1Por essa época, Judá deixou seus irmãos e passou a viver na casa de um homem de Adulão, chamado Hira.2Ali Judá encontrou a filha de um cananeu chamado Suá e casou-se com ela. Ele a possuiu,3ela engravidou e deu à luz um filho, ao qual ele deu o nome de Er.4Tornou a engravidar, teve um filho e deu-lhe o nome de Onã.5Quando estava em Quezibe, ela teve ainda outro filho e chamou-o Selá.6Judá escolheu uma mulher chamada Tamar para Er, seu filho mais velho.7Mas o SENHOR reprovou a conduta perversa de Er, filho mais velho de Judá, e por isso o matou.8Então Judá disse a Onã: “Case-se com a mulher do seu irmão, cumpra as suas obrigações de cunhado para com ela e dê uma descendência a seu irmão”.9Mas Onã sabia que a descendência não seria sua; assim, toda vez que possuía a mulher do seu irmão, derramava o sêmen no chão para evitar que seu irmão tivesse descendência.10O SENHOR reprovou o que ele fazia, e por isso o matou também.11Disse então Judá à sua nora Tamar: “More como viúva na casa de seu pai até que o meu filho Selá cresça”, porque temia que ele viesse a morrer, como os seus irmãos. Assim Tamar foi morar na casa do pai.12Tempos depois morreu a mulher de Judá, filha de Suá. Passado o luto, Judá foi ver os tosquiadores do seu rebanho em Timna com o seu amigo Hira, o adulamita.13Quando foi dito a Tamar: “Seu sogro está a caminho de Timna para tosquiar suas ovelhas”,14ela trocou suas roupas de viúva, cobriu-se com um véu para se disfarçar e foi sentar-se à entrada de Enaim, que fica no caminho de Timna. Ela fez isso porque viu que, embora Selá já fosse crescido, ela não lhe tinha sido dada em casamento.15Quando a viu, Judá pensou que fosse uma prostituta, porque ela havia encoberto o rosto.16Não sabendo que era a sua nora, dirigiu-se a ela, à beira da estrada, e disse: “Venha cá, quero deitar-me com você”. Ela lhe perguntou: “O que você me dará para deitar-se comigo?”17Disse ele: “Eu lhe mandarei um cabritinho do meu rebanho”. E ela perguntou: “Você me deixará alguma coisa como garantia até que o mande?”18Disse Judá: “Que garantia devo dar-lhe?” Respondeu ela: “O seu selo com o cordão, e o cajado que você tem na mão”. Ele os entregou e a possuiu, e Tamar engravidou dele.19Ela se foi, tirou o véu e tornou a vestir as roupas de viúva.20Judá mandou o cabritinho por meio de seu amigo adulamita, a fim de reaver da mulher sua garantia, mas ele não a encontrou,21e perguntou aos homens do lugar: “Onde está a prostituta cultual que costuma ficar à beira do caminho de Enaim?” Eles responderam: “Aqui não há nenhuma prostituta cultual”.22Assim ele voltou a Judá e disse: “Não a encontrei. Além disso, os homens do lugar disseram que lá não há nenhuma prostituta cultual”.23Disse Judá: “Fique ela com o que lhe dei. Não quero que nos tornemos objeto de zombaria. Afinal de contas, mandei a ela este cabritinho, mas você não a encontrou”.24Cerca de três meses mais tarde, disseram a Judá: “Sua nora Tamar prostituiu-se, e na sua prostituição ficou grávida”. Disse Judá: “Tragam-na para fora e queimem-na viva!”25Quando ela estava sendo levada para fora, mandou o seguinte recado ao sogro: “Estou grávida do homem que é dono destas coisas”. E acrescentou: “Veja se o senhor reconhece a quem pertencem este selo, este cordão e este cajado”.26Judá os reconheceu e disse: “Ela é mais justa do que eu, pois eu devia tê-la entregue a meu filho Selá”. E não voltou a ter relações com ela.27Quando lhe chegou a época de dar à luz, havia gêmeos em seu ventre.28Enquanto ela dava à luz, um deles pôs a mão para fora; então a parteira pegou um fio vermelho e amarrou o pulso do menino, dizendo: “Este saiu primeiro”.29Mas, quando ele recolheu a mão, seu irmão saiu, e ela disse: “Então você conseguiu uma brecha para sair!” E deu-lhe o nome de Perez.30Depois saiu seu irmão que estava com o fio vermelho no pulso, e foi-lhe dado o nome de Zerá.
1It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. (Gn 19:3; Gn 38:16; 1 Sm 22:1; 2 Sm 23:13; 2 Rs 4:8; 1 Cr 11:15; Mq 1:15)2There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, (1 Cr 2:3)3and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. (Gn 46:12; Nm 26:19)4She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. (Gn 38:3)5Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah[1] was in Chezib when she bore him. (Gn 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. (1 Cr 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.” (Dt 25:5; Mt 22:24; Mc 12:19; Lc 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. (Lv 22:13; Rt 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. (Gn 24:67; Gn 37:35; Jz 14:1; 2 Sm 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. (Gn 24:65; Gn 38:19; Gn 38:21; Gn 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. (Gn 38:25)19Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood. (Gn 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.” (Gn 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.” (Lv 21:9; Dt 22:21; Jz 19:2; Jo 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.” (Gn 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. (Gn 38:14; 1 Sm 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] (Gn 46:12; Nm 26:20; 1 Cr 2:4; Mt 1:3)30Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah. (Gn 38:29)