Genesis 38:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

NIV: When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

NASB: When Judah saw her, he assumed she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

CSB: When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.

NLT: Judah noticed her and thought she was a prostitute, since she had covered her face.

KJV: When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.

NKJV: When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face.

Judah told his widowed daughter-in-law Tamar she would be married to his son, Shelah, when the boy grew up (Genesis 38:11). Tamar has realized that's not going to happen—Judah's reassurance was a lie (Genesis 38:14). In that culture, a childless widow (Genesis 38:7–10) had no realistic prospects for marriage and no family to care for her into old age. Facing a dire future, Tamar is working a scheme to force Judah to take care of her.

She has dressed herself as a prostitute, wearing a veil, and is waiting for Judah to pass by on the road (Genesis 38:13). Her plan works. She catches his eye, and Judah assumes she is, in fact, a prostitute. In part because of the veil, he never realizes she is his daughter-in-law. In the following verses, he will hire her services. Tamar will use this encounter to her advantage.

Genesis 38:12–19 describes a plan devised by the childless widow, Tamar, to provide for her future after being abandoned by her father-in-law, Judah. He has violated tradition by delaying—refusing, it turns out—to give her to his next-oldest son, Shelah. Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute and engages in sex with Judah, keeping his signet ring and staff until he can pay her. This results in pregnancy, setting up a scandalous revelation.

Jacob's son Judah marries a Canaanite woman and has three sons. His first son marries a woman called Tamar but is put to death by God for an unnamed sin. Judah follows tradition and marries Er's widow to the next oldest brother. Onan takes advantage of the situation for sex, but deliberately refuses to give her children. God puts him to death as well. When Judah abandons Tamar, she disguises herself as a prostitute and has sex with him. Found to be pregnant, she proves Judah is the father, and he admits his guilt. She then gives birth to twin boys.

Genesis 38 departs from the story of Joseph (Genesis 37:26–28) to describe what happens when Judah moves away from his family at Hebron and marries a Canaanite woman. Two of his three sons are put to death by God, each while married to the same woman. When Judah abandons her, she works a scheme to trick him into having sex with her. Confronted with proof that he is the father in her scandalous pregnancy, she is allowed to live and gives birth to Judah's twin boys. The following chapter returns to a focus on Joseph and his rise within Egyptian society (Genesis 39:1).

The book of Genesis establishes fundamental truths about God. Among these are His role as the Creator, His holiness, His hatred of sin, His love for mankind, and His willingness to provide for our redemption. We learn not only where mankind has come from, but why the world is in its present form. The book also presents the establishment of Israel, God's chosen people. Many of the principles given in other parts of Scripture depend on the basic ideas presented here in the book of Genesis. Within the framework of the Bible, Genesis explains the bare-bones history of the universe leading up to the captivity of Israel in Egypt, setting the stage for the book of Exodus.

Accessed 5/7/2024 11:17:35 PM