John Calvin Commentary Genesis 38

And it came to pass at that time, that Judah. Before Moses proceeds in relating the history of Joseph, he inserts the genealogy of Judah, to which he devotes more labor, because the Redeemer was to derive his origin from that source; for the continuous history of that tribe, from which salvation was to be bought, could not remain unknown without loss.

And yet its glorious nobility is not celebrated here; instead, the greatest disgrace of the family is exposed. What is related here, far from inflating the minds of the sons of Judah, should rather cover them with shame. Now, although at first glance the dignity of Christ seems to be somewhat tarnished by such dishonor, yet since the “emptying” of which St. Paul speaks is also seen here, it rather contributes to his glory than detracts from it in the least degree.

1. We wrong Christ unless we consider him alone sufficient to blot out any ignominy arising from the misconduct of his ancestors, which gives unbelievers cause for offense.

2. We know that the riches of God’s grace shine chiefly in this: that Christ clothed himself in our flesh, intending to make himself of no reputation.

3. It was fitting that the race from which he sprang should be dishonored by reproaches, so that we, being content with him alone, might seek nothing besides him; indeed, that we might not seek earthly splendor in him, since carnal ambition is always too much inclined to such a course.

So, we may notice these two things: first, that peculiar honor was given to the tribe of Judah, which had been divinely elected as the source from which the salvation of the world should flow; and secondly, that the narrative of Moses is by no means honorable to the persons of whom he speaks, so that the Jews have no right to arrogate anything to themselves or to their fathers.

Meanwhile, let us remember that Christ derives no glory from his ancestors, and even that he himself has no glory in the flesh, but that his chief and most illustrious triumph was on the cross. Moreover, so that we may not be offended by the stains with which his ancestry was defiled, let us understand that by his infinite purity they were all cleansed, just as the sun, by absorbing whatever impurities are in the earth and air, purges the world.

And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite. I am not satisfied with the interpretation that some give of “merchant” for the word Canaanite. For Moses charges Judah with perverse lust, because he took a wife from that nation with which the children of Abraham were divinely commanded to be in perpetual strife.

For neither he nor his other brothers were ignorant that they sojourned in the land of Canaan under the stipulation that afterwards their enemies were to be cut off and destroyed, so that they might possess the promised dominion over it. Moses, therefore, justly regards it as a fault that Judah should entangle himself in a forbidden alliance; and the Lord, eventually, cursed the offspring thus resulting for Judah, so that the prince and head of the tribe of Judah might not be born, nor Christ himself descend, from this union.

This also should be counted among the trials of Jacob’s patience: that a wicked grandson was born to him through Judah, whose sin Jacob was not ignorant of. Moses says that the youth was cut off by the vengeance of God. The same thing is not said of others whom a sudden death has swept away in the flower of their age.

I do not doubt, therefore, that the wickedness for which death was the immediate punishment was extraordinary and known to all people. And although this trial was in itself severe for the holy patriarch, yet nothing tormented his mind more than the thought that he could scarcely hope for God’s promise to be so confirmed that the inheritance of grace would remain in the possession of wicked and abandoned men.

It is true that a large family of children is regarded as a source of human happiness. But this was the particular circumstance of the holy patriarch: though God had promised him a chosen and blessed seed, he now saw an accursed progeny increase and spring up alongside his offspring, which might destroy the expected grace.

It is said, that Er was wicked in the sight of the Lord, (Genesis 38:7). Nevertheless, his iniquity was not hidden from people. Moses, however, means that he was not merely infected with common vices, but rather was so addicted to crimes, that he was intolerable in the sight of God.

And the Lord slew him. We know that long life is counted among the gifts of God, and justly: for since being created in the image of God is by no means an insignificant honor, the longer anyone lives in the world and daily experiences God’s care for him, it is certain that he is more bountifully dealt with by the Lord.

Even amid the many miseries with which life is filled, this divine goodness still shines forth, that God invites us to himself and trains us in the knowledge of himself; while at the same time he adorns us with such dignity that he subjects to our authority whatever is in the world.

Therefore, it is no wonder that God, as an act of kindness, prolongs human life. From this it follows that when the wicked are taken away by a premature death, a punishment for their wickedness is inflicted upon them: for it is as if the Lord pronounces judgment from heaven that they are unworthy to be sustained by the earth, unworthy to enjoy the common light of heaven.

Let us therefore learn, as long as God keeps us in the world, to meditate on his benefits, so that everyone may more cheerfully endeavor to give praise to God for the life received from him.

And although, even today, sudden death is to be counted among the scourges of God (since that doctrine is always true: Bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days (Psalms 55:23)), yet God executed this judgment more fully under the Law, when the knowledge of a future life was comparatively obscure. For now, since the resurrection is clearly manifested to us in Christ, death should not be so greatly dreaded. And this difference between us and the ancient people of God is noted elsewhere.

Nevertheless, it can never be stated as a general rule that those who had a long life were thereby proved to be pleasing and acceptable to the Lord, whereas God has sometimes lengthened the life of reprobates to aggravate their punishment. We know that Cain survived his brother Abel for many centuries.

But just as God does not always, and for all people, cause his temporal benefits to flow clearly in a perpetual and consistent course, so, on the other hand, neither does he always execute temporal punishments by the same rule. It is enough that, as far as the present life is concerned, certain examples of punishments and rewards are set before us.

Moreover, just as the miseries of the present life, which spring from the corruption of nature, do not extinguish the first and special grace of God, so, on the other hand, death (which is in itself the curse of God) is so far from causing any harm that it tends, by a supernatural remedy, to the salvation of the elect.

Especially now, since the first-fruits of the resurrection in Christ have been offered, the condition of those who are swiftly taken from life is in no way worsened, because Christ himself is gain both in life and in death. But the vengeance of God was so clear and remarkable in the death of Er that the earth might plainly appear to have been purged of its filthiness.

Go in unto thy brother’s wife. Although no law had previously been prescribed concerning a surviving brother marrying his deceased brother's wife to raise up children for the one who had died, it is, nevertheless, not surprising that, by the mere instinct of nature, men would have been inclined to this practice.

For since each person is born for the preservation of the whole race, if anyone dies without children, this seems to indicate some defect of nature. Therefore, it was considered an act of humanity to secure a name for the dead, so that it might be evident that they had lived.

Now, the sole reason the children born to the surviving brother were to be credited to the one who had died was so that there might be no barren branch in the family; and in this way they removed the stigma of childlessness. Besides, since the woman is given as a helper to the man, when any woman married into a family, she was, in a certain sense, committed to the name of that family.

According to this reasoning, Tamar was not entirely free, but was held under an obligation to the house of Judah to bear children. Now, although this did not stem from any rule of piety, yet the Lord had impressed it upon human hearts as a duty of humanity, just as He later commanded it to the Jews in their societal laws.

From this, we infer the wickedness of Onan, who envied his deceased brother this honor and would not allow him to obtain the title of father; and this brought dishonor upon the whole family.

We see that many people allow their own sons to be adopted by friends; it was, therefore, an outrageous act of cruelty for Onan to deny his own brother what is sometimes granted even to strangers. Moreover, he not only deprived his brother of the right due to him, but he chose instead to spill his seed on the ground rather than raise up a son in his brother’s name.

And the thing which he did displeased the LORD. The Jews speak less delicately about this matter. I will content myself with briefly mentioning this, as far as a sense of decency permits discussion. It is a horrible thing to pour out seed outside of intercourse between a man and a woman.

Deliberately avoiding intercourse, so that the seed falls on the ground, is doubly horrible. For this means that one extinguishes the hope of his family and kills the son who could be expected, before he is born. This wickedness is now condemned by the Spirit through Moses as severely as possible: that Onan, as it were, through a violent and untimely birth, tore away his brother's seed from the womb and, in a manner as cruel as it was shameful, has thrown it on the earth.

Moreover, in this way, as much as was in his power, he tried to destroy a part of the human race. When a woman in some way expels the seed from the womb through artificial means, this is rightly seen as an unforgivable crime. Onan was guilty of a similar crime by defiling the earth with his seed, so that Tamar would not receive a future inheritor.