Genesis 38:17-20

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?” ¹  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. ²  She became pregnant by him. 38:19 She left immediately, ³  removed her veil, and put on her widow’s clothes.

38:20 Then Judah had his friend Hirah ⁴  the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, ⁵  but Hirah ⁶  could not find her.

[38:17]  ¹ tn Heb “until you send.”

[38:18]  ² tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.

[38:19]  ³ tn Heb “and she arose and left,” the first verb in the pair emphasizing that she wasted no time.

[38:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “sent by the hand of his friend.” Here the name of the friend (“Hirah”) has been included in the translation for clarity.

[38:20]  ⁵ tn Heb “to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand.”

[38:20]  ⁶ tn Heb “he”; the referent (Judah’s friend Hirah the Adullamite) has been specified in the translation for clarity.