Bereshis 38
Orthodox Jewish Bible
38 And it came to pass at that time, that Yehudah went down from his achim, and turned in to an ish Adulami shmo Chirah.
2 And Yehudah saw there a bat ish Kena’ani shmo Shua; and he took her, and went in unto her.
3 She conceived, and bore ben; and he called shmo Er.
4 And she conceived again, and bore ben; and she called shmo Onan.
5 And she yet again conceived, and bore ben; and called shmo Shelah; at Keziv, when she bore him.
6 And Yehudah took a wife for Er his bechor, whose shem was Tamar.
7 And Er, bechor Yehudah, was rah in the eyes of Hashem; and Hashem slaughtered him.
8 And Yehudah said unto Onan, Go in unto eshet achicha, and enter into levirate marriage with her, and raise up zera to achicha.
9 And Onan knew that the zera should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto eshet achiv, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give zera to achiv.
10 And the thing which he did was rah in the eyes of Hashem; therefore He slaughtered him also.
11 Then said Yehudah to Tamar his kallah, Remain an almanah at thy bais avi, till Shelah beni is grown; for he said, Lest he die also, as his achim did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her bais avi.
12 And in process of time the bat Shua, eshet Yehudah, died; and Yehudah was consoled, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnah, he and his re’a Chirah the Adulami.
13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Hinei, thy kham (father-in-law) goeth up to Timnah to shear his tzon.
14 And she put off her widow’s garments from her, and covered her with a tze’if (veil), and disguised herself, and sat at the crossroads which is on the derech to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him as isha.
15 When Yehudah saw her, he thought her to be a zonah; because she had covered her face.
16 And he turned unto her by the derech, and said, Come now, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his kallah [daughter-in-law]). And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?
17 And he said, I will send thee a gedi izzim (kid of the goats). And she said, Wilt thou give me an ervon (pledge), till thou send it?
18 And he said, What ervon shall I give thee? And she said, Thy chotam (signet), and thy [signet neck] cord, and thy staff that is in thine yad. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.
19 And she arose, and went away, and took off her tze’if from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 And Yehudah sent the gedi izzim by the yad of his friend the Adulami, to get back his ervon from the yad haisha; but he found her not.
21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the kedesha (cult prostitute) that was on the crossroads by the derech? And they said, There was no kedesha in this place.
22 And he returned to Yehudah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said that there was no kedesha in this place.
23 And Yehudah said, Let her take for herself, lest we become buz (laughingstock); hinei, I sent this gedi, and thou hast not found her.
24 And it came to pass about shlosh chadashim (three months) later, that it was told Yehudah saying, Tamar thy kallah hath played the zonah; and also, hinei, she is with child by zenunim (whoredom). And Yehudah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burned.
25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her kham (father-in-law), saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child; and she said, Discern, now, whose are these, the chotam (signet), and the [signet neck] cord, and the staff.
26 And Yehudah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more tzadekah than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah beni. And he knew her again no more.
27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, hinei te’omim (twin boys) were in her beten.
28 And it came to pass, when she travailed in labor, that the one put out his yad; and the midwife took and bound upon his yad a scarlet thread, saying, This came out rishonah (first).
29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his yad, that, hinei, his brother came out; and she said, How hast paratzta (thou broken out)? This paretz (breach, breaking) be upon thee; therefore shmo was called Peretz [Breaking out].
30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his yad; and shmo was called Zerach.
Genesis 38
Common English Bible
Tamar’s place in Judah’s family
38 At that time, Judah moved away from his brothers and settled near an Adullamite named Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her. After he slept with her, 3 she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, whom she[a] named Er. 4 She became pregnant again, gave birth to a son, and named him Onan. 5 Then she gave birth to one more son and named him Shelah. She was in Chezib when she gave birth to him.
6 Judah married his oldest son Er to a woman named Tamar. 7 But the Lord considered Judah’s oldest son Er immoral, and the Lord put him to death. 8 Judah said to Onan, “Go to your brother’s wife, do your duty as her brother-in-law, and provide children for your brother.” 9 Onan knew the children wouldn’t be his so when he slept with his brother’s wife, he wasted his semen on the ground, so he wouldn’t give his brother children. 10 The Lord considered what he did as wrong and put him to death too. 11 Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Stay as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” He thought Shelah would die like his brothers had. So Tamar went and lived in her father’s household.
12 After a long time, Judah’s wife the daughter of Shua died. Then, after a period of mourning, he and his neighbor Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah, to those who were shearing his sheep. 13 Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is now on his way up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So Tamar took off the clothing she wore as a widow, covered herself with a veil, put on makeup,[b] and sat down at the entrance to Enaim on the road to Timnah, since she realized that although Shelah had already grown up, she hadn’t been given to him as a wife.
15 Judah saw her and thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face. 16 He turned to her beside the road and said, “Let me sleep with you,” because he didn’t know she was his daughter-in-law.
She said, “What will you give me for sleeping with you?”
17 He said, “I will give you a kid goat from my flock.”
She said, “Only if you give me some deposit, as security to guarantee that you will send it.”
18 He said, “What kind of deposit should I give you?”
And she said, “Your seal, its cord, and the staff in your hand.” He gave these to her, slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.
19 Then she got up, left, and took off her veil, dressing once again in the clothing she wore as a widow. 20 Judah sent the kid goat with his neighbor Hirah the Adullamite so he could take back the deposits from the woman, but he couldn’t find her. 21 He asked the locals of that place, “Where’s the consecrated worker[c] who was at Enaim on the road?”
But they said, “There’s no consecrated worker here.”
22 So he went back to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her. The locals even said, ‘There’s no holy woman here.’”
23 Judah said, “Let her keep everything so we aren’t laughed at. I did send this kid goat, but you couldn’t find her.”
24 About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has become a prostitute and is now pregnant because of it.”
And Judah said, “Bring her out so that she may be burned.”
25 When she was brought out, she sent this message to her father-in-law, “I’m pregnant by the man who owns these things. See if you recognize whose seal, cord, and staff these are.”
26 Judah recognized them and said, “She’s more righteous than I am, because I didn’t allow her to marry my son Shelah.” Judah never knew her intimately again.
27 When she gave birth, she discovered she had twins in her womb. 28 At birth, one boy put out his hand, and the midwife took it and tied a red thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 As soon as he pulled his hand back, his brother came out, and she said, “You’ve burst out on your own.” So he was named Perez.[d] 30 Afterward, his brother with the red thread on his hand came out, and he was named Zerah.[e]
Footnotes
- Genesis 38:3 Sam, Tg; MT he
- Genesis 38:14 Or perfumed herself or wrapped herself up
- Genesis 38:21 Traditionally cultic prostitute
- Genesis 38:29 Or bursting out
- Genesis 38:30 Or dawn
Genesis 38
New King James Version
Judah and Tamar
38 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and (A)visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah (B)saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was (C)Shua, and he married her and went in to her. 3 So she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name (D)Er. 4 She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name (E)Onan. 5 And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name (F)Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him.
6 Then Judah (G)took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was (H)Tamar. 7 But (I)Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, (J)and the Lord killed him. 8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to (K)your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be (L)his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did [a]displeased the Lord; therefore He killed (M)him also.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, (N)“Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt (O)in her father’s house.
12 Now in the process of time the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah (P)was comforted, and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up (Q)to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14 So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and (R)sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw (S)that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. 16 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law.
So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
17 And he said, (T)“I will send a young goat from the flock.”
So she said, (U)“Will you give me a pledge till you send it?”
18 Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?”
So she said, (V)“Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 So she arose and went away, and (W)laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was [b]openly by the roadside?”
And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.”
22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.”
23 Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.”
24 And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has (X)played the harlot; furthermore she is [c]with child by harlotry.”
So Judah said, “Bring her out (Y)and let her be burned!”
25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, (Z)“Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff.”
26 So Judah (AA)acknowledged them and said, (AB)“She has been more righteous than I, because (AC)I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he (AD)never knew her again.
27 Now it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And so it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” 29 Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you!” Therefore his name was called (AE)Perez.[d] 30 Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand. And his name was called (AF)Zerah.
Footnotes
- Genesis 38:10 Lit. was evil in the eyes of
- Genesis 38:21 in full view
- Genesis 38:24 pregnant
- Genesis 38:29 Lit. Breach or Breakthrough
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
