Mwanzo 38

¹It was at about this time that Judah parted company with his brothers. He went down and pitched his tent near Hirah, a man from the town of Adullam. ²There Judah caught sight of a woman, the daughter of a Canaanite called Shua. He took her as his wife and lay with her. ³She conceived and bore a son, and Judah called him Er.^{a 4}She conceived again and bore another son, whom she called Onan. ⁵Then she had yet another son, and she named him Shelah. Judah was at Kezib when she gave birth to him. ⁶For Er, his firstborn, Judah found a wife whose name was Tamar. ⁷But Judah’s firstborn, Er, was evil in the LORD’s eyes, and the LORD brought his life to an end. ⁸Judah told Onan, “Go to your brother’s widow and carry out the brother-in-law’s duty: marry her and so give your brother descendants.” ⁹Onan, however, knew that any children would not be counted as his. So each time he lay with his brother’s widow, he made sure his seed was wasted on the ground, to avoid giving his brother descendants. ¹⁰Onan’s deed was evil in the LORD’s eyes, and Onan too died by the LORD’s hand. ¹¹Judah then said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Go on as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah is grown.” For he was thinking, “Otherwise he too may die, as his brothers did.” So Tamar went and made her home in her father’s house. ¹²Years went by, and Shua’s daughter, Judah’s wife, died. After he had been consoled, Judah went up to Timnah with his friend Hirah from Adullam, to be with the men shearing his flocks. ¹³Word reached Tamar: “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah for the shearing of his sheep.” ¹⁴So she laid aside her widow’s clothing, put on a veil and wrapped herself up, and took a seat at the gateway of Enaim, which lies on the road to Timnah. She could see that Shelah was now grown, and still she had not been given to him as his wife. ¹⁵Judah saw her and took her for a prostitute, since her face was veiled. ¹⁶He turned off the road toward her. “Come,” he said, “let me lie with you.” He did not know she was his daughter-in-law. “And what will you give me for it?” she answered. ¹⁷“I will have a young goat sent to you from the flock,” he said. She answered, “Yes, if you hand me something to keep as a guarantee until you send it.” ¹⁸“What do you want as security?” he asked. “Your seal on its cord,” she said, “and the staff in your hand.” So he handed them over and lay with her, and she conceived a child by him. ¹⁹Then she rose and went away. She laid aside her veil and put her widow’s clothing back on. ²⁰Judah had his friend the Adullamite take the young goat, so as to get back the pledge from the woman, but the friend found no trace of her. ²¹He inquired of the local men, “The shrine prostitute who sat by the roadside at Enaim, where is she?” They replied, “We have had no shrine prostitute here.”^{b 22}He came back to Judah and reported, “I did not find her. What is more, the local men said, ‘We have had no shrine prostitute here.’” ²³“Let her have the things, then,” said Judah. “We do not want people laughing at us. As you know, I sent this young goat, and you could not find her.” ²⁴Some three months went by. Then word came to Judah: “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has prostituted herself, and she is even pregnant from it.” “Take her out,” Judah ordered, “and let her be burned.” ²⁵Even as she was being led out, she sent this word to her father-in-law: “The man these things belong to is the one who made me pregnant.” She added, “Please examine them. Whose are they, this seal and cord and staff?” ²⁶Judah saw that they were his. “She has been more righteous than I have,” he said, “because I would not let her marry my son Shelah.” He never had relations with her again. ²⁷When her time of delivery came, there were twins in her womb. ²⁸During the birth one baby reached out a hand. The midwife caught hold of it and bound a scarlet thread on it, saying, “This is the first one out.” ²⁹Then the hand was drawn back, and his brother came out instead. “What a breakthrough you have forced for yourself!” said the midwife. And so he was named Perez. ³⁰Next his brother was born, the scarlet thread still on his hand, and he received the name Zerah.