Genesis 38:20 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her.

NIV: Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her.

NASB: When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her.

CSB: When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get back the items he had left with the woman, he could not find her.

NLT: Later Judah asked his friend Hirah the Adullamite to take the young goat to the woman and to pick up the things he had given her as his guarantee. But Hirah couldn’t find her.

KJV: And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not.

NKJV: And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her.

In this time and place, prostitution was not illegal. In fact, pagan religions often involved sexual services as part of "worship." That did not make using such services a mark of good taste. Judah's choice to send someone else to pay his debt to a prostitute (Genesis 38:18) hints at this stigma. Judah's friend has one job: Deliver the young goat and get Judah's signet and staff back.

Unfortunately, Hirah the Adullamite couldn't find the prostitute who had been sitting at the entrance to the city of Enaim. She wasn't there, because the woman Judah slept with was neither a prostitute nor a resident of the town. It was his own widowed daughter-in-law, Tamar (Genesis 38:7–11), who was scheming in response to Judah's broken promise (Genesis 38:14). She had removed her disguise (Genesis 38:15) and returned to her father's home (Genesis 38:19).

Genesis 38:20–26 reveals the end of Tamar's scheme to obtain her rightful due as a widow. Her father-in-law, Judah, had refused to follow tradition by granting her marriage to his next son. So, she disguised herself as a prostitute and slept with Judah, keeping his signet and staff as payment. When Judah learns Tamar is pregnant, though widowed, he hypocritically demands she be killed for immorality. Tamar produces the staff and signet as proof that Judah is the father. He sheepishly admits his error.

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 4/29/2024 3:43:32 AM