Discovery BoxGenesis 38:6-24 
Context38:6 Judah acquired 1 a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 38:7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.
38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with 2 your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise 3 up a descendant for your brother.” 4 38:9 But Onan knew that the child 5 would not be considered his. 6 So whenever 7 he had sexual relations with 8 his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely 9 so as not to give his brother a descendant. 38:10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord 10 killed him too.
38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, 11 “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” 12 So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
38:12 After some time 13 Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with 14 his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 38:13 Tamar was told, 15 “Look, your father-in-law is going up 16 to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 38:14 So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because 17 she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) 18
38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute 19 because she had covered her face. 38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” 20 (He did not realize 21 it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” 22 38:17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?” 23 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. 24 She became pregnant by him. 38:19 She left immediately, 25 removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.
38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah 26 the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, 27 but Hirah 28 could not find her. 38:21 He asked the men who were there, 29 “Where is the cult prostitute 30 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 31 for herself. Otherwise we will appear to be dishonest. 32 I did indeed send this young goat, but you couldn’t find her.”
38:24 After three months Judah was told, 33 “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, 34 and as a result she has become pregnant.” 35 Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”
1 tn Heb “and Judah took.”
2 tn Heb “go to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
3 tn The imperative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose.
4 sn Raise up a descendant for your brother. The purpose of this custom, called the levirate system, was to ensure that no line of the family would become extinct. The name of the deceased was to be maintained through this custom of having a child by the nearest relative. See M. Burrows, “Levirate Marriage in Israel,” JBL 59 (1940): 23-33.
5 tn Heb “offspring.”
6 tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.
7 tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.
sn The text makes it clear that the purpose of the custom was to produce an heir for the deceased brother. Onan had no intention of doing that. But he would have sex with the girl as much as he wished. He was willing to use the law to gratify his desires, but was not willing to do the responsible thing.
8 tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
9 tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.
10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
11 tn Heb “said.”
12 tn Heb “Otherwise he will die, also he, like his brothers.”
sn I don’t want him to die like his brothers. This clause explains that Judah had no intention of giving Shelah to Tamar for the purpose of the levirate marriage. Judah apparently knew the nature of his sons, and feared that God would be angry with the third son and kill him as well.
13 sn After some time. There is not enough information in the narrative to know how long this was. The text says “the days increased.” It was long enough for Shelah to mature and for Tamar to realize she would not have him.
14 tn Heb “and he went up to the shearers of his sheep, he and.”
15 tn Heb “And it was told to Tamar, saying.”
16 tn The active participle indicates the action was in progress or about to begin.
17 tn The Hebrew text simply has “because,” connecting this sentence to what precedes. For stylistic reasons the words “she did this” are supplied in the translation and a new sentence begun.
18 tn Heb “she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she was not given to him as a wife.”
19 tn Heb “he reckoned her for a prostitute,” which was what Tamar had intended for him to do. She obviously had some idea of his inclinations, or she would not have tried this risky plan.
20 tn Heb “I will go to you.” The imperfect verbal form probably indicates his desire here. The expression “go to” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
21 tn Heb “for he did not know that.”
22 tn Heb “when you come to me.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
23 tn Heb “until you send.”
24 tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
25 tn Heb “and she arose and left,” the first verb in the pair emphasizing that she wasted no time.
26 tn Heb “sent by the hand of his friend.” Here the name of the friend (“Hirah”) has been included in the translation for clarity.
27 tn Heb “to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand.”
28 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Judah’s friend Hirah the Adullamite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
29 tn Heb “the men of her place,” that is, who lived at the place where she had been.
30 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.
31 tn The words “the things” have been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.
32 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.
33 tn Heb “it was told to Judah, saying.”
34 tn Or “has been sexually promiscuous.” The verb may refer here to loose or promiscuous activity, not necessarily prostitution.
35 tn Heb “and also look, she is with child by prostitution.”
