1And 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.2And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.3And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.4And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.5And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.6And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.7And Er, Judah' firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.8And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother' wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.9And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother' wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.10And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.11Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father' 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' house.12And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah' wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.13And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.14And she put her widow' 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.15When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.16And 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?17And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it ?18And 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.19And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.20And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman' hand: but he found her not.21Then 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 .22And 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 .23And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.24And 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.25When 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.26And 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.27And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.28And 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.29And 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.30And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.
Genesis 38
English Standard Version
Judah and Tamar
1It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. (Ge 19:3; Ge 38:16; 1Sa 22:1; 2Sa 23:13; 2Ki 4:8; 1Ch 11:15; Mic 1:15)2There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, (1Ch 2:3)3and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. (Ge 46:12; Nu 26:19)4She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. (Ge 38:3)5Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah[1] was in Chezib when she bore him. (Ge 38:3)6And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. (1Ch 2:3)8Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” (De 25:5; Mt 22:24; Mr 12:19; Lu 20:28)9But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother.10And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.11Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house. (Le 22:13; Ru 1:12)12In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. (Ge 24:67; Ge 37:35; Jud 14:1; 2Sa 13:39)13And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”14she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. (Ge 24:65; Ge 38:19; Ge 38:21; Ge 38:26)15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.16He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”17He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—”18He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. (Ge 38:25)19Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood. (Ge 38:14)20When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her.21And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute[2] who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” (Ge 38:14)22So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’”23And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.”24About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral.[3] Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.”[4] And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” (Le 21:9; De 22:21; Jud 19:2; Joh 8:5)25As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” (Ge 38:18)26Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again. (Ge 38:14; 1Sa 24:17)27When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb.28And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.”29But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez.[5] (Ge 46:12; Nu 26:20; 1Ch 2:4; Mt 1:3)30Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah. (Ge 38:29)