38:15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute 1 because she had covered her face. 38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” 2 (He did not realize 3 it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” 4 38:17 He replied, “I’ll send you a young goat from the flock.” She asked, “Will you give me a pledge until you send it?” 5 38:18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?” She replied, “Your seal, your cord, and the staff that’s in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had sex with her. 6 She became pregnant by him. 38:19 She left immediately, 7 removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.
38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah 8 the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, 9 but Hirah 10 could not find her. 38:21 He asked the men who were there, 11 “Where is the cult prostitute 12 who was at Enaim by the road?” But they replied, “There has been no cult prostitute here.”
1 tn Heb “he reckoned her for a prostitute,” which was what Tamar had intended for him to do. She obviously had some idea of his inclinations, or she would not have tried this risky plan.
2 tn Heb “I will go to you.” The imperfect verbal form probably indicates his desire here. The expression “go to” is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
3 tn Heb “for he did not know that.”
4 tn Heb “when you come to me.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
3 tn Heb “until you send.”
4 tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
5 tn Heb “and she arose and left,” the first verb in the pair emphasizing that she wasted no time.
6 tn Heb “sent by the hand of his friend.” Here the name of the friend (“Hirah”) has been included in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand.”
8 tn Heb “he”; the referent (Judah’s friend Hirah the Adullamite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7 tn Heb “the men of her place,” that is, who lived at the place where she had been.
8 sn The Hebrew noun translated “cult prostitute” is derived from a verb meaning “to be set apart; to be distinct.” Thus the term refers to a woman who did not marry, but was dedicated to temple service as a cult prostitute. The masculine form of this noun is used for male cult prostitutes. Judah thought he had gone to an ordinary prostitute (v. 15); but Hirah went looking for a cult prostitute, perhaps because it had been a sheep-shearing festival. For further discussion see E. M. Yamauchi, “Cultic Prostitution,” Orient and Occident (AOAT), 213-23.