Discovery BoxGenesis 38:17-24 
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. 38:21 He asked the men who were there, 7 “Where is the cult prostitute 8 who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.” 38:22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. Moreover, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’” 38:23 Judah said, “Let her keep the things 9 for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. 10 I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”
38:24 After three months Judah was told, 11 “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, 12 and as a result she has become pregnant.” 13 Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”
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.
7 tn Heb “the men of her place,” that is, who lived at the place where she had been.
8 sn The Hebrew noun translated “cult prostitute” is derived from a verb meaning “to be set apart; to be distinct.” Thus the term refers to a woman who did not marry, but was dedicated to temple service as a cult prostitute. The masculine form of this noun is used for male cult prostitutes. Judah thought he had gone to an ordinary prostitute (v. 15); but Hirah went looking for a cult prostitute, perhaps because it had been a sheep-shearing festival. For further discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, “Cultic Prostitution,” Orient and Occident (AOAT), 213-23.
9 tn The words “the things” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
10 tn Heb “we will become contemptible.” The Hebrew word בּוּז (buz) describes the contempt that a respectable person would have for someone who is worthless, foolish, or disreputable.
11 tn Heb “it was told to Judah, saying.”
12 tn Or “has been sexually promiscuous.” The verb may refer here to loose or promiscuous activity, not necessarily prostitution.
13 tn Heb “and also look, she is with child by prostitution.”
