Verses 1-5 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. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. 3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. 4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. 5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.
Judah left home and got into trouble when he was away from his family. Adullam was a place, but this writer does not know exactly where it was located. The name means “justice of the people”. Hirah’s name means “a noble race”. So on the surface it would seem that Judah was in a good place with a good man. But Judah caved in to the lust of the flesh when he saw Shuah, a Canaanite, and he had a sexual relationship with her that resulted in his firstborn son, Er. It must be assumed that Judah kept Shuah as his wife as two other sons followed, but it is not known if Judah took her back to his family or if they set up house in Adullam. The name Shuah means “wealth”, and the name Er means “awake”. Judah’s second son was Onan and his name means “strong”. Shelah’s name means “a petition”.
Verses 6-7 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. 7 And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
Remember that it was Judah who suggested his brothers sell Joseph into slavery rather that just kill him so that they could make a profit. So Judah, unfortunately, was a wicked man and trouble followed him into his family relationships, his firstborn son being so wicked that God killed him.
Verses 8-10 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. 9 And Onan knew that the seed should 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 that he should give seed to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.
Here is recorded for the first time the practice of a brother taking a dead brother’s wife as his own in order to produce a son or heir for the dead brother. Onan wanted his own son and heir and so he behaved deceptively according to the family trait in order to avoid Tamar birthing a son for the departed Er. God disapproved and so He killed him also. One has to wonder how Tamar was taking all the losses of the men in her life.
Application: The Scripture states, “And the thing which he did displeased the LORD:” Why? God is pro life. He creates it. Every ovum and every sperm cell contains the necessary material for life. Wasting it in the manner that Onan did was wasting the precious life that God created. Children are a gift from the LORD. Onan was making the sexual act between a man and his wife and the gift of reproduction a mockery.
Verse 11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
Remember that in Biblical days a woman’s worth was tied to her marriage and her ability to produce children. Without children, Tamar would not have sons to care for her when she was old. Tamar was forced to return to her parents’ house and live as a widow when Judah could have given her her freedom and his permission to marry elsewhere. She was basically a prisoner of time, waiting for Shelah to grow up into manhood.
Verses 12-14 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. 14 And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
Tamar was weary of wearing widows garments. She wanted a husband and children of her own so she came up with a plan. She realized that Judah was not going to let his one remaining son marry her for fear of God slaying him.
Verses 15-19 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. 16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, 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? 17 And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? 18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. 19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
Tamar, like the sons of Israel, resorted to deception to get what she wanted.
Verses 20-23 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not. 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. 22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. 23 And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
Judah was mystified that his “harlot” could not be found and that no one in the area had seen a harlot. He felt that he had sent the kid as payment, and if she wasn’t there to receive it, then he was innocent of any wrongdoing.
Application: So often, people think that they can just buy their way out of trouble with money or gifts. They forget that God sees all of their sin and that there will always be consequences for actions taken outside of the will of God.
Verse 24 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 also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.
The Hebrew word for whoredom is “zanuwn”, pronounced as zaw noon, and it means fornication, adultery or prostitution. Judah, being self righteous, condemned Tamar for her sexual behavior while justifying his adultery and fornication because he had paid for the privilege. Without even hearing her story he judged her, found her guilty, and wanted to execute her and her unborn child with fire.
Application: Why is the story of Joseph interrupted with this chapter about Judah and his wicked behavior? After all, Judah was the father of the tribe of Judah from whom the Lord Jesus Christ was born, Mary and Joseph being of the tribe of Judah. Why does God show the failings of this man when He plans to send the Savior of the world into this tribe? Think about it.
Verses 25-26 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 bracelets, and staff. 26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.
Tamar produced the items to prove that Judah was indeed the father of her child, and he had no choice but to let her go.
Verses 27-30 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. 29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. 30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.
Pharez became the son of Judah from which Joseph, the husband of Mary, descended. His name means “breach”. Note that God gave Tamar twins in place of the two husbands He had killed. These boys would care for Tamar when they were old enough to do so and they would care for her when she was in her senior years.