Wayfinding Bible - Flipbook - Page 65
Genesis 38
59
PG 60
OBSERVATION POINT
In ancient times, widows were vulnerable to major
injustices because they no longer had a husband to
protect them. If they did not have a son, they were
even more unfortunate. The practice of a brotherin-law marrying his dead brother’s wife was called
“levirate marriage.” This marriage arrangement
ensured that the inheritance would remain in the
family and that the widow would have a son to protect
her. The Hittites and the Assyrians also practiced this
arrangement; later it became part of Israel’s laws
(Deuteronomy 25:5-6).
in-law, “Go back to your parents’ 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 Judah’s wife died. After
the time of mourning was over, Judah and his
friend Hirah the A
dullamite went up to Timnah
to supervise the shearing of his sheep. 13 Someone told Tamar, “Look, your father-in-law is
going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”
14
Tamar was aware that Shelah 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.
EXPLORATION POINT
Like so many people today, Judah thought he could
get away with his sexual indiscretion, but Tamar
was prepared with evidence to prove what had
taken place. Although prostitution was a common
practice in Israel and the surrounding nations at this
time, Judah sinned because he had slept with his
daughter-in-law, had broken his promise to her, and
had ignored the levirate marriage custom to provide
for his son’s widow. Judah had failed to protect the
helpless under his care.
20
Later Judah asked his friend Hirah the
dullamite to take the young goat to the woman
A
and to pick up the things he had given her as
his guarantee. But Hirah couldn’t find her. 21 So
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 Hirah 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, Judah 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!” Ju
dah 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 She
lah.” And Judah never slept with Tamar again.
27
When the time came for Tamar 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
