Genesis
38:1 ¶ 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. 6 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. 8
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. 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.
If
you recall, the excuse that Rebekah used for sending Jacob away was the concern
about the daughters of Heth, Canaanite women, from whom Esau selected his
wives. Here, Judah, who we now know as being in Christ’s genealogy rather than
his elder brother Reuben, has relations with a Canaanite woman, the daughter of
Shuah. She bore him three sons; Er, Onan, and Shelah. Judah arranged a wife for
Er, named Tamar, but God killed Er who was wicked.
Judah’s
command to Onan to father children by his dead brother’s wife comes to us in a
modern word for the system called a Levirate.
In a society where women have no political and little economic power this
system can provide a protector and offspring, a male child being the only
support in old age for a widow. More importantly to Judah and Onan in this
culture the system provides for a man’s physical lineage to continue by his
brother being a proxy. Compare, if you will, the similar action of a woman
providing her maid as a surrogate wife to bear children for her husband as we
have already discussed. The Levirate has been practiced in several African
cultures, as well.
Onan
resented his duty to provide offspring in his brother’s place and practiced a
form of birth control we call Coitus
Interruptus but has been known, because of this Bible character, as Onanism, named after Onan, came to mean
any sexual act that was not meant to produce offspring. This even was carried
over into birth control which was considered a sin in parts of our culture
still not long ago. Onan’s unwillingness to obey his father invoked God’s
displeasure. Onan clearly knew that Er was the firstborn and any child
considered his would be the heir of Er and his father, Judah’s, wealth, in the
main. We see later in the Law given to Moses how standards of long practice are
confirmed by God. In this case the Levirate will be called for in the Law given
to Moses.
Deuteronomy
25:5 ¶ If brethren dwell together, and
one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry
without unto a stranger: her husband’s brother shall go in unto her, and take
her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband’s brother unto her.
6 And it shall be, that the firstborn
which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that
his name be not put out of Israel. 7 And
if the man like not to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go
up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband’s brother refuseth to raise
up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my
husband’s brother. 8 Then the elders of
his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I
like not to take her; 9 Then shall his brother’s
wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off
his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done
unto that man that will not build up his brother’s house. 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The
house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
This
is evident in the book of Job, for instance, in seeing that people knew God’s
standard long before the Law was given. Many of the Laws God gave to Moses were
not new things but the reinforcement of old standards along with new commands
separating the Hebrews from the behavior of the Canaanites.
Christ,
the Redeemer of mankind, will come through Judah so there is some importance
here that goes beyond simply rebelling against your father’s wishes so that you
inherit all rather than your dead brother’s heir that you helped make.
God
kills Onan. Who knows how? A heart attack, an aneurysm, or some other of the
million or so ways that God uses to end our physical lives, takes him. Judah
tells his unfortunate and perhaps traumatized daughter-in-law, Tamar, to live
in his house until his youngest and only remaining son, Shelah, is old enough
to secure an offspring. Now, the story gets even stranger, if that were
possible. This story was certainly not invented by someone trying to glorify an
ancestor or justify a leader’s position of authority. It is remarkably
disgusting as some Bible stories tend to be. It certainly isn’t how you or I
would write Christ’s lineage unless we were simply reporting the unpleasant and
unvarnished truth.
One
thing that this story represents is how God makes a plan out of the wreck and
unseemly life you create for yourself. For all of your wickedness you cannot
thwart God’s will.
Genesis
38:12 ¶ 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. 15
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. 20 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.
Tamar,
promised Shelah, is ignored. This culture is rather bizarre to us but certain
economic factors should be considered, particularly the powerlessness of women.
Tamar concocted a plan to have a child, a plan which we find, at best, strange
and very objectionable morally. She disguised herself as a prostitute would
look and went to Timnath where Judah was shearing sheep. Covering her face, an
action that, in some modern cultures has come to mean severe modesty, signified
her then as a harlot. Notice how it was an act of modesty with Rebekah in
24:65.
When
he negotiated with her a price for her services she demanded of him some things
that would definitely be identified as belonging to him as a deposit until he
could send her a kid of his goats. After the deed was done she went back to
being Tamar, the widow of Onan and Er. Judah could not find her and witnesses
denied there ever was a prostitute there, a harlot. Judah then acknowledged
that he had done his part to make good on the deal and decided to leave things
as they were.
Lest
an unbalanced, carnal, or wicked person think that this passage justifies men
going to prostitutes as being acceptable to God let us examine something
important. First, it is vital to a clear understanding of reality as explained
in the Bible that God permits man to do many things man wants to do that are
against God’s preferences and standards but that none of man’s moves can
prevent God’s ultimate will from being accomplished. Women had no political
power in this culture. A woman had to accomplish her wishes sometimes by being
clever or subtle or appealing to a man’s sense of ego or honor. Woman was no
longer Adam’s helper, worthy or meet to
be his partner or as would be said later, his fellow heir in the grace of life
as in 1Peter 3:7 or equal to him in God’s eyes as in Galatians 3:28. Woman had
become a servant, a pack animal, not much better than an oven in which to
create the next generation, preferably of men.
Finally,
there are enough admonitions about adultery that harlotry and prostitution are
clearly not acceptable behavior. Although God will use a harlot in His ministry
of reconciliation of man to Himself such as Rahab of Jericho (Joshua 2:1) the
behavior is proscribed as adultery and fornication are forbidden (for adultery
see Exodus 20:14).
Judah
has had sexual relations with his daughter-in-law, unknowingly, but things will
become even more complicated in a short time. Judah followed the impulses of
his culture in comforting himself with whom he thought was a harlot when his
wife died and Tamar did what she thought she must do to secure a child,
hopefully a son, lest she be a widow for the rest of her life in Judah’s
household. We know in life that human beings often do things that were better
done differently and yet God uses them anyway. This is one argument against
both abortion and suicide. No matter how you got here or what you are or have
done God can and will give you a special purpose in His plans.
This
passage is a warning to us to be careful of viewing cultural references or
desperation as doctrine or to think since it is reported must mean that it is
approved by God lest someone think this activity is acceptable behavior for a
Christian. Just because a preacher declares, “It’s Bible!” does not mean that
something written is doctrine or even good. Just look at the context.
As
Miles Coverdale wrote in the introduction to his Bible translation in the
1500s, “It
will greatly help you to understand scripture if you note – no only what is
spoken and written, but of whom and to whom, with what words, at what time,
where, to what intent, with what circumstances, considering what goes before
and what follows."[1]
Genesis
38:24 ¶ 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. 25
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. 27 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.
Tamar
is three months pregnant with Judah’s child. An accusation has been made to
Judah that she had done wrong and Judah, who had denied her his youngest son in
spite of his promise, wants “justice” to be done and she is to be killed.
Clearly, in this culture, as in most on earth, the cards are not dealt in the
same manner to men and women. Judah’s use of a harlot is no big deal but
Tamar’s supposed indiscretion is worthy of death.
But,
Tamar has a surprise for Judah. She brings out the items that he had given her,
supposing her to be a harlot, as surety against her payment. It is then that
Judah is slapped with the truth of his own egregious behavior. Judah admits
about Tamar;
…She
hath been more righteous than I…
Judah
was not angry at Tamar’s deception but acknowledged that he had been in error
in not giving her his son as he had promised. One can only wonder at how many
women in this culture paid the price for a powerful man’s behavior. Although
Tamar was not raped it is nothing today for a woman in certain Muslim regions
who has been raped even to be executed herself by the village for the crime
committed against her. The fact that the writer, Moses, was led by the Holy
Spirit to include that Judah did not use Tamar again in like manner shows that
the possibility of her becoming a plaything or concubine for him was a
possibility in this culture.
Travail refers
to the process of giving birth in verse 27. For confirmation see;
Jeremiah
4:31 For I have heard a voice as of a
woman in travail, and the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first
child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that bewaileth herself, that
spreadeth her hands, saying, Woe is me now! for my soul is wearied because of
murderers.
Pharez,
spelled Phares in the New Testament, was not the one that was expected to come
out first, to be the first born, but he was. He is in the genealogical line of
Christ, not Zarah.
Matthew
1:3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of
Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
Luke
3:33 Which was the son of Aminadab,
which was the son of Aram, which was the son of Esrom, which was the son of
Phares, which was the son of Juda,
Zarah
stuck his arm out first and a scarlet thread was tied to it, but it was Pharez
who actually came out. There are many sermons to be made about this birth and
many things can be said about it. For our purposes, in fleshing out the
narrative of God’s ministry of reconciliation of mankind to Himself, the old
saying goes, “Man proposes, but God disposes.” Christ did not come in the
manner the Jews would prefer, as a noble ruler, perhaps a Pharisee, holding
court in king’s palaces with the Gentiles coming to Him for His wisdom and
approval. He came from a poor background, the physical son of common parents,
not aristocrats. What man chooses, indeed, what he holds in high regard, God
regards with contempt.
Luke
16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they
which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that
which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Zarah
was chosen by Tamar’s mid-wife but Phares was chosen by God to play the part he
played in Christ’s lineage without having any will to choose anything himself.
Notice
how God’s ministry of reconciliation starts and works through one man or woman
at a time. It is only in the very end that Christ comes to take the kingdoms of
the world. Right now, they are under Satan’s, the god of this world, control
(2Corinthians 4:4) and His own people rejected Him.
John
1:10 He was in the world, and the world
was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
Mark
12:10 And have ye not read this
scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the
corner:
Tamar
says, in surprise, this breach be upon
thee which gives us the meaning of his name and points out that Christ did
not come to unite mankind but to divide them, the sheep from the goats; those
who would trust God and follow Him and those who would worship themselves and
the god of this world through their own hearts.
Matthew
10:34 Think not that I am come to send
peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Luke
12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give
peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: 52 For from henceforth there shall be five in
one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 53 The father shall be divided against the son,
and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the
daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and
the daughter in law against her mother in law.
So,
now, in Christ’s lineage we have a man who is the product of a sexual liaison
between a woman and her father-in-law. Not very appropriate from our perspective
but clearly showing that the human side of Christ’s lineage contains imperfect
people, sinners like He came to save.
A
scarlet thread will also come into
play in Joshua, chapter 2, for a much different reason.
The
Holy Spirit, through Moses, now takes us back to the narrative about Joseph’s
experiences in Egypt.
[1]
Miles
Coverdale, in his introduction to his Bible translation from George Pearson,
ed, 'Remains of Myles Coverdale, Bishop of Exeter,' (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge
University Press, 1846), 15. https://openlibrary.org/works/OL6580147W/Remains_of_Myles_Coverdale_..._Containing_Prologues_to_the_translation_of_the_Bible
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