Genesis Chapter 38

Judah’s Sins

The Book of Genesis now takes another turn and reveals the life choices of Judah. It covers some period of time, yet reveals some important Truth lessons we all need to learn. It’s far less painful and damaging to learn from someone else’s mistakes than it is to learn from your own. Yet most of us are too stubborn and prideful to heed the lessons God clearly shows us. Again, keep in mind the figures of speech mentioned earlier as we study the life of Judah. SIMILE: Resemblance; ALLEGORY: comparison by representation; METAPHOR: Representation; HYPOCATASTASIS: An implied resemblance or representation; TYPE: A figure or example of something future; ANALOGY: Resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike. We will discover hidden prophesies and Truths that are carried far into the future, some even beyond our day and age.

38:1

By this term “withdrew” means that Judah leaves the family unit and goes out on his own. It may be that he had become acquainted with and made friends with the Adullamite named Hirah, and decided to live with him. These Adullamites are also Canaanites. Perhaps too, he felt guilty about selling Joseph; and couldn’t bear to see the grief and sorrow he had caused his father, Jacob.

38:2

While living in the area of Adullum, which was located about 15 miles Northwest of Hebron, Judah sees an attractive woman, who is the daughter of a Canaanite named Shuah. Judah takes her as a wife and lives with her. Some translations just state that he just ‘treats’ her as a wife, meaning he may have considered her a concubine. Usually, if there is no ‘first’ wife, than the relationship would have been considered husband and wife. We see no mention of Shuah giving her to Judah as a wife. Keep in mind the Canaanite’s were not morally sound in their relationships with one another; so the father may not have cared about his daughter. Also keep in mind that the Israelites were NOT to intermarry with the Canaanite people; so Judah is ignoring the command from God.

38:3-5

Judah’s wife becomes pregnant and gives birth to a son, whom Judah names Er. Notice that we are not even given the name of Judah’s wife, another indication of the lack of respect or caring for the Canaanite women. (4.) Judah’s wife again becomes pregnant and has yet another son, and names him Onan. It appears that the wife may have named him, rather than Judah selecting the name. (5.) She becomes pregnant again and bares Judah the third son and named him Shelah. They are now living in Chezib, indicating that the birth of this son may have been quite some time after the birth of the second son. Also, keep in mind that the records often omitted the births and names of daughters, as daughters were considered less important and valuable than sons; so she may have born Judah daughters also.

38:6

Now Judah selects a wife for his firstborn son, Er; whose name was Tamar. By this action we know some time has passed since he was born. Notice that Judah is taking responsibility for selecting a suitable and good wife for his firstborn son, always considered to be the primary heir of the father. This selection of a suitable wife was a responsibility of the father that was passed down from Abraham’s time.

38:7

However, Er is not only not a nice person, but he is downright wicked in God’s sight. We are told because of this wickedness, the Lord slew him. Obviously his death was clearly the act of God, as the Bible records this fact.

38:8

Judah continues to act responsibly for his family by telling his second son, Onan, that he must marry Er’s widow and raise up offspring in the name of his deceased brother. It was the custom of the ‘Levirate law of Marriage’, that the second son was obligated to take care of the widow of the deceased brother by marrying her and designate that the children the brother fathered actually ‘belonged’ to the deceased brother, the firstborn. The Levirate Marriage is from the Latin word Levir, meaning husband’s brother. It was formally made a law in the Torah in Deut. 25:5-10. We also are familiar of the Goel, the Kinsman-Redeemer, meaning the closest male relative was to marry and care for the widow of the deceased brother, or relative. The offspring would remain in the line of the firstborn, being ‘redeemed’. See Ruth 1-4 and the Ultimate Redemption in Revelation 5. It was a way of taking care of the widow and keeping the inheritance for the ‘firstborn’s’ redeemed children. Our Kinsman Redeemer is Jesus Christ, who ‘redeems’ us into His Father’s inheritance, as God’s own children.

38:9-10

Onan knows that the children born of Tamar would not be considered his, but would be considered his deceased brother’s children. Onan wants the sexual gratification of using Tamar, but doesn’t want the responsibility of taking care of children that would not be considered his own. So he repeatedly spills his seed on the ground so Tamar could not become pregnant. (10.) Onan should have learned from his brother’s death, that wicked actions would anger God and could result in his death also. Yet, he wickedly uses Tamar for his own pleasure, yet denies her the possibility of having children. God knows our intent and heart attitude and judges us for ALL sin. Onan is also then slain by the Lord.

38:11

After this last death of yet another of his sons, Judah is obviously shaken. He now only has one son left to continue the lineage of his family. Certainly, he must now know the pain, sorrow and loss his own father has felt regarding Joseph. Judah then tells Tamar to remain a widow, but to go live back to her father’s house until Shelah is grown up enough to marry her. We are told he is concerned that Shelah would also die after marrying Tamar. Tamar has no place to go except back to her father’s house in shame. She may not marry anyone else because she ‘belongs’ to the family of Judah. She must also continually wear the ‘widow’s garments’. What a miserable position to be in.

38:12

This term ‘process of time’ means that some time has passed. Judah’s wife then dies. After Judah mourns the death of his wife; he goes up to sheep shearers at Timnath with his old friend Hirah the Adullamite. This sheep shearer season occurred near the end of March and was a time of sumptuous entertainments and celebrating. The wealthiest masters invited their friends and often even treated their servants to this partying; which included much drinking and ‘hilarity’.

38:13

Someone, probably more than one person, tells Tamar that her father-in-law, Judah, is going up to Timnath for the sheep shearing of his sheep and the big celebration. This would mean that he would pass right by where Tamar has been forced to live and remain.

38:14

Tamar takes off the widow’s garments she is forced to wear, and covers her face with a heavy veil that hides her identity, and puts on a disguise, ‘wrapping herself’ (this may mean wearing tight, revealing clothing) and sits at the entrance of Enaim, which is the route to Timnath. She is waiting for Judah to pass by with his entourage. She knows that Shelah is now more than old enough to marry her, yet she is left in the position of being forced to remain a widow and wear widow’s garments, and be left with no possibility of ever marrying or having a family. The Bible doesn’t say she is angry, but we can imagine she is furious, frustrated and humiliated.

38:15-17

Judah sees Tamar, not knowing who she is; and thinks she is a harlot (kedeshot). Obviously Tamar had dolled herself up to be as attractive as possible to get Judah’s attention. The Canaanite idolatry includes ‘religious prostitutes’ (kedeshot), which were paid for their ‘services’ as part of idolatry. (16. – 17.) Judah is attracted to Tamar and goes over to her and asks her to let him engage in intercourse with her. He did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. Tamar asks Judah what he will offer her for her ‘services’. Judah offers her a kid from his flock. She requests a deposit, or pledge, of something valuable to ensure he will pay her.

38:18-19

Judah asks what pledge, or deposit, does she require? Tamar asks for his signet, seal and signet cord, and his staff, also which has his family signet, or seal, on it. He agrees and gives them all to her, and then has intercourse with Tamar. She then becomes pregnant by Judah. Tamar then takes off the veil and disguise and put’s her widow’s garments back on and goes back to her father’s house.

38:20-23

Judah sends the kid back with his friend to the place where Tamar was, to retrieve his seal, signet cord and staff with his family seal and signet on it. The friend searches but cannot find the harlot, or kedeshot, even after asking all the men in the area of her whereabouts. All the men say there is no harlot or temple prostitutes anywhere around this area, nor has there ever been one around here.
(22.) Judah’s friend returns to Judah and tells him that he could not find her and that all the men of the area insisted there was never any harlots or temple prostitutes in their area. (23.) Judah, who is probably confused by all this, says that she can keep the pledge articles for herself; as he had sent the kid as he promised, but she could not be found. He was only concerned about being ‘shamed.’

38:24

Three months pass and Judah is informed that Tamar, his daughter-in-law, has played the harlot and is with child by her lewdness. How would anyone know she is pregnant at three months? She certainly would not have been ‘showing’. Judah demands that they bring her out to be burned to death for committing adultery. The crime of adultery was often punished by burning. (Leviticus 21:9, Judges 15:6; Jeremiah 29:22)

38:25

When Tamar is brought out to be burned to death, she sends the pledge items, the cord, signet seal and Judah’s staff, to him with a message that she is pregnant by the man to whom the articles belong. She asks that they verify the identify of the man by the cord, signet seal and staff.

38:26

Judah finally confesses that the cord, signet seal and staff all identify himself and that he is the man who impregnated Tamar. By this proof of paternity, Tamar had won the right to be the mother of Judah’s children, even though it was done in a deceitful way. Had Judah not admitted those items were his, or denied he was the father, Tamar would have been burned to death. This would have been difficult, as Judah’s friend knew of the pledge items. Possibly, many of the friends knew of the pledge items also because Judah didn’t have his seal anymore, nor his identity staff! Judah admitted that Tamar was more righteous than he was, because he had withheld giving his son, Shelah, to Tamar. Despite the fact that Tamar was pregnant with his child, Judah chose not to ever again have relations with her. Tamar was so desperate she had risked a terrible death in order to be able to have a child from the lineage of Judah. Until this time, Tamar had obediently waited to be restored to the family of Judah, and be given the opportunity of having a child in the lineage of Judah. Tamar, a Gentile, is one of the few women who appear in the lineage of the Messianic family tree; despite her deception.

38:27-30

When Tamar gave birth, it was discovered that she was to have twins! The midwife saw a hand come out first, and she tied a scarlet thread on it saying, ‘this baby is the firstborn.’ Yet the child drew back his hand and his brother was actually born first. The midwife was surprised and said ‘this one has broken forth first’; and his name was called Perez, meaning breaking forth. (Matthew 1:3) The second son was then born and was named Zerah, which means scarlet.

Again, we see disobedience to God’s commands, lies and deceit, all causing heartache and heartbreak. Yet, God caused Tamar to have twins so that the line of Judah continued because of her. The prophecy of Jacob ruling over his older brother seems to be relived in the line of Judah. Remember that Judah sold his younger brother Joseph, thinking he could thwart God’s design revealed through Joseph’s dreams. Yet in Judah’s own family, despite his attempts to hinder Tamar’s marriage and possibility of having children; God’s will worked out in a powerful confirmation of the principle that the ‘elder would serve the younger’. Once again, God is teaching us to obey His commands; and avoid lies and deceit; all for our own eternal good.