Genesis 38

1And it came to pass at that time, that Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain ‘Adulami (their testimony; their prey; their ornament; justice of the people), whose name [was] Hirah.

2And Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) saw there a daughter of a certain Kena’ani (merchants; traders; or those that humble and subdue), whose name [was] Shua (to cry out for help); and he took her, and went in unto her.

3And she conceived, and bore a son; and he called his name ‘Er (watchful; watchman).

4And she conceived again, and bore a son; and she called his name Onan (strong; pain, force, iniquity).

5And she yet again conceived, and bore a son; and called his name Shelach (Sent Out, Branch or Javelin; to prosper, rest): and he was at K’ziv (false), when she bore him.

6And Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) took a wife for ‘Er (watchful; watchman) his firstborn, whose name was Tamar [palm-tree] (bitterness, palm tree).

7And ‘Er (watchful; watchman), Y’hudah’s (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate); and the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate) killed him.

8And Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) said unto Onan (strong; pain, force, iniquity), Go in unto youri brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to youri brother.

9And Onan (strong; pain, force, iniquity) knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled [it] on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

10And the thing which he did displeased the Lord-Yehōvah (Messiah Pre-Incarnate): For what reason he killed him also.

11Then said Y’hudah to Tamar [palm-tree] his daughter in law, Remain a widow at youri father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest perhaps he die also, as his brethren [did]. And Tamar [palm-tree] went and dwelt in her father’s house.

12And in process of time the daughter of Shua Y’hudah’s (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) wife died; and Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnah [Portion] (place of forbidding), he and his friend Hirah (a noble family; liberty; anger) the ‘Adulami (their testimony; their prey; their ornament; justice of the people).

13And it was told Tamar [palm-tree] (bitterness, palm tree), saying, Behold youri father in law goes up to Timnah [Portion] (place of forbidding) to shear his sheep.

14And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which [is] by the way to Timnah [Portion] (place of forbidding); for she saw that Shelah (Sent Out, Branch or Javelin; to prosper, rest) was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

15When Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) saw her, he thought her [to be] an prostitute; because she had covered her face.

16And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray youi, let me come in unto youi; (for he knew not that she [was] his daughter in law.) And she said, What will youi give me, that youi may come in unto me?

17And he said, I will send [youi] a kid from the flock. And she said, Will youi give [me] a pledge, till youi send [it]?

18And he said, What pledge shall I give youi? And she said, youri signet (seal or stamp), and youri bracelets, and youri staff that [is] in youri hand. And he gave [it] her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.

19And she arose, and went away, and laid by her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

20And Y’hudah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the ‘Adulami, to receive [his] pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.

21Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where [is] the prostitute, that [was] openly by the way side? And they said, There was no prostitute in this [place].

22And he returned to Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]), and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, [that] there was no prostitute in this [place].

23And Y’hudah said, Let her take [it] to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and youi hast not found her.

24And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Y’hudah, saying, Tamar [palm-tree] (bitterness, palm tree) youri daughter in law has played the prostitute; and also, behold, she [is] with child by whoredom. And Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.

25When she [was] brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these [are, am] I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray youi, whose [are] these, the signet (seal or stamp), and bracelets, and staff.

26And Y’hudah (Let the Powerful One be Praised [Yah]) acknowledged [them], and said, She has been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah (Sent Out, Branch or Javelin; to prosper, rest) my son. And he knew her again no more.

27And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins [were] in her womb.

28And it came to pass, when she travailed, that [the one] put out [his] hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.

29And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast youi broken forth? [this] breach (breaking forth; a break; opening, inlet) [be] upon youi: therefore his name was called Peretz (a breach (breaking forth; a break; opening, inlet); divided; rupture).

30And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zerach (a rising [as the sun], scarlet).

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Genesis 38

Judah and Tamar

1About this time, Judah left home and moved to Adullam, where he stayed with a man named Hirah. 2There he saw a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shua, and he married her. When he slept with her, 3she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and he named the boy Er. 4Then she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son, and she named him Onan. 5And when she gave birth to a third son, she named him Shelah. At the time of Shelah’s birth, they were living at Kezib.

6In the course of time, Judah arranged for his firstborn son, Er, to marry a young woman named Tamar. 7But Er was a wicked man in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord took his life. 8Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “Go and marry Tamar, as our law requires of the brother of a man who has died. You must produce an heir for your brother.”

9But Onan was not willing to have a child who would not be his own heir. So whenever he had intercourse with his brother’s wife, he spilled the semen on the ground. This prevented her from having a child who would belong to his brother. 10But the Lord considered it evil for Onan to deny a child to his dead brother. So the Lord took Onan’s life, too.

11Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-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 Shelah would also die, like his two brothers.) So Tamar went back to live in her father’s home.

12Some years later Judah’s wife died. After the time of mourning was over, Judah and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah to supervise the shearing of his sheep. 13Someone told Tamar, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”

14Tamar 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. 15Judah noticed her and thought she was a prostitute, since she had covered her face. 16So 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. 19Afterward she went back home, took off her veil, and put on her widow’s clothing as usual.

20Later Judah asked his friend Hirah 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. 21So 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.

22So 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.”

24About 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!” Judah demanded.

25But 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?”

26Judah 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.

27When the time came for Tamar to give birth, it was discovered that she was carrying twins. 28While 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.” 29But 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 Perez.#38:29 Perez means “breaking out.” 30Then the baby with the scarlet string on his wrist was born, and he was named Zerah.#38:30 Zerah means “scarlet” or “brightness.”

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