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Genesis Chapter
Thirty-eight
Genesis 38 Outlines
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION
TO GENESIS 38
This
chapter is wholly taken up with matters relating to Judah
the fourth son of
Jacob
from whom the Jews have their name
and from whom Christ sprung: it
treats of his marriage with a Canaanitess
his children by her
their character
and end
Genesis 38:1; of his incest with his daughter-in-law
though unknown
by him
Genesis 38:12; of his resentment against her
when he heard she was
with child
and his confusion when he found it was by himself
Genesis 38:24;
and of the birth of twins by her
named Pharez and Zarah
Genesis 38:27.
Genesis 38:1. It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his
brothers
and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.
YLT 1And it cometh to pass
at
that time
that Judah goeth down from his brethren
and turneth aside unto a
man
an Adullamite
whose name [is] Hirah;
And
it came to pass at that time
....
This
some refer to the time of Jacob's coming from Padanaram into Canaan
soon after
he came to Shechem
and before the affair of Dinah; but to this may be objected
the marriage of Judah at an age that may seem too early for him
his separation
from his brethren
and having a flock of his own to keep
which seems not
consistent with the above history: wherefore it is better to connect this with
the history of Joseph's being sold into Egypt; for though there were but twenty
three years from hence to Jacob's going down into Egypt
Joseph being now
seventeen
and was thirty years when he stood before Pharaoh
after which were
seven years of plenty
and two of famine
at which time Jacob went thither with
two of Judah's grandsons
Hezron and Hamul
Genesis 46:12
which make the
number mentioned; yet all this may be accounted for; at seventeen
Er
Judah's
firstborn
might marry
being the eighteenth from the selling of Joseph
and
the marriage of his father; and Onan at the same age
which was the nineteenth;
and allowing two or three years for Tamar's staying for Shelah
there was time
for her intrigue with Judah
and bearing him two sons at a birth
before the
descent of Jacob into Egypt; as for his two grandsons
they may be said to go
into Egypt; as Benjamin's sons did in their father's loins
being begotten
there during Jacob's abode in it:
that
Judah went down from his brethren:
not
from Dothan to Adullam
as Ben Melech observes
as if this separation was at
the time and place of the selling of Joseph; but rather from Hebron thither
after he and his brethren were come home to their father
and had reported and
condoled the death of Joseph; and Judah is said to go down
because he went
from the north to the south
as Aben Ezra notes; whether this departure from
his brethren was owing to a misunderstanding or quarrel between them on account
of the affair of Joseph
or on any account
is not certain:
and
turned in to a certain Adullamite;
an
inhabitant of Adullam
a city which afterwards fell to the tribe of Judah
and
where was a famous cave
that had its name from thence in David's time; it was
ten miles from Eleutheropolis to the eastF9Jerom de loc. Heb. fol.
88. F.
and eight from Jerusalem to the southwestF11Bunting's
Travels
p. 78. ; hither he turned
or stretched outF12ויט "et
tentorium fixerat"
Schmidt. ; that is
his tent
with his flock
which he
extended to Adullam
as Ben Melech interprets it
and joined to this man:
whose
name was Hirah;
whom
the JewsF13Shalshalet Hakabala
fol. 8. 2. fabulously report to be
the same with Hiram king of Tyre
in the days of David and Solomon
and that he
was the husband of Nebuchadnezzar's mother
and lived twelve hundred years.
Genesis 38:2. 2 And
Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua
and he married her and went in to her.
YLT 2and Judah seeth there the
daughter of a man
a Canaanite
whose name [is] Shuah
and taketh her
and
goeth in unto her.
And
Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite
....
Onkelos
and Jonathan
and so Jarchi and Ben Gersom
interpret it a
"merchant"
to take off the disgrace of his falling in love with
and
marrying a Canaanitish woman
which was forbidden by his ancestors Abraham and
Isaac
and which his father avoided:
whose
name was Shuah;
not
the name of the woman he married
but the name of her father
as appears from
Genesis 38:12; and who very probably was a man of note in the country:
and
he took her;
to be
his wife
with her and her father's consent
not by force:
and
went in unto her;
cohabited
with her as his wife.
Genesis 38:3. 3 So
she conceived and bore a son
and he called his name Er.
YLT 3And she conceiveth
and
beareth a son
and he calleth his name Er;
And
she conceived
and bare a son
and he called his name Er.
Which
signifies a "watchman": but the reason of the name given by the
Targum of Jonathan is
"because he should die without children;'as if it
was the same with Ariri
"childless".
Genesis 38:4. 4 She
conceived again and bore a son
and she called his name Onan.
YLT 4and she conceiveth again
and beareth a son
and calleth his name Onan;
And
she conceived again
and bare a son
....
As
soon as she well could:
and
she called his name Onan;
the
first son Judah gave the name to
but his wife named this
so called from grief
or sorrow; the reason of it
according to the above Targum
was
"because
his father would mourn for him;'he was a Benoni
see Genesis 35:18
whose sin
and immature death caused sorrow.
Genesis 38:5. 5 And
she conceived yet again and bore a son
and called his name Shelah. He was at
Chezib when she bore him.
YLT 5and she addeth again
and
beareth a son
and calleth his name Shelah; and he was in Chezib in her bearing
him.
And
she conceived
and bare a son
....
A
third son:
and
called his name Shelah;
which
signifies tranquil
quiet
peaceable and prosperous
and is a word that comes
from the same root as Shiloh
that famous son of Judah that should spring from
him
Genesis 49:10 the reason of the name
as given by the Targum
is
"because her husband forgot her:"
and
she was at Chezib when she bare him;
Chezib
is the name of a place
by some taken to be the same with Achzib or Ecdippe
now Zib
see Micah 1:14; it seems to be a city in the tribe of Judah; and JeromF14De
loc. Heb. fol. 90. E. says
in his time there was a desert place of this name
near Adullam
on the borders of Eleutheropolis; the reason of her being here at
the time of her delivery
and of this circumstance being related
is not
certain.
Genesis 38:6. 6 Then
Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn
and her name was Tamar.
YLT 6And Judah taketh a wife for
Er
his first-born
and her name [is] Tamar;
And
Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn
....
Chose
one for him
and presented her to him for his liking
whom he approving of
married:
whose
name was Tamar;
which
signifies a "palm tree": the Targum of Jonathan says
she was the
daughter of Shem; but it is altogether improbable that a daughter of his should
be living at this time
and young enough to bear children: it is much more
probable that she was daughter of Levi
Judah's brother
as an Arabic writerF15Abulpharag.
Hist. Dynast. p. 16. asserts; but it is more likely still that she was the
daughter of a Canaanite
who was living in the same place
though his name is
not mentioned
Genesis 38:11.
Genesis 38:7. 7 But
Er
Judah’s firstborn
was wicked in the sight of the Lord
and the Lord killed him.
YLT 7and Er
Judah's first-born
is evil in the eyes of Jehovah
and Jehovah doth put him to death.
And
Er
Judah's firstborn
was wicked in the sight of the Lord
....
That
is
exceedingly wicked
as this phrase signifies
Genesis 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
Genesis 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 writerF16Abulpharag. Hist.
Dynast. p. 16. 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
Acts 5:5; or by sending some distemper
which quickly carried him
off
as a token of his displeasure at his sin.
Genesis 38:8. 8 And
Judah said to Onan
“Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her
and raise up
an heir to your brother.”
YLT 8And Judah saith to Onan
`Go in unto the wife of thy brother
and marry her
and raise up seed to thy
brother;'
And
Judah said unto Onan
....
Some
time after his brother's death:
go in
unto thy brother's wife
and marry her;
Moses
here uses a word not common for marriage
but which was peculiar to the
marrying of a brother's wife according to a law given in his time: it appears
to have been a custom before
and which the patriarch might be directed to by
the Lord
in such a case when a brother died
and left no issue
for the sake
of multiplication of seed
according to the divine promise
and which in the
time of Moses passed into a law
see Deuteronomy 25:5
and
raise up seed unto thy brother;
that
might bear his name
and enjoy his inheritance. For this law or custom was
partly political
to continue the paternal inheritance in the family
and
partly typical
to direct to Christ the firstborn among many brethren
Romans
8:29
who in all things was to have the preeminence
Colossians 1:18; and this
was not taken from the Canaanites
among whom Judah now was
but from the
ancient patriarchs
which they had no doubt from divine revelation
and was
taught in the school of Shem
and handed down from father to son; for as to
this being a law among the Egyptians in later times
and which continued to the
days of Zeno AugustusF17Justinian. Cod l. 5. tit. 6. leg. 8.
it is
most likely they took it from the Jews.
Genesis 38:9. 9 But
Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass
when he went in
to his brother’s wife
that he emitted on the ground
lest he should give an
heir to his brother.
YLT 9and Onan knoweth that the
seed is not [reckoned] his; and it hath come to pass
if he hath gone in unto
his brother's wife
that he hath destroyed [it] to the earth
so as not to give
seed to his brother;
And
Onan knew that the seed should not be his
....
Should
not be called a son of his
but a son of his brother Er; this is to be
understood only of the firstborn; all the rest of the children born afterwards
were reckoned the children of the real parent of them; this shows this was a
custom in use in those times
and well known
and was not a peculiar case:
and
it came to pass
when he went in unto his brother's wife;
to
cohabit with her
as man and wife
he having married her according to his
father's direction:
that
he spilled it on the ground
lest he should give his seed to his brother:
lest
his brother's wife he had married should conceive by him
and bear a son that
should be called his brother's
and inherit his estate; and this is the sin
which from him is called Onania
a sin condemned by the light of nature
as
well as by the word of God
and very prejudicial to mankind
as well as
displeasing to God
as follows:
Genesis 38:10. 10 And
the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him
also.
YLT 10and that which he hath done
is evil in the eyes of Jehovah
and He putteth him also to death.
And
the thing which he did displeased the Lord
....
Being
done out of envy to his brother
and through want of affection to the memory of
his name; and it may be out of covetousness to get his estate into his own
hands
and especially as it frustrated the end of such an usage of marrying a
brother's wife; which appears to be according to the will of God
since it
afterwards became a known law of his; and it was the more displeasing
as it
was not only a check upon the multiplication of Abraham's seed as promised
but
since the Messiah was to come from Judah. This was doing all to hinder it that
lay in his power:
wherefore
he slew him also;
in
like manner as he had slain his brother
Genesis 38:7.
Genesis 38:11. 11 Then Judah said to Tamar
his daughter-in-law
“Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah
is grown.” For he said
“Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went
and dwelt in her father’s house.
YLT 11And Judah saith to Tamar
his daughter-in-law
`Abide a widow at thy father's house
till Shelah my son
groweth up;' for he said
`Lest he die -- even he -- like his brethren;' and
Tamar goeth and dwelleth at her father's house.
Then
said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law
....
After
the death of his two sons
who had successively married her:
remain
a widow at thy father's house till Shelah my son be grown:
who
was his third and youngest son
though perhaps not more than a year younger
than Onan; but he might not choose he should marry so soon as his brethren had
done
for a reason following: according to the custom and law of marrying a
brother's wife
who died without issue
she in course was to be the wife of
Shelah; since if there were ever so many brothers
they all married such an one
in turn
until there was issue by one of them
see Matthew 22:25; as Judah knew
this
he pretended at least to give her to his son for wife
only would have it
put off till he was at age of maturity
or was more grown; and therefore
desires her to keep herself unmarried to any other person until that time; and
advises her to go to her father's house
and continue there
which he did to
prevent any intrigues between them
lest his son should be tempted to marry her
sooner than it was his will
and she should solicit him to it:
for
he said;
not
to Tamar
but within himself:
lest
peradventure he die also as his brethren did;
by
which it seems
that he was ignorant of the true cause of their death
but
thought it was either owing to their marrying too young
or to something in the
woman unfortunate and unhappy; and he might not really intend he should marry
her at all
only made use of an excuse for the present:
and
Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house;
she
had dwelt in Judah's house in the time of her two husbands
but now by his
advice she removed to her own father's house; which very probably was in the
same place
and her father yet living
who received her
and with whom she
continued
see Leviticus 22:13.
Genesis 38:12. 12 Now
in the process of time the daughter of Shua
Judah’s wife
died; and Judah was
comforted
and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah
he and his friend Hirah
the Adullamite.
YLT 12And the days are
multiplied
and the daughter of Shuah
Judah's wife
dieth; and Judah is
comforted
and goeth up unto his sheep-shearers
he and Hirah his friend the
Adullamite
to Timnath.
And
in process of time the daughter of Shuah
Judah's wife
died
....
Shuah
was his wife's father
who was a Canaanite
Genesis 38:2; what her name was is
not certain
nor the exact time of her death; it was some time after Tamar was
sent home to her father's house; and some take the death of Judah's wife to be
a correction and reproof to him for his ill usage of his daughter-in-law
in
neglecting to give her to his son
or not designing to do it at all:
and
Judah was comforted:
he
mourned awhile for the death of his wife
according to the custom of the
country
and of those times
and then he laid aside the tokens of it
and his
sorrow wore off
and he appeared in company and conversed with his friends:
and
went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath;
a
city in the tribe of Judah
Joshua 15:57
saidF19Bunting's Travels
p. 78. to be six miles from Adullam
where Judah lived; here he had his flocks
of sheep
at least this was judged a proper place for the shearing and washing
of them
and this time of the year a proper time for it
at which it was usual
to have a feast; and Judah went up to his shearers
not only to see how they
went on with their work
but with this view to make an entertainment for them
see 1 Samuel 25:3
he
and his friend Hirah the Adullamite;
he
took him along with him for a companion
and to partake of the entertainment.
Genesis 38:13. 13 And
it was told Tamar
saying
“Look
your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to
shear his sheep.”
YLT 13And it is declared to
Tamar
saying
`Lo
thy husband's father is going up to Timnath to shear his
flock;'
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.
Genesis 38:14. 14 So
she took off her widow’s garments
covered herself with a veil and
wrapped herself
and sat in an open place which was on the way to
Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown
and she was not given to him as a
wife.
YLT 14and she turneth aside the
garments of her widowhood from off her
and covereth herself with a vail
and
wrappeth herself up
and sitteth in the opening of Enayim
which [is] by the
way to Timnath
for she hath seen that Shelah hath grown up
and she hath not
been given to him for a wife.
And
she put her widow's garments off from her
....
By
which it appears that in those times and countries it was usual for widows to
have a different apparel from others
especially in the time of their mourning
as it has been since in other nations
and with us at this day
and which is
commonly called "the widow's weed":
and
covered herself with a veil
and wrapped herself;
in
it
or in a cloak
or some such like garment
which the Arabs now call
"hykes"; this she did that she might not be known
and not that she
might appear as an harlot; for it was common to all women in those countries to
go abroad with their veils: and on the contrary
whatever might be the custom
here in those early times
which cannot be said what it was; in other
countries
and in later times
harlots have been used to appear unveiledF20Alex.
ab Alexand. Genial. Dier. l. 5. c. 18. and open to the view of all; though
JuvenalF21Satyr. 6. represents the Empress Messalina as covering
herself with a night hood
and hiding her black hair under a yellow bonnet or
peruke
that she might appear as an harlot going to the stews: and so the Arabs
now
their whores as well as other women
veil themselves in the streets
but
in Egypt they are used to sit at the door
or walk in the streets unveiledF23Pitts's
Account of the Mahometans
p. 56
67. and Norden's Travels in Egypt
vol. 2. p.
47. :
and
sat in an open place
which is in the way to Timnath;
the
Septuagint version renders it
"at the gates of Aenan"; some take it
to be the name of a place
and suppose it had its name
as Aben Ezra observes
from two fountains of water that were in the way
like a door
through which
Judah passed when he returned home: so Philo the JewF24De profugis
p. 471. reads
Genesis 38:21; "where is the harlot which was in Ainan by
the way?" and JeromF25De loc. Heb. fol. 87. F. G. speaks of
Aenan as you go to Timnath
now a desert place
and near to the great village
Timnath
which is between Aelia and Diospolis (i.e. Jerusalem and Lydia)
and
there is a fountain in the above place
from whence it has its name: the Targum
of Jonathan paraphrases it
"in the division of the ways where all eyes
look;'for the word has the signification of eyes as well as of fountains; and
seems to design a place where two ways or more met
which were not only open
and obvious to every eye
but required persons to make use of their eyes
and
look about them
and consider which way they should go; and where perhaps a way
mark was set up for them to look to
to direct them; and here Tamar placed
herself as harlots used to do: hence CatullusF26Epigram
35. 16.
calls common prostitutes "semitariae moechae"
pathway whores; and on
the contrary
such an one as was a secret whore
and less exposed
HoraceF1Carmin.
l. 2. Ode 11. calls "devium scortum"
an whore that was at some
distance from the public road
not so common as others: so in the
Apocryph
"The women also with cords about them
sitting in the ways
burn
bran for perfume: but if any of them
drawn by some that passeth by
lie with
him
she reproacheth her fellow
that she was not thought as worthy as herself
nor her cord broken.' (Baruch 6:43)whorish women are represented as sitting in
the ways and by the roadside
girt with cords (of bulrushes
and so easily
broken)
to be picked up by men as they passed by; referring to what HerodotusF2Clio
sive
l. 1. c. 199. reports of the women in the temple of Venus at Babylon.
This method Tamar took:
for
she saw that Shelah was grown:
was
at least at the age of her former husbands when
married
if not older: this
might be two or three years after his brother's death: for it was in process of
time
or when there had been a multiplication of days after this
that Judah's
wife died
and now his mourning for her was over
Genesis 38:12
and
she was not given unto him for wife:
as he
had given her reason to expect
Genesis 38:11
and as was usually done.
Genesis 38:15. 15 When
Judah saw her
he thought she was a harlot
because she had covered her
face.
YLT 15And Judah seeth her
and
reckoneth her for a harlot
for she hath covered her face
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.
Genesis 38:16. 16 Then
he turned to her by the way
and said
“Please let me come in to you”; for he
did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said
“What will
you give me
that you may come in to me?”
YLT 16and he turneth aside unto
her by the way
and saith
`Come
I pray thee
let me come in unto thee
' (for
he hath not known that she [is] his daughter-in-law); and she saith
`What dost
thou give to me
that thou mayest come in unto me?'
And
he turned unto her by the way
....
Which
led to her; he turned out of the way in which he was to that where she sat; and
very probably it was at some little distance from the way
and therefore he
turned aside to it
his lust towards her being excited at the sight of her;
perhaps he left his friend Hirah the Adullamite
and sent him on his way
while
he committed the following crime:
and
said
go to
I pray thee
let me come in unto thee;
that
is
lie with her:
for
he knew not that she was his daughter in law;
or otherwise
it is suggested by the historian
he would not have offered such a thing to
her; but though this may excuse him from wilful incest
yet not from
fornication; for he took her to be an harlot
and however knew she was not his
wife
and whom he ought not to have had any concern with in such a manner:
and
she said
what wilt thou give me
that thou mayest come in unto me?
perhaps
she said this with a very low voice
that he might not know her by it; and she
behaved like an harlot by requiring an hire
on condition of which she
consented: she knew Judah though he did not know her
and therefore cannot be
excused from wilful incest: some indeed extenuate her crime
by supposing that
she
though a Canaanite
was become a proselyte to the true religion by
marrying into Judah's family
and had knowledge of the Messiah being to be born
of Jacob's line; and therefore was desirous of being the mother or ancestor at
least of that great Person
and so took this method; that since she could not
have the son for her husband
was desirous of enjoying the father
not for the
gratification of her lust
but in hopes of the promised seed; and accordingly
she has a place in the genealogy of the Messiah
Matthew 1:3.
Genesis 38:17. 17 And
he said
“I will send a young goat from the flock.” So she said
“Will you give
me a pledge till you send it?”
YLT 17and he saith
`I -- I send
a kid of the goats from the flock.' And she saith
`Dost thou give a pledge
till thou send [it]?'
And
he said
I will send thee a kid from the flock
....
Either
from Timnath
where his flock was shearing
or rather from Adullam
where he
lived; since it is probable he was now returning from Timnath
where he had
been feasting and making merry with his shearers
and so in a disposition to
commit such an action:
and
she said
wilt thou give me a pledge
till thou send it?
she
made no objection to the hire or present
only required a pawn
or security for
it till she had it; and this was her view indeed in asking an hire that she
might have something to produce
should she prove with child by him
to
convince him by whom it was.
Genesis 38:18. 18 Then
he said
“What pledge shall I give you?” So she said
“Your signet and cord
and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her
and went in to her
and she conceived by him.
YLT 18and he saith
`What [is]
the pledge that I give to thee?' and she saith
`Thy seal
and thy ribbon
and
thy staff which [is] in thy hand;' and he giveth to her
and goeth in unto her
and she conceiveth to him;
And
he said
what pledge shall I give thee?....
Being
willing to part with anything for the gratification of his lust:
and
she said
thy signet
and thy bracelets
and thy staff that is in thine
hand;
she
asks all these
that if one should be lost
or fail of being sufficient proof
the other might: the first of these the Septuagint version renders
"thy
ring"; the ring upon his finger
which had a seal on it
and was the
signet of his right hand; so Onkelos and Ben Melech: the second word seems not
so well rendered
since "bracelets" were wore by women and not men:
Jarchi takes it to be a garment with which he was covered; so Ben Melech and
the Targum
a cloak
which is not likely
that she should desire him to strip
off his clothes: it seems to be either a covering of his head
a wrap of linen
such as the Turks wear
or else a handkerchief he had in his pocket; and the
staff in his hand was either his walking staff or a shepherd's crook or staff:
and
he gave it her
all
the above things as a pledge:
and
came in unto her;
not
on the public road
but in some private place at some distance
to which they
retired. MaimonidesF3Hilchot lshot
c. 1. sect. 4. says
before the
law was given
if a man met a woman in the street
and he and she agreed
he
gave her hire
and he lay with her
and went away
and such an one was called
"Kedeshah"
a harlot
the word used afterwards for Tamar:
and
she conceived by him;
she
proved with child upon it.
Genesis 38:19. 19 So
she arose and went away
and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her
widowhood.
YLT 19and she riseth
and goeth
and turneth aside her vail from off her
and putteth on the garments of her
widowhood.
And
she arose and went away
....
To
her father's house immediately
as soon as ever she had parted with Judah; and
lest she should be found by the person that would be sent with the kid
and be
discovered
she made all the haste she could:
and
laid by her veil from her
and put on the garments of her widowhood;
that
it might not be known or suspected that she had been abroad.
Genesis 38:20. 20 And
Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite
to receive his
pledge from the woman’s hand
but he did not find her.
YLT 20And Judah sendeth the kid
of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite
to receive the pledge
from the hand of the woman
and he hath not found her.
And Judah
sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite
....
Who
went with him to Timnath
and was privy to all this wickedness
and kept the
secret; but would have acted the more friendly and faithful part had he
dissuaded him from it: him he employed to carry the kid he had promised
and
not any of his servants
for the greater secrecy: and
to
receive his pledge from the woman's hand;
his
signet
bracelets
and staff
or whatever they were:
but
he found her not;
she
was gone from the place where she sat
or where she retired to with Judah.
Genesis 38:21. 21 Then he asked the men of
that place
saying
“Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?”
And they said
“There was no harlot in this place.”
YLT 21And he asketh the men of
her place
saying
`Where [is] the separated one -- she in Enayim
by the way?'
and they say
`There hath not been in this [place] a separated one.'
Then
he asked the men of that place
....
Or
"of her place"F4אנשי מקמה "viros loci ejus
scil
mulieris"
Piscator
Schimdt.
of the woman's place
supposing that she
dwelt somewhere thereabout:
saying
where is the harlot that was openly by the wayside?
that
sat there very publicly some little time ago: the word for "harlot"F5הקדשה
comes from another
which signifies to sanctify or separate to holy uses; and
harlots were so called
either by an antiphrasis
by way of contradiction
being unholy; or because
as Jarchi observes
they were separated and destined
to whoredom; or because they were such as were devoted to Venus
and the
worshippers of her
and prostitutes in her temple
and in the temples of other
Heathen deities; but it is questionable whether such practices as yet were
used:
and
they said
there was no harlot in this place;
they
had not known any harlot to frequent that place lately
and Tamar sat there so
small a time as not to have been observed by them.
Genesis 38:22. 22 So
he returned to Judah and said
“I cannot find her. Also
the men of the place
said there was no harlot in this place.”
YLT 22And he turneth back unto
Judah
and saith
`I have not found her; and the men of the place also have
said
There hath not been in this [place] a separated one
'
And
he returned to Judah
and said
I cannot find her
....
That
is
the Adullamite returned to him
and informed him that he could not find the
harlot to whom he was sent to deliver the kid and receive the pledge
after he
had made the strictest inquiry for her he could:
and
also the men of the place said
that there was no harlot in this place;
by
which it appears
that near the place where Tamar was
there was a town or
city
and which was so free from such infamous persons
that there was not one
in it that was known to be of such a character
at least
that in such a public
manner exposed herself: it would be well if the same could be said of many
other places.
Genesis 38:23. 23 Then
Judah said
“Let her take them for herself
lest we be shamed; for I
sent this young goat and you have not found her.”
YLT 23and Judah saith
`Let her
take to herself
lest we become despised; lo
I sent this kid
and thou hast
not found her.'
And
Judah said
let her take it to her
....
The
pledge
and make no further inquiry after her:
lest
we be shamed;
Judah
for committing fornication
which even among Heathens
at least at that time of
day
was reckoned a shameful action; and be laughed at also
for committing
such a pledge to an whore
who had tricked him out of it; and his friend Hirah
for conniving at the sin
and being employed on such an errand:
behold
I sent this kid
and thou hast not found her:
who
could be a witness for him
if there should be any occasion
that he was
faithful to his promise.
Genesis 38:24. 24 And
it came to pass
about three months after
that Judah was told
saying
“Tamar
your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with
child by harlotry.” So Judah said
“Bring her out and let her be burned!”
YLT 24And it cometh to pass about
three months [after]
that it is declared to Judah
saying
`Tamar thy
daughter-in-law hath committed fornication; and also
lo
she hath conceived by
fornication:' and Judah saith
`Bring her out -- and she is burnt.'
And
it came to pass about three months after
....
The
above affair happened
and when the pregnancy of Tamar began to be somewhat
visible
as it does in women with child about that time:
that
it was told Judah
saying
Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot:
her
being with child being observed by some of the family
or her neighbours
and
knowing that she did not cohabit with Shelah
who
according to custom
ought
to have been her husband
concluded that she had had a criminal conversation
with some other person
which they were officious enough to report to Judah:
and
also
behold
she is with child by whoredom;
which
was judged to be a plain proof and evidence that she had played the harlot:
and
Judah said
bring her forth
and let her be burnt:
not
that Judah can be thought to be a civil magistrate in a Canaanitish and Heathen
city where he sojourned
and as such pronounced this sentence on her at once
or even had the power of life and death in his own family; and besides Tamar
was not in his
but in her own father's house: but the sense seems to be
that
as he was a man of credit and esteem in the neighbourhood
and had an influence
and interest in it; he moved that she might be brought out of her father's
house
and take her trial before the civil magistrates
and be committed to
prison until she was delivered
for it would have been barbarous
and contrary
to the law and light of nature
to have burnt her when quick with child
and
then indeed to be burnt to death
according to the usage of this country; and as
we find adultery in later times was punished with this kind of death
even
among Heathens
Jeremiah 29:22; as it was in Egypt in the times of Sesostris
the secondF6Diodor. Sicul. l. 1. p. 54. ; so Salaethus
prince of
Croton in Italy
made a law that adulterers should be burnt alive
as LucianF7"Pro
mercede conductis". relates; as did also Macrinus the emperor
that those
that were guilty of adultery should be burnt alive together
their bodies
joined to each otherF8Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 4. c. 1. : and
this criminal action of Tamar was judged adultery
because she was
of right
and according to a custom or law then in use
the wife of Shelah: the Targum of
Jonathan intimates
she was judged deserving of this death
because the
daughter of a priest; the same law obtaining among the patriarchs as did in the
times of Moses
Leviticus 21:9; and some
as Jarchi relates
say she was the
daughter of ShemF9Shalshalet Hakabala
fol. 4. 1.
the same with
Melchizedek
priest of the most high God: one reason why Judah was in haste to
have the sentence pronounced on her
and as soon as could be executed
was not
only the disgrace she brought upon his family
but that she might be
dispatched
and so his son Shelah freed from being obliged to marry her
which
he did not care he should
and was glad of this opportunity to prevent it.
Genesis 38:25. 25 When
she was brought out
she sent to her father-in-law
saying
“By the man
to whom these belong
I am with child.” And she said
“Please determine
whose these are—the signet and cord
and staff.”
YLT 25She is brought out
and she
hath sent unto her husband's father
saying
`To a man whose these [are]
I
[am] pregnant;' and she saith
`Discern
I pray thee
whose [are] these -- the
seal
and the ribbons
and the staff.'
When
she was brought forth
....
From
her father's house
not to the place of execution
or in order to be burnt
but
to the court of judicature
in order to take tier trial:
she sent to her father in law
saying
by the man whose
these are
I am with child;
she
sent a messenger to him
and by him the signet
bracelets
and staff
be they
what they may
she had received from him as a pledge for the kid he promised
her; and ordered the messenger to say
at the same time he showed him these
things
that she was with child by the person to whom they belonged; which was
a very modest way of laying it to his charge
and yet very striking and
convincing:
and
she said;
by
the messenger she sent:
discern
I pray thee
whose are these
the signet
and bracelets
and staff;
which
were the things given her as a pledge till she received the kid
the hire she
was to have for his lying with her.
Genesis 38:26. 26 So
Judah acknowledged them and said
“She has been more righteous than I
because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again.
YLT 26And Judah discerneth and
saith
`She hath been more righteous than I
because that I did not give her to
Shelah my son;' and he hath not added to know her again.
And
Judah acknowledged them
....
He
knew them
and owned them to be his:
and
said
she hath been more righteous than I;
he
means
not with respect to the sin of uncleanness committed by them
in which
she was the greatest criminal; she sat not only in the way to tempt him to it
but she knew who he was
and wilfully committed incest with him; whereas he
thought and knew of nothing else but simple fornication; but with respect to
the affairs in connection between them: she had on her part
according to his
direction
kept herself a widow
in expectation of being given to his son
Shelah for a wife; but he had not made good his part
he had not fulfilled his
promise
he had neglected to give her to his son
which he ought to have done
according to the usage of those times
and as he had suggested to her he would;
and his neglect of this had been the cause and occasion of this criminal
conversation between them; and this is the reason he himself gives of her being
more righteous than he:
because
I gave her not to Shelah my son;
as he
ought to have done
and as he promised he would:
and
he knew her again no more;
in a
carnal way; he did not repeat the sin
but abstained from it having
no doubt
true repentance for it; though Jarchi observes
that some interpret the words
and Ben Melech says some copies read
"he did not cease to know her";
but took her for his wife and married her
which is supposed to be as
justifiable as other things done before the law of Moses; but this is not
likely
and it looks as if he never married any wife after
or
if he did
had
no more children
since we read of no other but Shelah
and the twins he had by
Tamar; and it seems as if Shelah also did not marry Tamar upon this
such an
incest being committed with her
since he appears to have had children by
another woman
Numbers 26:20.
Genesis 38:27. 27 Now
it came to pass
at the time for giving birth
that behold
twins were
in her womb.
YLT 27And it cometh to pass in
the time of her bearing
that lo
twins [are] in her womb;
And
it came to pass in the time of her travail
....
When
her time to bring forth was come
and her pains were on her
and her midwife
with her:
that
behold
twins were in her womb;
which
the midwife could discover before the birth of either.
Genesis 38:28. 28 And
so it was
when she was giving birth
that the one put out his
hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand
saying
“This one came out first.”
YLT 28and it cometh to pass in
her bearing
that [one] giveth out a hand
and the midwife taketh and bindeth
on his hand a scarlet thread
saying
`This hath come out first.'
And
it came to pass when she travailed
....
Her
birth throes came strong and quick upon her:
that the
one put out his hand;
which
showed that she was like to have a difficult and dangerous time of it; that the
birth was not like to be according to the usual and natural order
which may be
considered as a correction for her sin:
and
the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread
saying
this came out first;
she
tied this to his wrist
that she might know whose hand it was
and so which was
the firstborn; which
to know was a matter of consequence
since to the
firstborn there were some special and peculiar privileges.
Genesis 38:29. 29 Then
it happened
as he drew back his hand
that his brother came out unexpectedly;
and she said
“How did you break through? This breach be upon
you!” Therefore his name was called Perez.[a]
YLT 29And it cometh to pass as he
draweth back his hand
that lo
his brother hath come out
and she saith
`What! thou hast broken forth -- on thee [is] the breach;' and he calleth his
name Pharez;
And
it came to pass as he drew back his hand
....
Into
the "uterus" again:
that
behold
his brother came out;
out
of his mother's womb
and so was properly born first:
and
she said;
either
Tamar
or rather
her midwife:
how
hast thou broken forth?
it
was astonishing to her how it could be
having never met with the like in her
practice before; she could not imagine how it was possible for him to come
forth first
when his brother lay in the way of him
and nearest the birth
as
appeared by his putting out his hand:
this breach be upon thee;
if
any damage comes either to the mother or to the brother
and so carries in it
the nature of an imprecation; or rather
that the memory of so strange an event
might be preserved
she imposed a name on him that should continue it:
therefore
his name was called Pharez:
or
"therefore he called"
&c.F11ויקרא
"vocavit"
Pagninus
Montanus; "ideoque vocavit"
Junius
& Tremellius
Piscator
Schmidt. ; Judah called his name Pharez
agreeably
to what the midwife had related. From him
in a line of succession
sprang the
Messiah
the Pharez or breaker
Micah 2:13; for the sake of which the whole
history of this chapter seems to be recorded
Matthew 1:3.
Genesis 38:30. 30 Afterward
his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his
name was called Zerah.
YLT 30and afterwards hath his
brother come out
on whose hand [is] the scarlet thread
and he calleth his
name Zarah.
And
afterward came out his brother that had the scarlet thread upon his hand
....
By
which it was known that he so far came out first; which confirms the remarkable
birth of his brother
who notwithstanding got the start of him:
and
his name was called Zarah;
not
from "rising"
or his coming forth like the rising sun
as is usually
observed; but rather from his return
or drawing back his hand
and as it were
returning to his mother's womb; and so
according to HillerusF12Onomastic.
Sacr. p. 372.
Zarah
by a transposition of letters
comes from חזר
"Chazar"
to return: but Jarchi thinks he had his name from the
refulgent appearance of the scarlet thread on his wrist.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New
King James Version (NKJV)
a.
Genesis 38:29
Literally Breach or Breakthrough