Albert Barnes Commentary Genesis 38:1-30

"And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. And he took her, and went in unto her. And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. And she yet again bare a son, and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. And Judah took a wife for Er his first-born, and her name was Tamar. And Er, Judah`s first-born, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah. And Jehovah slew him. And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother`s wife, and perform the duty of a husband`s brother unto her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother`s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and he slew him also. Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow in thy father`s house, till Shelah my son be grown up; for he said, Lest he also die, like his brethren. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father`s house. And in process of time Shua`s daughter, the wife of Judah, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheep-shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnah to shear his sheep. And she put off from her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given unto him to wife. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; for she had covered her face. And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Come, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee: for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet and thy cord, and thy staff that is in thy hand. And he gave them to her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. And she arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman`s hand: but he found her not. Then he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There hath been no prostitute here. And he returned to Judah, and said, I have not found her; and also the men of the place said, There hath been no prostitute here. And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be put to shame: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter-in-law hath played the harlot; and moreover, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and the cords, and the staff. And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She is more righteous than I; forasmuch as I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it came to pass, when she travailed, that one put out a hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, Wherefore hast thou made a breach for thyself? Therefore his name was called Perez. And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zerah." — Genesis 38:1-30 (ASV)

• 1. עדלם ‛ ǎdûllâm, Adullam, “righteousness.” חירה chı̂yrâh, Chirah, “nobility?”

• 2. שׁוּע shûa‛ — Shua‛, “luck, riches, cry.”

• 3. ער ‛ êr, Er, “watching.”

• 4. אונן ’ônân — Onan, “strong.”

• 5. שׁלה shēlâh — Shelah, “request? rest.” כזיב kezı̂b, Kezib, “falsehood.”

• 6. תמר tāmār — Tamar, “palm.”

• 12. תמנה tı̂mnâh — Timnah, “counted or assigned.”

• 14. עינים ’êynayı̂m — Enaim, “two fountains.”

• 29. פרץ perets — Perez, “breach.”

This unusual narrative is an episode in the history of Joseph, but an integral part of the “generations” of Jacob. It is loosely dated with the phrase “at that time.” This phrase does not indicate a sequel to the preceding record; the proper expression for that is “after these things” (אחר הדברים האלה 'achar hadebarim ha'eleh, Genesis 22:1). Instead, it implies a series of events that began in the past, some time before the closing incident of the previous narrative (Genesis 21:22).

The sale of Joseph, which is the sole event recorded in the last chapter, occupied only a few weeks or months of a year. Therefore, the circumstances described in this account of Judah’s family must have originated before that event.

The date “at that time” is also made indefinite by its connection to the phrase, “And it came to pass,” which covers at least all the events in the first eleven verses of the chapter.

All this is in accordance with the customary method of arranging parallel lines of events in Hebrew narrative. We will later see reason for placing the birth of Er as early as possible in Judah’s life (Genesis 46:12). Now Judah, we understand, was born when his father was eighty-seven, and Joseph when he was ninety-one; hence, there is a difference of about four years in their ages.

We suppose Er was born in Judah’s fourteenth year, when Joseph and Dinah were in their tenth year. This would be about three years before the rape of Dinah, and shortly after Jacob arrived at the town of Shekem. The dishonor of Dinah and the cruel treatment of Joseph, being of essential importance in the course of events, had to be recorded in the main line of events.

The beginning of Judah’s family history, having no particular influence on the main current of events, is appropriately reserved until all the circumstances could be presented together in a connected narrative. The private history of Judah’s line is given, while that of the others is omitted, simply because the promised seed descended from him.

As soon as Jacob settled in the promised land, contact with Hebron and its neighborhood seems to have begun. A clear proof of this is the presence of Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, in Jacob’s family (Genesis 35:8). The main road from Damascus to Egypt runs through Shekem and Hebron. We know that when Jacob was living at Hebron, his sons pastured their flocks at Shekem and Dothan, and the young Joseph was sent to inquire about their welfare.

(Genesis 38:1–11)

Judah marries and has three sons. The phrase Went down from his brethren seems to describe an act of willful indiscretion on Judah’s part. His separation from his brothers, however, extended only to the matter of his new connection.

Regarding property and employment, there seems to have been no long or complete separation until they went down into Egypt. He went down from the high ground around Shekem to the lowlands where Adullam was situated (Joshua 15:33–35). He encountered a certain Adullamite. He may have become acquainted with this Hirah when visiting his grandfather, in some of the caravans constantly passing Shekem, or even during the ordinary wanderings of pastoral life.

Adullam was in the Shephelah, or lowland of Judah, bordering on Philistia proper. Judah also saw a certain Kenaanite. This connection with Shua’s daughter was contrary to the will of God and the example of his forefathers. We understand Onan was born in Judah’s fifteenth year, and Shelah in his sixteenth.

At Kezib. – This appears to be the same as Akzib, which is associated with Keilah and Mareshah (Joshua 15:44), and therefore lay in the south of the lowland of Judah. This note of place indicates a change of residence since her other children were born. In the year after this birth, the dishonor of Dinah takes place.

Concerning the phrase Took a wife for Er, Judah chose a wife for himself at an early age, and now he chooses one for his firstborn at a similar age. Regarding Er, it is written, Was evil in the eyes of the Lord. The God of the covenant was obliged to cut off Er for his wickedness in the prime of life.

(Genesis 38:12–23)

We are not informed of his crime, but it could scarcely be more vile and unnatural than that for which his brother Onan was also put to death. Concerning the instruction, And be a husband to her, the original word means to act as a husband to the widow of a deceased brother who has left no children. Onan seems to have been prompted to commit his crime by the base motive of diverting the entire inheritance to his own household.

At the time of Er’s death, Judah must have been in his twenty-seventh year; Joseph was consequently in his twenty-third, and Jacob had maintained his headquarters at Hebron for the past ten years. Hence, contact with Timnah, Adullam, and Enaim was easy.

(Genesis 38:24–30)

Judah now enters into criminal and, though unknown to him, incestuous sexual intercourse with Tamar. The phrase And many were the days signifies a year or somewhat more. He went To Timnah. This town is about twenty miles northwest of Hebron, though there is another Timnah in the hills about seven miles south of Hebron.

Tamar Put on a veil, to conceal her face from Judah or any other beholder. She sat at The qate of Enaim, which is supposed to be the same as Enam (Joshua 15:34). Judah promised her his signet And thy lace—this lace being the cord by which the signet was suspended around his neck. The term used for her, Courtesan, comes from the original word קדשׁה qedeshah, meaning one consecrated to the worship of Ashtoreth, a worship in which chastity was sacrificed.

Tamar bears Perez and Zerah to Judah. After three months, her pregnancy was evident. Judah declared, Let her be burnt. It is clear that Judah had the power to carry out this punishment; the life of his son’s widow was in his hands.

Under the law of Moses, stoning was the prescribed method of punishment (Deuteronomy 22:20–24), with burning used only in aggravated cases (Leviticus 20:14; Leviticus 21:9). Judah acts as a severe judge in a case where he is equally criminal.

Upon discovering the truth, Judah says, She hath been more righteous than I. Tamar was less culpable in this matter than Judah, for he was moved by lust to commit fornication and was the indirect cause of Tamar’s conduct by withholding Shelah. However, Tamar, though wronged, was not blameless in her method of seeking justice.

Judah’s youthful indiscretion in arranging an intermarriage with a Canaanitish family, without the agreement of his brothers or his father, had been productive of much crime. If this immorality were to continue, the chosen family would be rapidly absorbed into the surrounding paganism.

Hence, we begin to see the necessity of an immediate removal to another land, where they might be kept more distinct from the native superstition. Through Tamar’s disclosure, Judah is brought to acknowledge his fault and, we may infer, to repentance. His abstaining from all further sexual intercourse with her can be accepted as proof of this.

Regarding the birth, the mention of A scarlet thread highlights that the right of primogeniture here shows its importance. The name Perez means “a breach.” Slight incidents often become the basis for names and are frequently the turning points on which great events depend. The smallest details connected with the ancestors of the promised seed hold a lasting interest.

Judah was at the end of his twenty-ninth year when Perez and Zerah were born. The dates in his family history can be arranged as shown below, based on the supposition that the first child was born when the father was in his fourteenth year. This hypothesis is reasonably permissible when we consider not only other cases but also Judah’s early willfulness and the example he set for his children.

The command to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 35:11), which was given especially to Jacob, may also have tended to encourage early marriages. It is certain that the Jewish rabbis considered a man to have transgressed a divine precept if he passed the age of twenty without being married. They also fixed the marriageable age for males at thirteen years and one day.

King Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah when he was not more than twelve (2 Kings 16:2; 2 Kings 18:2); and King Josiah was the father of Jehoiakim when he was fourteen years of age (2 Kings 22:1; 2 Kings 23:36).

• Judah 13 years 6 months when Er was born.

• Judah 14 years 4 months when Onan was born.

• Judah 15 years 3 months when Shelah was born.

• Judah 28 years 9 months when Perez was born.

• Judah 42 years 3 months when Hezron was born to Perez.

• Judah 43 years 2 months when Hamul was born.