vv12, 24 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.
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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 On vv6–24 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight…
And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord,.... That is, exceedingly wicked, as this phrase signifies, Gen 13:13, was guilty of some very heinous sin, but what is not mentioned; according to the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi, it was the same with his brother Onan's, Gen 38:9, which it is suggested he committed, lest his wife should prove with child, and lose her beauty; but if it had been the same with his, it would have been expressed as well as his. An Arabic writer (p) says, that he cohabited with his wife not according to the course of nature, but in the "sodomitical" way:
and the Lord slew him; by his immediate hand, striking him dead at once, as Ananias and Sapphira were stricken, Act 5:5; or by sending some distemper, which quickly carried him off, as a token of his displeasure at his sin.
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(p) Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 16.
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 vv7, 11, 14, 17, 23 And Er was wicked in the sight of the…
And Er was wicked in the sight of the Lord - That is, in defiance of God and his law. And what came of it? Why God cut him off presently, The Lord slew him. The next brother Onan was, according to the ancient usage, married to the widow, to preserve the name of his deceased brother that died childless. This custom of marrying the brother's widow was afterward made one of the laws of Moses, Deut. xxv, 5. Onan, though he consented to marry the widow, yet to the great abuse of his own body, of the wife he had married, and the memory of his brother that was gone, he refused to raise up seed unto his brother. Those sins that dishonour the body are very displeasing to God, and the evidence of vile actions. Observe, the thing which he did displeased the Lord - And it is to be feared, thousands, especially of single persons, by this very thing, still displeased the Lord, and destroy their own souls.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv7, 9, 10, 12, 15, 17, 21, 23, 24 Verse 7. Er-was wicked in the sight of the…
Verse 7. Er-was wicked in the sight of the Lord] What this wickedness consisted in we are not told; but the phrase sight of the Lord being added, proves that it was some very great evil. It is worthy of remark that the Hebrew word used to express Er's wickedness is his own name, the letters reversed. Er ער wicked, רע ra. As if the inspired writer had said, "Er was altogether wicked, a completely abandoned character."
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 vv7, 11, 14, 17, 23, 24 Gen 38:7-8. Er was wicked in the sight of…
Gen 38:7-8. Er was wicked in the sight of the Lord — That is, in defiance of God, and his law. And the Lord slew him — Cut him off by an untimely death, before he had any children by Tamar. As long life among the Jews was generally reckoned a blessing from God; so an untimely death was accounted a punishment. The next brother, Onan, was, according to the ancient usage, married to the widow, to preserve the name of his deceased brother that died childless. This custom of marrying the brother’s widow was afterward made one of the laws of Moses, Deu 25:5. Onan, though he consented to marry the widow, yet, to the great abuse of his own body, and of the wife he had married, and to the dishonour of the memory of his brother that was gone, refused to raise up seed unto his brother. And this story seems to be recorded by the Holy Ghost purposely to condemn, not only his malignant and envious disposition with respect to his deceased brother, but also and especially that vile pollution of his body of which he was guilty. For, observe, The thing which he did displeased the Lord, and brought upon him the Lord’s vengeance. And it is to be feared that thousands, especially of single persons, still displease the Lord in a similar way, and destroy their own bodies and souls. All such sins, at the same time that they dishonour the body, evidence the power of vile affections, and are not only condemned in the Scriptures, but by the light of nature, and were held even by the heathen moralists to be peculiarly criminal, and by the Jewish doctors to be a degree of murder. See Universal History.
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 vv7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 18, 21, 23 Wicked; without shame or remorse, sinning against nature, in…
Wicked; without shame or remorse, sinning against nature, in order, if we may believe the Jews, that the beauty of his wife might not be impaired by having children. Onan was actuated by envy. (Menochius)
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 vv8, 12, 18, 24 Judah said unto Onan . . . marry her,…
Judah said unto Onan . . . marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother--The first instance of a custom, which was afterwards incorporated among the laws of Moses, that when a husband died leaving a widow, his brother next of age was to marry her, and the issue, if any, was to be served heir to the deceased (compare Deu 25:5).
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 vv7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 24 7. Er… was wicked — In what particular forms…
7. Er… was wicked — In what particular forms he showed his wickedness we are not told; but being the son of a Canaanitish woman, he probably imbibed, in his earliest years, the spirit of Canaanitish idolatry and vice, which was ever an abomination to Jehovah.
The Lord slew him — Some sudden or fearful death that was recognised as a judgment stroke.
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 vv6, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 24 6. Tamar] = “a date palm.” A female name,…
6. Tamar] = “a date palm.” A female name, occurring twice in the family of David (2Sa_13:1; 2Sa_14:27).
Judah, as head of the family, selects a wife for his firstborn, as in Gen_24:3, Gen_34:4.
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 vv8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 24 (8) Go in unto thy brother’s wife.—We learn from…
(8) Go in unto thy brother’s wife.—We learn from this that the law of the Levirate, by which the brother of the dead husband was required to marry the widow, was of far more ancient date than the law of Moses. Its object, first of all, was to prevent the extinction of any line of descent, a matter of great importance in those genealogical days; and, secondly, it was an obstacle to the accumulation of landed property in few hands, as the son first born after the Levirate marriage inherited the property of his deceased uncle, while the second son was the representative of the real father. A similar custom existed in parts of India, Persia, &c, and prevails now among the Mongols. The Mosaic Law did not institute, but regulated the custom, confining such marriages to cases where the deceased brother had died without children, and permitting the brother to refuse to marry the widow, under a penalty, nevertheless, of disgrace. Onan, by refusing to take Tamar, may have been actuated by the selfish motive of obtaining for himself the rights of primogeniture, which would otherwise have gone to his eldest son, as the heir of his uncle ‘Er.
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 vv6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 And Judah took a wife (cf. Gen_21:21 Gen_24:4) for…
And Judah took a wife (cf. Gen_21:21 Gen_24:4) for Er his firstborn, the early marriage of his sons Judah seems to have intended to prevent in them a germinating corruption (Lange)whose name as Tamar tree" (Gesenius). Though the name was Shemitic, it does not follow that the person was. Cf. Melchisedeck and Abimelech. Yet she is not expressly called a Canaanite, though it is more than probable she was. Lange conjectures that she may have been of Philistine descent, and thinks the narrative intends to convey the impression that she was a woman of extraordinary character.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv8, 11 The sin of Onan
Gen_38:8-10
Onan
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The sin of Onan
I.
IT WAS PROMPTED BY A LOW MOTIVE. It was as selfish as it was vile. Onans design was to preserve the whole inheritance for his own house.
II. IT WAS AN ACT OF WILFUL DISOBEDIENCE TO GODS ORDINANCE. Ill deservings of others can be no excuse for our injustice, for our uncharitableness. That which Tamar required, Moses afterward, as from God, commanded--the succession of brothers into the barren bed. Some laws God spake to His Church long ere He wrote them: while the author is certainly known, the voice and the finger of God are worthy of equal respect.
III. IT WAS A DISHONOUR DONE TO HIS OWE BODY. Unchastity in general is a homicidal waste of the generative powers, a demoniac bestiality, an outrage to ancestors, to posterity, and to ones own life. It is a crime against the image of God, and a degradation below the animal. Onans offence, moreover, as committed in marriage, was a most unnatural wickedness, a grievous wrong, and a desecration of the body as the temple of God. It was a proof of the most defective development of what may be called the consciousness of personality, and of personal dignity.
IV. IT WAS AGGRAVATED BY HIS POSITION IN THE COVENANT FAMILY. The Messiah was to descend from the stock of Judah, and for aught he knew from himself. This very Tamar is counted in the genealogy of Christ Mat_1:3). Herein he did despite to the covenant promise. He rejected an honourable destiny. (T. H. Leale.)
Lessons
Vain parents take little knowledge of Gods judgments in the death of one child when they have others.
2. Special law for the marriage of the deceased brothers wife by the brother was given of God for special ends.
3. Seed was much desirable and is so in the Church of God; for which such laws were made (Gen_38:8).
4. Wicked creatures are selfish in duty, therefore unwilling to seek any good but their own.
5. Self-pollution, destruction of the seed of man, envy to brethren, are Onans horrid crimes (Gen_38:9).
6. Onans may be in the visible Church.
7. Such uncleanness is very grievous in Gods sight.
8. Exemplary death may be expected from God by such transgressors (Gen_38:10). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
Onans sin
It must be borne in mind that the propagation of the family name formed one of the most sacred wishes of the Israelites; that excision was looked upon as the most awful indication of Divine wrath; and that polygamy itself was so long maintained, because it offers a greater guarantee of offspring. The Hebrews were not a strictly practical people; sentiment and indefinite aspirations had a large share in their religious views and social institutions: at an early period embracing and fostering the hope of a Messianic time, when all the nations of the earth would be united in love and the knowledge of God, they are eminently capable of prizing the permanent existence of their families. The agrarian character of the Mosaic constitution added power to this idea. Landed property was the foundation of the political edifice, and equality its main pillar. Each family was identified with a certain portion of the sacred soil; its extinction was, therefore, more strongly apprehended by the individual, and was injurious to the prosperity of the state, as the accumulation of wealth in the hands of individuals threatened to disturb the equality of the citizens. It is, therefore, impossible to misunderstand the spirit and tendency of the law concerning the marriage with the brothers widow; it was neither dictated by the desire of preventing the abandoned condition of the widow, or of counteracting some other fancied abuse; its purport is distinctly expressed to have been to procure a descendant to the brother (Gen_38:8); that the name of the deceased be preserved upon his inheritance, and that his name be not erased from among his brethren and from the gate of his town (Rth_4:10). It may suffice to add, in this place, that similar customs prevailed among the Indians, Persians, and some Italian tribes, and that they are still practised by the Tsherkessians and Tartars, the Gallas in Abyssinia, the Afghans, and other nations. It was in conformity with this law that Judah commanded his second son, Onan, to marry the childless widow of his elder brother. But Onan was not more virtuous than the family to which he belonged: unwilling to maintain his brothers name, he knew how to frustrate the hopes of Judah. God took away his life for that reckless wickedness. (M. M. Kalisch, Ph. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv12, 24 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.
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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 On vv6, 8, 11, 12, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24 This is the name of one of Judah's sons.…
Er
This is the name of one of Judah's sons. See how you translated this name in Genesis 38:3. (See: How to Translate Names)
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was wicked in the sight of Yahweh
The phrase "in the sight" refers to Yahweh seeing Er's wickedness. AT: "was wicked and Yahweh saw it" (See: Idiom)
Yahweh killed him
Yahweh killed him because he was wicked. This can be made clear. AT: "So Yahweh killed him" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
firstborn
Tamar
Yahweh
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 vv7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 14, 17, 18, 20, 24 38:7-10 In this story, the Lord is mentioned as…
38:7-10 In this story, the Lord is mentioned as the sovereign judge who took the lives of Judah’s evil sons.
38:7 That Er was a wicked man is not surprising, since his mother was a Canaanite and his father a wayward Israelite.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.