Genesis 38
KJ3 Literal Translation — Chapter 38 of 50
Chapter Summary
1 Judah begets Er, Onan, and Shelah. 6 Er marries Tamar. 13 Posing as a prostitute she deceives Judah, for he has promised Shelah to her. 27 She bears twins, Pharez and Zarah.
Key Hebrew Words
People & Context
Jacob's son who marries a Canaanite, withholds Shelah from Tamar, and unknowingly fathers her twins
Judah's daughter-in-law who disguises herself to secure offspring and is judged more righteous than Judah
Judah's second son who refuses levirate duty to Tamar and is put to death by Jehovah
Judah's first-born and Tamar's husband; evil in Jehovah's eyes and put to death
Judah's third son, promised to Tamar but withheld from her
Judah's friend, the Adullamite, sent to deliver the kid and recover the pledge
Timeline
Judah leaves his brothers and turns aside to an Adullamite named Hirah. He marries a Canaanite woman, Shuah's daughter, who bears him three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah.
Genesis 38:1-5Judah takes Tamar as a wife for Er, but Er is evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah causes him to die. Judah tells Onan to marry Er's widow and raise seed for his brother, but Onan refuses, spilling his semen on the ground, which is evil in God's eyes, and God causes him to die too.
Genesis 38:6-10Judah tells Tamar to remain a widow in her father's house until Shelah grows, fearing he might also die. After Judah's wife dies, Tamar hears he is going to Timnah to shear his sheep. She removes her widow's robes, covers herself with a veil, and disguises herself as a prostitute, sitting by the roadway. Judah, thinking her a prostitute, proposes to her, promising a kid from his flock. She demands a pledge: his signet ring, bracelet, and staff. He gives them to her, and she conceives by him.
Genesis 38:11-18Read Genesis 38 in the KJ3 Reader
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