Genesis 38:16-18

38:16 He turned aside to her along the road and said, “Come on! I want to have sex with you.” ¹  (He did not realize ²  it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, “What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?” ³  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?” ⁴  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. ⁵  She became pregnant by him.

Ezra 9:1-2

A Prayer of Ezra

9:1 Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents ⁶  who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 9:2 Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race ⁷  has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this!”

[38:16]  ¹ 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.

[38:16]  ² tn Heb “for he did not know that.”

[38:16]  ³ tn Heb “when you come to me.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:17]  ⁴ tn Heb “until you send.”

[38:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[9:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “the peoples of the lands.” So also in v. 2.

[9:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “the holy seed,” referring to the Israelites as God’s holy people.