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27-28 Tamar later gave birth to twins. But before either of them was born, one of them stuck a hand out of her womb. The woman who was helping tied a red thread around the baby's hand and explained, “This one came out first.”

29 At once his hand went back in, and the other child was born first. The woman then said, “What an opening you've made for yourself!” So they named the baby Perez.[a] 30 When the brother with the red thread was born, they named him Zerah.[b]

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Footnotes

  1. 38.29 Perez: In Hebrew “Perez” sounds like “opening.”
  2. 38.30 Zerah: In Hebrew “Zerah” means “bright,” probably referring to the red thread.

27 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.(A) 28 As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife(B) took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist(C) and said, “This one came out first.” 29 But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out,(D) and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.[a](E) 30 Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist,(F) came out. And he was named Zerah.[b](G)

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 38:29 Perez means breaking out.
  2. Genesis 38:30 Zerah can mean scarlet or brightness.