- Book: [[Genesis]] - Next chapter: [[Genesis 39]] > [!summary] Summary > - [[Judah]] leaves his brothers, marries a [[Canaan]]ite, and fathers [[Er]], [[Onan]], and [[Shelah]] > - After [[God]] kills [[Er]] and [[Onan]], [[Tamar]] secures offspring for the line by posing as a prostitute and conceiving by Judah himself > - Twins [[Perez]] and [[Zerah]] are born, continuing the lineage through which King [[David]] and [[Jesus]] comes > [!info] Why is this here? > - Interlude in the [[Joseph]] story that explains how [[Judah]]’s line progresses > - [[Judah]] almost writes himself out of the blessings of [[Abraham]] > - marrying a [[Canaan]]ite, [[Esau]]-like disregard for [[God's promises]] > - his kids dying as a result of their actions > - But [[God]] grants him a successful line anyway # Overview ## v. 1-5 [[Judah]] settles with [[Canaan]]ites - [[Judah]] leaves his brothers, befriends [[Hirah]] the [[Adullamite]] - Marries a daughter of [[Shua]] (unnamed); she bears [[Er]], [[Onan]], [[Shelah]] in quick succession ## v. 6-11 Deaths of [[Er]] & [[Onan]], [[Tamar]] left childless - [[Er]] marries [[Tamar]] but is "wicked in the LORD’s sight" and is killed - [[Levirate]] duty: [[Onan]] must raise offspring for his brother, but he "spills his seed," exploiting [[Tamar]] while dodging his duty. He is also killed - [[Judah]], fearing another loss, withholds [[Shelah]] and sends [[Tamar]] back to her father’s house — effectively shelving her future > [!note] Levirate before Sinai > Mentioned in [[Deuteronomy 25]], but [[Genesis]] has it already taken for granted > [!note] Withholding [[Shelah]] -- smart or not? > - [[Judah]] withholds [[Shelah]] to try to save his line. > - But he failed to recognize that [[Onan]] refusing to give [[Tamar]] a child is what lead to his death ## v. 12-19 [[Tamar]]’s ruse at [[Timnah]] - After [[Judah]]’s wife dies and mourning ends, he travels to [[Timnah]] for shearing with [[Hirah]] - [[Tamar]], still in widow’s garb, realizes [[Judah]] hasn't given her [[Shelah]] despite him being grown up, and veils herself at the entrance to [[Enaim]] as a prostitute - [[Judah]] bargains: goat for services; leaves **seal, cord, staff** as pledge - [[Tamar]] conceives by [[Judah]]; returns home, donning widow’s clothes again ## v. 20-23 The missing prostitute - [[Judah]] sends the goat via [[Hirah]], but no one’s heard of "the shrine prostitute" - [[Judah]] opts to keep quiet to avoid ridicule, unaware his tokens are in [[Tamar]]’s hands ## v. 24-26 Exposure & vindication - Three months later [[Tamar]]’s pregnancy surfaces; [[Judah]] demands she be burned for immorality - She produces the seal, cord, staff: "By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant." - [[Judah]]: "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son [[Shelah]].” ## v. 27-30 Birth of twins: [[Perez]] & [[Zerah]] - Dramatic delivery: [[Zerah]]’s hand emerges first, receives a scarlet thread, but [[Perez]] (“breach”) forces his way out and takes firstborn status - [[Perez]] becomes ancestor of [[Boaz]], [[David]], and the royal line ([[Ruth 4]]:18-22; [[Matthew 1]]:3) # Details - [[Tamar]]'s origin is unclear but she is not stated to be a [[Canaan]]ite. Hence [[Perez]] and the royal line aren't explicitly [[Canaan]]ite - [[Esau]] also does a lot of intermarrying with [[Canaan]]ites and callous actions, and is also rewarded with a big line # Diagrams ```dot digraph Genesis38Family { rankdir=LR; node [shape=box]; Jacob [style=filled, fillcolor=gold]; Jacob -> Judah; Canaan -> Shua [style=dashed]; Judah [style=filled, fillcolor=gold]; Perez [style=filled, fillcolor=gold]; // Judah’s Canaanite wife subgraph cluster_Wife { label = "Judah & Shua's Daughter"; style = filled; color = lightcoral; node [style=filled, fillcolor=white]; Er Onan Shelah; } Shua -> "Shua's Daughter"; Judah -> "Shua's Daughter" [style=dashed]; "Shua's Daughter" -> {Er Onan Shelah}; // Tamar branch Tamar [shape=box, style=filled, fillcolor=lightyellow]; Er -> Tamar [dir=none, style=dotted, label="marriage"]; // Levirate link (Onan) Onan -> Tamar [dir=none, style=dotted, label="levirate"]; // Judah & Tamar encounter Judah -> Tamar [style=dashed]; // Cluster Tamar’s children subgraph cluster_Tamar { label = "Judah & Tamar"; style = filled; color = lightcoral; node [style=filled, fillcolor=white]; Perez Zerah; } // Children of Judah & Tamar Tamar -> {Perez Zerah}; label="Family relations in Genesis 38"; } ``` ```mermaid flowchart LR %% ─── Nodes ──────────────────────────────────────────────── Jacob[Jacob] Canaan[Canaan] Shua[Shua] ShuasDaughter["Shua's Daughter"] Judah[Judah] Tamar[Tamar] Perez[Perez] Zerah[Zerah] Er[Er] Onan[Onan] Shelah[Shelah] %% ─── Relationships ─────────────────────────────────────── Jacob --> Judah Canaan -.-> Shua Shua --> ShuasDaughter Judah -.-> ShuasDaughter ShuasDaughter --> Er ShuasDaughter --> Onan ShuasDaughter --> Shelah Er -. "marriage" .- Tamar Onan -. "levirate" .- Tamar Judah -.-> Tamar Tamar --> Perez Tamar --> Zerah %% ─── Sub-families / clusters ───────────────────────────── subgraph WifeCluster["Judah & Shua's Daughter"] direction LR Er Onan Shelah end subgraph TamarCluster["Judah & Tamar"] direction LR Perez Zerah end %% ─── Styling ───────────────────────────────────────────── classDef gold fill:#ffd700,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px; classDef lightyellow fill:#ffffe0,stroke:#333,stroke-width:1px; class Jacob,Judah,Perez gold class Tamar lightyellow style WifeCluster fill:#f08080,stroke:#f08080,color:#ffffff style TamarCluster fill:#f08080,stroke:#f08080,color:#ffffff ``` # Questions - Who the heck are [[Adullamite]]s? - Woah -- fulfilling duty of brother-in-law... - Got killed for pulling out... - What's a cult prostitute?