Judah and Tamar

38:1-30

38 And it happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and settled near an Adullamite man, and his name was Hirah. 2 And there Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man, and his name was Shua, and he took her. Then he went to her, 3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 Then she continued further and bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. And he was in Kezib when she bore him.

6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, so Yahweh killed him.

8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go to the wife of your brother and perform your duty to her and produce offspring for your brother.” 9 However, Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, so it happened when he went to the wife of his brother, then he spilled it on the ground so that he would not give offspring to his brother. 10 And what he did was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, so he killed him also.

11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in the house of your father until Shelah my son grows up.” For he said, “So that he does not also die like his brothers!” So Tamar went and lived in the house of her father.

12 Then the days were many, and Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Then Judah was comforted, and he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told to Tamar, saying, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she took off her widow’s clothes from her and covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself. Then she sat at the entrance of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah, because she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she had not been given to him as a wife.

15 Then Judah saw her, and he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. 16 So he turned to her beside the road and said, “Please come, let me come to you,” because he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give to me if you will come to me?” 17 And he said, “I will send a kid goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you will give a pledge until you send it.” 18 Then he said, “What is the pledge that I should give to you?” And she said, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went to her, and she conceived by him. 19 Then she got up and left, and she took off her veil from her and put on her widow’s clothes.

20 Then Judah sent the kid goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite to get back the pledge from the hand of the woman, but he did not find her. 21 So he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim beside the road?” But they said, “There has not been a temple prostitute in this place.” 22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I did not find her. And also, the men of the place said, ‘There has not been a temple prostitute in this place.’ ” 23 And Judah said, “Let her take the things for herself so that we do not become a laughingstock. Behold, I sent this kid, but you did not find her.”

24 Then it happened about three months later that it was told to Judah, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has prostituted herself, and also, behold, she is pregnant by her prostitutions!” So Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned!” 25 She was being brought out, and she sent a message to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man whom these things belong to, I am pregnant.” Then she said, “Please identify whose signet and cords and staff these are.” 26 And Judah identified the things and said, “She is more righteous than I am, because I did not give her to Shelah my son!” And he did not continue to know her more.

27 Then it happened when it was time for her to give birth, then behold, twins were inside her womb! 28 And it happened, as she was giving birth, then one put out a hand, and the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But it happened, when he drew his hand back in, then behold, his brother came out. Then she said, “How have you breached for yourself a breach?” So he called his name Perez. 30 And afterwards, his brother came out, who had the scarlet thread on his hand, and he called his name Zerah.