CONCEIVED (GENESIS 38)
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DEALING WITH DISAPPOINTMENT
DEALING WITH DISAPPOINTMENT
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
1 It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
2 There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, 3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. 5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him. 6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.
8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. 10 And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.
BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY
11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.
SELFISH, PLEASURE W/O RESPONSIBILITY
11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.
Live as a widow (38:11). A widow without children was a woman without legal, economic, or social status—a woman without a household. Judah here relegates Tamar (through his continuing authority over her)562 to the protection of her father’s household. This is unusual in that a dowry would have been initially paid by her father precisely for the purpose of supporting her in situations such as this. It is unlikely that her father would have had any legal obligation to support her.[i]
[i] Walton, J. H. (2009). Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary (Old Testament): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy(Vol. 1, p. 126). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
12 In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14 she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 17 He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” 18 He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.
A woman’s veil was not the garment of a harlot but of a betrothed woman (e.g., see comments on 24:65; 29:21–25). Assyrian law forbid an unmarried woman from wearing a veil. The irony of the veil was that it not only hid her identity but it also could have signaled that she had been given in pledge to another, namely, Shelah.[i]
[i] Mathews, K. A. (2005). Genesis 11:27–50:26 (Vol. 1B, p. 718). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
Tamar plays out her role by asking for the appropriate payment, “What will you give [nātan] me?” This may be a play on the failures of Onan and Judah, the former who did not “give [nātan, “spilled,” NIV] his semen” (v. 9) and the latter’s son to whom “she had not been given” (nātan, v. 14).[ii]
[ii] Mathews, K. A. (2005). Genesis 11:27–50:26 (Vol. 1B, p. 720). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
your seal Likely a cylinder seal. A cylinder seal is a small, oval-shaped object upon which a personal sign or name was engraved. When rolled over clay, an impression was created. They were often hollowed out in the center, which enabled them to be carried on a cord around the neck. Tens of thousands of cylinder seals are known from archaeological excavations.
staffThe Hebrew word used here, matteh, can mean either “staff” or “scepter.” Depending on the context, matteh can serve as a symbol of leadership or royal power (Isa 14:5; Psa 110:2).[iii]
[iii] Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ge 38:18). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
20 When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. 21 And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” 22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’ ” 23 And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”
24 About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” 25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” 26 Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.
27 When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. 28 And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez. 30 Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.
Even the names of Tamar’s sons signify the flourishing of life, for Perez means “breaks out” and Zerah may refer to the rising of the sun. In this movement from death to life, the story of Tamar illustrates the power of God, which often operates in unexpected ways, accomplishing the will of God in spite of human mistakes.[i]
[i] Heck, J. D. (2003). Tamar. In T. D. Alexander & D. W. Baker (Eds.), Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch (p. 828). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, 68 but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.
2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,