Discovery BoxGenesis 38:1-13
Context38:1 At that time Judah left 1 his brothers and stayed 2 with an Adullamite man 3 named Hirah.
38:2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man 4 named Shua. 5 Judah acquired her as a wife 6 and had marital relations with her. 7 38:3 She became pregnant 8 and had a son. Judah named 9 him Er. 38:4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. 38:5 Then she had 10 yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. 11
38:6 Judah acquired 12 a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 38:7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.
38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with 13 your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise 14 up a descendant for your brother.” 15 38:9 But Onan knew that the child 16 would not be considered his. 17 So whenever 18 he had sexual relations with 19 his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely 20 so as not to give his brother a descendant. 38:10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord 21 killed him too.
38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, 22 “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” 23 So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.
38:12 After some time 24 Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with 25 his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 38:13 Tamar was told, 26 “Look, your father-in-law is going up 27 to Timnah to shear his sheep.”
[38:1] 1 tn Heb “went down from.”
[38:1] 2 tn Heb “and he turned aside unto.”
[38:1] 3 tn Heb “a man, an Adullamite.”
[38:2] 4 tn Heb “a man, a Canaanite.”
[38:2] 5 tn Heb “and his name was Shua.”
[38:2] 6 tn Heb “and he took her.”
[38:2] 7 tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
[38:3] 8 tn Or “she conceived” (also in the following verse).
[38:3] 9 tc Some
[38:5] 10 tn Heb “and she added again and she gave birth.” The first verb and the adverb emphasize that she gave birth once more.
[38:5] 11 tn Or “and he [i.e., Judah] was in Kezib when she gave birth to him.”
[38:6] 12 tn Heb “and Judah took.”
[38:8] 13 tn Heb “go to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
[38:8] 14 tn The imperative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose.
[38:8] 15 sn Raise up a descendant for your brother. The purpose of this custom, called the levirate system, was to ensure that no line of the family would become extinct. The name of the deceased was to be maintained through this custom of having a child by the nearest relative. See M. Burrows, “Levirate Marriage in Israel,” JBL 59 (1940): 23-33.
[38:9] 17 tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.
[38:9] 18 tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.
[38:9] 19 tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
[38:9] 20 tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.
[38:10] 21 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the
[38:11] 23 tn Heb “Otherwise he will die, also he, like his brothers.”
[38:12] 24 sn After some time. There is not enough information in the narrative to know how long this was. The text says “the days increased.” It was long enough for Shelah to mature and for Tamar to realize she would not have him.
[38:12] 25 tn Heb “and he went up to the shearers of his sheep, he and.”
[38:13] 26 tn Heb “And it was told to Tamar, saying.”
[38:13] 27 tn The active participle indicates the action was in progress or about to begin.
