†. Gen 38:12a . . As time went by, Judah's wife Bath-shua died.
This event left Judah single, and eligible to remarry; so that Tamar and
Judah are now both single adults; however, Tamar is betrothed, and that
makes things a little complicated.
†. Gen 38:12b . . After he got over her passing, Judah went up to
Timnah to his sheepshearers, together with his friend Hirah the
Adullamite.
Timnah-- a.k.a. Tibneh: a deserted site southwest of Zorah, and two miles
west of Ain Shems --was roughly 11 miles northwest from ancient Adullum
towards Bethlehem.
†. Gen 38:13-14a . . And it was told Tamar, saying: Look, your
father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep. So she took
off her widow's garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped
herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah;
The Hebrew words for "open place" are weird. They mean "an open eye".
One of those words-- the one for "eye" --can also mean a spring or an
artesian well (e.g. Gen 16:7). A wayside rest, like as can be usually found on
many modern Federal highways, would probably qualify as an example of
the "open place" to which Gen 38:14 refers.
Tamar's rest stop likely included a source of water, not for cars, but for the
animals that men either herded, rode upon, or used for pack animals when
they traveled up and down the primitive trails and roads of ancient Palestine.
Sheep-shearing occurs sometime in the spring, so the weather in Palestine
at that season was sunny and warm. Veils weren't an eo ipso indication
that a woman was loose, since Rebecca had worn one upon meeting her
spouse-to-be Isaac (Gen 24:65). Although the text says that Tamar's veil
covered her face (vs. 15), it likely not only covered her face, but her whole
body, because veils were more like a burqa than the little mask-like nets
that women sometimes wear to funerals; except that burqa's are
cumbersome and ugly, whereas Tamar's veil was a lightweight wrap, and
likely quite colorful and eye-catching.
†. Gen 38:14b . . for she saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had
not been given to him as wife.
Actually, Shelah wasn't the one who owed Tamar an Israeli baby; it was
Judah, the head of the clan, and that's why he's the one she's coming after
rather than Judah's son. Tamar is a scary girl; and one you wouldn't want to
trifle with. Not many women would have had the chutzpah to do what she
did. To begin with, for a lone woman to sit out along a remote road,
unescorted, like she did, was inherently dangerous, and could have led to all
sorts of mischief.
†. Gen 38:15a . .When Judah saw her, he thought she was a
prostitute,
The particular kind of prostitute in this episode is from the Hebrew word
qedeshah (ked-ay-shaw') which isn't your typical working girl, but rather a
devotee raising money for an established religion (Gen 38:21) typically an
idolatrous kind of religion centered upon the worship of a goddess like
Ashtoreth (a.k.a. Astarte). So one might say that a qedeshah's services
were for a worthy cause.
†. Gen 38:15b . . for she had covered her face.
It's just amazing how difficult it is sometimes to recognize familiar people
when they turn up in places we least expect them. Take Jesus for example.
When he revived after his ordeal on the cross, people didn't know him right
off: close friends like Mary Magdalena didn't recognize him at first even at
close proximity (John 20:13-16). Another example is when Jesus came out
to his followers' boat during a storm on open water. At first they thought he
was a ghost, and Peter wouldn't believe it was Jesus until he gave him the
power to walk on water himself (Mtt 14:25-29).
†. Gen 38:16-18a . . Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law,
he went over to her by the roadside and said: Come now, let me
sleep with you. And what will you give me to sleep with you? she
asked. I'll send you a young goat from my flock; he said. Will you
give me something as a pledge until you send it? she asked.
The Hebrew word for "pledge" is 'arabown (ar-aw-bone') which means a
pawn (given as security) as in pawn shop. This is the very first place in the
Bible where that word is used. In the usury business, an 'arabown is
forfeited if the borrower fails to repay his loan. This is a very important
principle in the plan of salvation.
†. Eph 1:13-14 . . In him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed
with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
In nutshell; the above means that if God should change His mind about
sparing a sealed person, they would keep the Holy Spirit even in hell since
the Spirit himself is the pledge; which of course would result in quite an
embarrassment for God since He's otherwise well-known to be a man of His
word.
But of course God won't renege because doing so would not only embarrass
Himself, but embarrass His son too as Jesus has given his word that
believers have nothing to fear.
†. John 5:24 . . I assure you, those who heed my message, and believe in
God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their
sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
†. Gen 38:18a . . He said: What pledge should I give you? Your seal
and its cord, and the staff in your hand; she answered.
The items that Tamar required for a pledge were akin to a photo ID or a
thumb print in those days. Judah's staff wasn't just a kendo stick or a
walking cane or a shepherd's crook. It was more like a king's scepter,
specially made just for him, and served the express purpose of identifying
him as the head of his tribe. Staffs were made of either wood or metal, and
usually capped with a masthead. The quality of the staff would of course
depend upon the material wherewithal of the person ordering it.
Judah's seal could have been a small, uniquely engraved cylinder, or
possibly a ring (e.g. Jer 22:24) but wasn't always worn on a finger. Way
back in Judah's day, seals were sometimes worn around the neck with a
necklace; or attached to personal walking sticks and/or staffs with a lanyard,
and forced into wax or soft clay to leave an impressed "signature". The
whole shebang-- seal, cord, and staff --was often a unit; and there were no
two alike.
The staff, with its cord and seal, was, of course, quite worthless for a shrine
prostitute's purposes. In dollar value, it was nothing, as it couldn't be sold or
traded. However, its value to Judah was why it was a good pledge item. He
would certainly want it back.
Cont.
/
This event left Judah single, and eligible to remarry; so that Tamar and
Judah are now both single adults; however, Tamar is betrothed, and that
makes things a little complicated.
†. Gen 38:12b . . After he got over her passing, Judah went up to
Timnah to his sheepshearers, together with his friend Hirah the
Adullamite.
Timnah-- a.k.a. Tibneh: a deserted site southwest of Zorah, and two miles
west of Ain Shems --was roughly 11 miles northwest from ancient Adullum
towards Bethlehem.
†. Gen 38:13-14a . . And it was told Tamar, saying: Look, your
father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep. So she took
off her widow's garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped
herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah;
The Hebrew words for "open place" are weird. They mean "an open eye".
One of those words-- the one for "eye" --can also mean a spring or an
artesian well (e.g. Gen 16:7). A wayside rest, like as can be usually found on
many modern Federal highways, would probably qualify as an example of
the "open place" to which Gen 38:14 refers.
Tamar's rest stop likely included a source of water, not for cars, but for the
animals that men either herded, rode upon, or used for pack animals when
they traveled up and down the primitive trails and roads of ancient Palestine.
Sheep-shearing occurs sometime in the spring, so the weather in Palestine
at that season was sunny and warm. Veils weren't an eo ipso indication
that a woman was loose, since Rebecca had worn one upon meeting her
spouse-to-be Isaac (Gen 24:65). Although the text says that Tamar's veil
covered her face (vs. 15), it likely not only covered her face, but her whole
body, because veils were more like a burqa than the little mask-like nets
that women sometimes wear to funerals; except that burqa's are
cumbersome and ugly, whereas Tamar's veil was a lightweight wrap, and
likely quite colorful and eye-catching.
†. Gen 38:14b . . for she saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had
not been given to him as wife.
Actually, Shelah wasn't the one who owed Tamar an Israeli baby; it was
Judah, the head of the clan, and that's why he's the one she's coming after
rather than Judah's son. Tamar is a scary girl; and one you wouldn't want to
trifle with. Not many women would have had the chutzpah to do what she
did. To begin with, for a lone woman to sit out along a remote road,
unescorted, like she did, was inherently dangerous, and could have led to all
sorts of mischief.
†. Gen 38:15a . .When Judah saw her, he thought she was a
prostitute,
The particular kind of prostitute in this episode is from the Hebrew word
qedeshah (ked-ay-shaw') which isn't your typical working girl, but rather a
devotee raising money for an established religion (Gen 38:21) typically an
idolatrous kind of religion centered upon the worship of a goddess like
Ashtoreth (a.k.a. Astarte). So one might say that a qedeshah's services
were for a worthy cause.
†. Gen 38:15b . . for she had covered her face.
It's just amazing how difficult it is sometimes to recognize familiar people
when they turn up in places we least expect them. Take Jesus for example.
When he revived after his ordeal on the cross, people didn't know him right
off: close friends like Mary Magdalena didn't recognize him at first even at
close proximity (John 20:13-16). Another example is when Jesus came out
to his followers' boat during a storm on open water. At first they thought he
was a ghost, and Peter wouldn't believe it was Jesus until he gave him the
power to walk on water himself (Mtt 14:25-29).
†. Gen 38:16-18a . . Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law,
he went over to her by the roadside and said: Come now, let me
sleep with you. And what will you give me to sleep with you? she
asked. I'll send you a young goat from my flock; he said. Will you
give me something as a pledge until you send it? she asked.
The Hebrew word for "pledge" is 'arabown (ar-aw-bone') which means a
pawn (given as security) as in pawn shop. This is the very first place in the
Bible where that word is used. In the usury business, an 'arabown is
forfeited if the borrower fails to repay his loan. This is a very important
principle in the plan of salvation.
†. Eph 1:13-14 . . In him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed
with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the pledge of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
In nutshell; the above means that if God should change His mind about
sparing a sealed person, they would keep the Holy Spirit even in hell since
the Spirit himself is the pledge; which of course would result in quite an
embarrassment for God since He's otherwise well-known to be a man of His
word.
But of course God won't renege because doing so would not only embarrass
Himself, but embarrass His son too as Jesus has given his word that
believers have nothing to fear.
†. John 5:24 . . I assure you, those who heed my message, and believe in
God who sent me, have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their
sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
†. Gen 38:18a . . He said: What pledge should I give you? Your seal
and its cord, and the staff in your hand; she answered.
The items that Tamar required for a pledge were akin to a photo ID or a
thumb print in those days. Judah's staff wasn't just a kendo stick or a
walking cane or a shepherd's crook. It was more like a king's scepter,
specially made just for him, and served the express purpose of identifying
him as the head of his tribe. Staffs were made of either wood or metal, and
usually capped with a masthead. The quality of the staff would of course
depend upon the material wherewithal of the person ordering it.
Judah's seal could have been a small, uniquely engraved cylinder, or
possibly a ring (e.g. Jer 22:24) but wasn't always worn on a finger. Way
back in Judah's day, seals were sometimes worn around the neck with a
necklace; or attached to personal walking sticks and/or staffs with a lanyard,
and forced into wax or soft clay to leave an impressed "signature". The
whole shebang-- seal, cord, and staff --was often a unit; and there were no
two alike.
The staff, with its cord and seal, was, of course, quite worthless for a shrine
prostitute's purposes. In dollar value, it was nothing, as it couldn't be sold or
traded. However, its value to Judah was why it was a good pledge item. He
would certainly want it back.
Cont.
/
