One Year Pray for America Bible - Flipbook - Page 78
January 18
11 Then Ju
dah said to Tamar, his
aughter-in-law, “Go back to your pard
ents’ home and remain a widow until
my son Shelah is old enough to marry
you.” (But Judah didn’t really intend
to do this because he was afraid She
lah would also die, like his two brothers.) So Tamar went back to live in her
father’s home.
12 Some years later Ju
dah’s wife
died. After the time of mourning was
over, Judah and his friend Hirah the
Adul
lamite went up to Timnah to
supervise the shearing of his sheep.
13 Someone told Ta
mar, “Look, your
father-in-law is going up to Timnah to
shear his sheep.”
14 Ta
mar was aware that She
lah
had grown up, but no arrangements
had been made for her to come and
marry him. So she changed out of her
widow’s clothing and covered herself
with a veil to disguise herself. Then
she sat beside the road at the entrance
to the village of Enaim, which is on
the road to Timnah. 15 Judah noticed
her and thought she was a prostitute,
since she had covered her face. 16 So
he stopped and propositioned her.
“Let me have sex with you,” he said,
not realizing that she was his own
daughter-in-law.
“How much will you pay to have sex
with me?” Tamar asked.
17 “I’ll send you a young goat from
my flock,” Judah promised.
“But what will you give me to guarantee that you will send the goat?” she
asked.
18 “What kind of guarantee do you
want?” he replied.
She answered, “Leave me your
identification seal and its cord and
the walking stick you are carrying.” So
Judah gave them to her. Then he had
intercourse with her, and she became
pregnant. 19 Afterward she went back
home, took off her veil, and put on her
widow’s clothing as usual.
20 Later Ju
dah asked his friend Hi
rah the Adullamite to take the young
goat to the woman and to pick up the
things he had given her as his guarantee. But Hirah couldn’t find her. 21 So
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he asked the men who lived there,
“Where can I find the shrine prostitute
who was sitting beside the road at the
entrance to Enaim?”
“We’ve never had a shrine prostitute here,” they replied.
22 So Hi
rah returned to Judah and
told him, “I couldn’t find her anywhere, and the men of the village
claim they’ve never had a shrine prostitute there.”
23 “Then let her keep the things I
gave her,” Judah said. “I sent the young
goat as we agreed, but you couldn’t
find her. We’d be the laughingstock
of the village if we went back again to
look for her.”
24 About three months later, Ju
dah
was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-
law, has acted like a prostitute. And
now, because of this, she’s pregnant.”
“Bring her out, and let her be
burned!” Judah demanded.
25 But as they were taking her out to
kill her, she sent this message to her
father-in-law: “The man who owns
these things made me pregnant. Look
closely. Whose seal and cord and
walking stick are these?”
26 Judah recognized them immediately and said, “She is more righteous
than I am, because I didn’t arrange
for her to marry my son Shelah.” And
Judah never slept with Tamar again.
27 When the time came for Ta
mar
to give birth, it was discovered that
she was carrying twins. 28 While
she was in labor, one of the babies
reached out his hand. The midwife
grabbed it and tied a scarlet string
around the child’s wrist, announcing, “This one came out first.” 29 But
then he pulled back his hand, and
out came his brother! “What!” the
midwife exclaimed. “How did you
break out first?” So he was named Pe
rez.* 30 Then the baby with the scarlet
string on his wrist was born, and he
was named Zerah.*
37:3a Hebrew Israel; also in 37:13. See note on 35:21.
37:3b Traditionally rendered a coat of many colors.
The exact meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
37:26 Hebrew cover his blood.
37:28 Hebrew
20 [shekels], about 8 ounces or 228 grams in weight.
37:35 Hebrew go down to Sheol.
37:36 Hebrew the
