38:1–2 The narrator directly links this episode with the events of the preceding chapter via the phrase “At that time” (Hb. baʿet khahiʾ; v. 1) rather than the more general “After these things” (cf. Gen. 15:1; 22:1). That is, Judah’s decision to abandon the family of promise and join the Canaanites is linked directly to the brothers’ selling of Joseph into slavery and deceiving their father (37:19–36). Judah played a central role in those actions (37:26–27), but now he wants nothing more to do with his brothers, a motive underlined by the fact that his leaving is described explicitly as going down from his brothers (38:1), rather than from Hebron or from his father. Like Joseph, who went down to Egypt, Judah also goes down, only in his case the departure from the family is voluntary rather than involuntary. Physical geography can be a marker of spiritual geography in the Bible, and Judah’s journey is downhill in both aspects.527

It is not obvious that Judah has a particular destination in view when he leaves home, which reinforces his desperation to leave his family—anywhere would be better than remaining at home. However, he “turns aside” (or perhaps “pitches his tent”) to see an Adullamite by the name of Hirah. The verb “turn aside” (natah) is not often used of visiting someone, so it may reflect spiritual as well as physical geography, a departure from the proper path (cf. 1 Sam. 8:3).528 While he is there Judah sees a Canaanite woman (Gen. 38:2). There is no mention of Judah’s loving her (cf. 24:67; 29:18) or even of her name; she is identified only as “the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua.”529 The narrator simply tells us that “he saw . . . he took,” phraseology that echoes Eve’s original sin (3:6; cf. also the desire of the sons of God for the daughters of men in 6:2, and Pharaoh for Sarai in 12:15). Not only has Judah abandoned the Abrahamic family; he has now married a Canaanite woman (despite the prohibitions in 24:3; 28:1), seemingly confirming his definitive exit from the line of promise.

38:3–5 “He took her and went in to her, and she conceived and bore a son” (38:2–3)—the rapid succession of Hebrew verbs suggests a similarly rapid sequence of events. Judah names his son Er, which means something like “watchful,” though no explanations are given in the text for the names of Judah’s sons. Second and third sons rapidly follow, Onan and Shelah; there is no struggle with barrenness for Judah in his pathway away from the Abrahamic blessing. Only Er is named by Judah; Onan and Shelah are apparently named by his (unnamed) wife, while Judah may even be living in an entirely different town when Shelah is born, the town of Chezib, whose name can be translated “Deceit” (v. 5).530 Deceit has been a consistent feature of Jacob’s family, and it will be the same in Judah’s subsequent dealings with Tamar.

38:6–11 Judah then takes a wife, Tamar (“palm tree”), from the local populace for his oldest son, Er. However, we are told that Er—whose firstborn status is reiterated—is evil in the sight of the Lord, and so the Lord puts him to death (v. 7).531 The nature of his wickedness is not specified, though the language is used often of idolatry (cf. Deut. 4:25). This is a remarkable statement, given that the events of chapter 34 and 37 have elicited no direct response from the Lord, and Judah and his brothers remain unscathed; the word “evil” (Hb. raʿ) and its deadly consequences link the sin of Er (and subsequently Onan) to the events leading to the flood (cf. Gen. 6:5; 8:21). Judah’s decision to live among the Canaanites has had a fatal impact on his family.

If Er’s sin is left unspecified, Onan’s sin is clearly described (Gen. 38:9). Onan is instructed to follow the pattern of Levirate marriage and have sexual intercourse with his dead brother’s widow in order to raise up offspring who will be counted as belonging to his brother rather than to himself (cf. Deut. 25:5–10). This practice was widely attested throughout the ancient Near East and provided a compassionate means of providing for widows within the family into which they had married, as well as of preserving the name of the deceased.532

However, although Onan is willing to join himself to Tamar and enjoy himself sexually, he makes sure there is little risk of any procreation, thus undermining the purpose of the institution (Gen. 38:9). The form of the Hebrew indicates that this is Onan’s regular practice, not merely a one-time act.533 His motivation may be financial. After Er’s death, Onan stands to inherit the double share due to the firstborn—provided there is no heir. If Onan fathers a son by Tamar, that son will be reckoned as Er’s and thus inherit the firstborn’s double portion. This abuse of both Tamar and the institution of Levirate marriage makes him “wicked in the sight of the Lord,” just as his brother Er had been,534 and he meets a similar fate: the Lord puts him to death as well (v. 10). Strikingly, there is no mention of Judah’s mourning the death of either of his sons, unlike Jacob’s intense mourning for Joseph (37:34–35).

Judah is now left with a dilemma: faced with the death of two of his sons, he should in due course give his third son, Shelah, to Tamar, in order to raise up seed for his brothers (38:11). Yet he is convinced that Tamar is under a curse—despite the obvious fact that the problem lies far more with the wickedness of his sons. In any event Tamar ends up not only childless and abused but socially shamed as well, sent back to her father’s house in disgrace to await the summons in due course to marry Shelah.

38:12–19 Meanwhile, time passes,535 and it becomes evident to Tamar that Judah has no intention of marrying her to Shelah, who by now is old enough for marriage (v. 14). Judah too, like Onan, is illegitimately withholding offspring from her, though for his own distinct reasons. Meanwhile, Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, also dies, but once again Judah seems to be fairly rapidly comforted (v. 12).536 Certainly there is a contrast here with Tamar, who maintains her mourning attire a much longer time (v. 14). Before long Judah is on his way to the annual sheepshearing festivities at Timnah along with his friend, Hirah the Adullamite (Gen. 38:12; cf. v. 1). Sheepshearing in the ancient world was a time of intensely hard work followed by equally intense celebration,537 an important fact in the events that follow. In the Canaanite context cultic prostitution was a means of celebrating the blessing of fertility and acknowledging the role of Baal and Asherah in providing increase for the flocks, though it is not clear that Judah’s interest in Tamar has any particular religious connotations (cf. comment on 38:20–23).

When the news of Judah’s plans to attend the sheepshearing is relayed to Tamar, she puts into motion a plan of her own. She takes off her mourning attire and puts on a veil, which is necessary to conceal her identity from her father-in-law. The exact significance of being veiled in that cultural context is debated by commentators. Middle Assyrian laws forbade any common prostitute or an unmarried temple prostitute from wearing a veil, which leads Mathews to conclude, “A woman’s veil was the garment not of a harlot but of a betrothed woman,”538 while Currid draws the opposite implication, that in donning a veil Tamar is dressing herself as a (married) cult prostitute.539 The evidence of Song of Solomon 1:7 suggests that a veiled woman certainly ran the risk of being seen as a person of loose character,540 while the text itself suggests that Tamar’s covered face communicates to Judah that she is an ordinary prostitute (Hb. zonah; Gen. 38:15).

Tamar’s location alongside the road likely adds to that impression. She stations herself along Judah’s route to Timnah at the entrance of the town of Enaim (“twin springs”; v. 14). The place name is loaded with irony: not only will Judah “scatter his springs abroad” here (cf. Prov. 5:16 for this image of sexual activity), resulting in the birth of twins (Gen. 38:28–30), but the phrase “entrance to Enaim” (petakh ʿenayim) could also mean “opening of the eyes.” And the result of this encounter would certainly be eye-opening for Judah (cf. vv. 24–26).

Whether because of her veil, her location, or her clothing, Judah takes Tamar to be a prostitute (v. 15), though it is made clear in the text that her concern is simply the legitimate desire to have offspring, which Judah is blocking by withholding Shelah (v. 14). Not knowing the identity of the woman with whom he is about to sleep (cf. 29:23), Judah propositions her, and they negotiate a price. He will give her a “young goat from the flock” (38:17). This is the same kind of animal with which Isaac was deceived by Jacob in 27:9, 16, as well as with which Jacob was deceived by his sons in 37:31. Since Judah is obviously not traveling with such an animal in his possession, a pledge is required (38:17). Tamar’s plan requires an identifiable object, and Judah’s seal and his staff fit the bill perfectly (v. 18). The seal, perhaps cylindrical and in ancient times often carried on a cord around the person’s neck or arm rather than on a ring,541 was used to sign documents and mark objects as belonging to an individual. Meanwhile, the staff was often intricately carved and served as a symbol of a patriarch’s authority as clan chieftain (cf. Numbers 17). This is thus the ancient equivalent of asking for Judah’s driver’s license and credit cards.542

The price is no sooner agreed than the deed is committed. Unlike in her earlier unfruitful relationships with Judah’s sons, Tamar immediately conceives (Gen. 38:18). As a symbol of her return to her former position, Tamar takes off her prostitute’s clothing and changes back into her widow’s clothes, as if nothing has happened (v. 19). But fundamentally everything has now changed—both for Tamar and, ultimately, for Judah.

38:20–23 Although Judah’s sexual morality leaves much to be desired, he is a man of his word; indeed, he goes to far greater lengths to fulfill what he has promised this “prostitute” than what he had promised his own daughter-in-law. He sends his friend, Hirah, to Enaim with the young goat he has promised, hoping to retrieve his important personal possessions from the prostitute (v. 20). However, once there, not only can Hirah not find the woman, but no one seems to know who she is. Hirah refers to her in his conversations with the locals as a “cult prostitute” (Hb. qedeshah) rather than using the narrator’s term, “prostitute” (zonah). These terms may be interchangeable, as some commentators believe,543 but it is striking that it is only Hiram who calls her a “cult prostitute,” suggesting that he is attempting to provide a cover of social acceptability for his friend.544 Certainly, nothing about their original encounter smacked of any religious dimension. Visiting a cult functionary was probably viewed as more acceptable than engaging a roadside prostitute, however.

Hirah’s failure to find any trace of Tamar, or anyone who has seen her, contrasts starkly with Joseph’s immediate success in chapter 37 in finding someone who knew where his brothers had gone (37:15–16). Hirah is left with no choice but to return home empty handed and acknowledge his failure to Judah (38:22). Judah, for his part, seems unperturbed. He has fulfilled his part of the deal, and he feels that his hands are clean in the matter.

38:24–26 Three months later Tamar’s condition becomes clear to all, and she is charged with acting like a prostitute (Hb. zanetah; v. 24). Judah does not seem to wait for the two or three witnesses required under the law (Deut. 17:6), nor does he carry out any sort of formal trial. Perhaps her condition is considered sufficient proof in the absence of a husband, but, considering his own recent dalliance with a prostitute, Judah’s immediate pronouncement of the sentence to burn her reeks of inordinate haste (Gen. 38:24; Hb. “Bring her out and let her be burned” is only two words).545 Even though Tamar is living in her own father’s house at this point, Judah still has legal power over her as his daughter-in-law. Moreover, in the interests of his own family line he has his own reasons for wanting to get rid of her: once she is gone, Judah will be free to marry Shelah to someone else, someone not affected by Tamar’s curse, by whom Judah’s family line might continue. The irony is that, had he succeeded in his plan, it would have been his own offspring he would have been putting to death along with Tamar.

At the crucial moment Tamar is able to produce the evidence of Judah’s hypocrisy and his paternity of her child: Judah’s seal and staff (v. 25). Just as Judah and his brothers asked Jacob to identify Joseph’s robe (37:32), so now she asks Judah to identify his possessions. He is forced to confess that she is righteous and not he (38:26).546 Tamar is not “right” in the sense of being completely without moral guilt but is right in this situation, in which Judah’s behavior with Shelah has driven her to take drastic measures. Judah’s eyes are opened, in contrast to their being shut tight at Enaim. He does not sleep with her again, however (v. 26); to do so would be to take advantage of her vulnerable position and would be unnecessary, since she already has the offspring that she sought.

38:27–30 There is still room for one more twist in the narrative. As with Rebekah before her, there are twins in Tamar’s womb, and there is another conflict involving the color red and a younger child’s supplanting the older (v. 27; cf. 25:22–26). In this case the first child to put out a hand, marked by the midwife with a scarlet thread, is actually the second child to be born (38:30). He is given the name Zerah but is upstaged by his brother, Perez, who overtakes him and manages to be born first. It is Perez (“breakthrough”) whose line will ultimately become the more significant of the two, though his story extends far beyond the pages of the book of Genesis. His name recurs as the ancestor of Boaz—and thus of David—in Ruth 4:18–22, another story with themes reminiscent of levirate marriage. The “breakthrough” that gives Perez his name represents a breakthrough for Judah, for it is at this point in the story that Judah’s thoughts must turn homeward to his own family; the next time we encounter Judah he is back within the fold (cf. Gen. 43:3). In the long run Perez’s birth also represents a breakthrough for God’s people; it is significant that in the book of Ruth there are ten generations from Perez to David, and Perez’s name begins the genealogy, not Judah’s, as we might have expected (Ruth 4:18).547