Discovery BoxGenesis 38:17-20 
Context38:17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?” 1 38:18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had sex with her. 2 She became pregnant by him. 38:19 She left immediately, 3 removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.
38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah 4 the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, 5 but Hirah 6 could not find her.
1 tn Heb “until you send.”
2 tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
3 tn Heb “and she arose and left,” the first verb in the pair emphasizing that she wasted no time.
4 tn Heb “sent by the hand of his friend.” Here the name of the friend (“Hirah”) has been included in the translation for clarity.
5 tn Heb “to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand.”
6 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Judah’s friend Hirah the Adullamite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
