Judah Turns Aside
38 1 About that time, Judah left his brothers and went to stay with a man from Adullam named Hirah. 2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and slept with her. 3 She became pregnant and gave birth to a son, and Judah named him Er. 4 She became pregnant again and gave birth to a son, and she named him Onan. 5 She gave birth to yet another son and named him Shelah. She was at Chezib when he was born. 6 Judah took a wife for his firstborn son Er; her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of our Father, and our Father put him to death. 8 Then Judah said to Onan, "Sleep with your brother's wife and do your duty as her brother-in-law, and give your brother children." a a v8 By ancient custom, a man whose brother died childless fathered a child with the widow to carry on the brother’s name — the duty Onan refused. 9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his own, so whenever he slept with his brother's wife, he spilled his seed on the ground so that he would not give his brother a child. 10 What he did was evil in the sight of our Father, and he put him to death also. 11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Remain a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up" — for he thought, "He too may die like his brothers." So Tamar went and lived in her father's house.
12 After a long time, Judah's wife — the daughter of Shua — died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to Timnah, where his sheep were being sheared. 13 Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." 14 So she took off her widow's garments, covered herself with a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah — for she saw that Shelah had grown up but she had not been given to him as a wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, because she had covered her face. 16 He went over to her by the road and said, "Let me sleep with you" — for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, "What will you give me to sleep with you?"
17 He said, "I will send you a young goat from the flock." She said, "Will you give me a pledge until you send it?"
18 He said, "What pledge shall I give you?" She said, "Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand." So he gave them to her, slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.
19 Then she got up and went away. She took off her veil and put on her widow's garments again. 20 When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to get back the pledge from the woman, he could not find her. 21 He asked the men who lived there, "Where is the shrine prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?" They said, "There has been no shrine prostitute here."
22 So he returned to Judah and said, "I could not find her, and the men of that place said there has been no shrine prostitute there." 23 Then Judah said, "Let her keep them for herself, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I sent her this young goat, but you did not find her."
24 About three months later, Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has acted like a prostitute, and now she is pregnant from it." Then Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned!"
25 As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law: "I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong. Please identify whose seal and cord and staff these are."
26 Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he never slept with her again.
27 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. 28 While she was giving birth, one of them put out a hand. The midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his hand, saying, "This one came out first." 29 But as he drew his hand back, his brother came out — and she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" So he was named Perez. b b v29 Perez — whose name means 'a breach' — becomes the ancestor of King David and, through David, of Jesus (Matthew 1:3, Ruth 4:18-22). Our Father weaves the line of his Son through the most unlikely chapter, honoring Tamar's faithfulness and beginning the lineage that ends at the manger. 30 Then his brother came out, the one with the scarlet thread on his hand. And he was named Zerah. c c v30 The name Zerah is linked to "brightness" or "dawning."