†. Gen 38:18b-23 . . So he gave them to her and mated with her, and
she conceived by him. After she left, she took off her veil and put on
her widow's clothes again.
. . . 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. He asked the men who lived there: Where is the
shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim? There hasn't
been any shrine prostitute here; they said.
. . . So he went back to Judah and said: I didn't find her. Besides, the
men who lived there said there hasn't been any shrine prostitute
here. Then Judah said: Let her keep what she has or we will become
a disgrace. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't
find her.
It might seem silly that Judah was concerned for his tribe's honor in this
matter, but in those days, cult prostitutes did have a measure of respect in
their community, and it wasn't unusual for every woman in the community
to be expected to take a turn at supporting their "church" in that manner; so
cult prostitution wasn't really looked upon as a vice but rather as a sacred
obligation.
Judah's failure to pay up could be construed by locals as mockery of their
religion's way of doing business, thus insulting those who believed and
practiced it; so he emphasized his effort to find the woman and make good
on his I.O.U. This appears to me the first instance of religious tolerance in
the Bible; and the circumstances are intriguing: to say the least.
†. Gen 38:24 . . And it came to pass, about three months after, that
Judah was told, saying: Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the
harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.
At this time, Tamar was living with her dad; so Judah wouldn't have known
she was expecting unless a rumor mill brought the news around.
The word for "harlot" in Gen 38:24 is zanah (zaw-naw'), and the word for
"harlotry" is zanuwn (zaw-noon') and both mean adultery. Tamar is accused
of adultery because at this point, she's assumed betrothed (though not yet
married) to Shelah. (cf. Mtt 1:18-19)
†. Gen 38:24 . . So Judah said: Bring her out and let her be burned!
Since there were no Federal, nor any State, nor any Municipal laws in
existence in primitive Palestine, local sheiks like Judah were the Supreme
Court of their own tribes. Though Tamar was living back at home with her
dad, she remained under Judah's jurisdiction because of her past marriages
to two of Judah's sons.
Note : personally, I think Judah was relieved that he now had a valid excuse
to keep his last surviving son from marrying Tamar.
†. Gen 38:25a . .When she was brought out,
It's odd to me that Judah didn't attend Tamar's execution: possibly because
he was afraid she'd point the finger at him for reneging on his promise to
give her Shelah. However; he was in for a very big jolt because Tamar
produced a surprise witness: himself.
†. Gen 38:26 . . she sent to her father-in-law, saying: By the man to
whom these belong, I am with child. And she said: Please determine
whose these are-- the signet and cord, and staff. So Judah
acknowledged them and said: She has been more righteous than I,
because I did not give her to Shelah my son. And he never saw her
again.
Actually, neither Judah nor Tamar were "righteous" in this matter. His
comment was relative. It's like movies today. The good guys and the bad
guys are no longer distinctly moral and immoral and/or scrupulous and
unscrupulous. Often both sides of the equation are immoral and
unscrupulous; with the "good" guys just being more likable.
†. Gen 38:27-28 . .When the time came for her to give birth, there
were twins in her womb! While she was in labor, one of them put out
his hand, and the midwife tied a crimson thread on that hand, to
signify: This one came out first.
According to modern medicine, a baby isn't really born until it's head is
outside the womb; so that it's legal (in some states) to kill babies with a so
called "dilation and extraction" abortion; which is a term coined by Ohio
abortionist Dr. Martin Haskell for an abortion method in which he removes a
baby's brain while it's head is still partially within the womb, and then
completes the delivery by extracting the corpse. But in Tamar's day, even
the exit of a hand was counted birth: thus Zerah became Tamar's legal
firstborn son.
†. Gen 38:29 . . But just then he drew back his hand, and out came
his brother; and she said: What a breach you have made for yourself!
So he was named Perez (which means: break (as in break through a
barrier or force a way through; viz: buck the line and/or go out of
turn). Afterward his brother came out, on whose hand was the
crimson thread; he was named Zerah (which means: a rising of light;
viz: morning).
Well . . regardless of Zerah's primo-genitive prerogatives, God bypassed him
in Judah's line to Messiah; which, by Divine appointment went to Perez, the
second-born. (Mtt 1:1-3)
Note : you'd think holy propriety would demand that the sacred line to
Messiah be pure. I mean, after all, a child of adultery and incest hardly
seems like a proper ancestor for the King of Kings. But no, an ancestry of
adultery and incest makes no difference to Christ. In point of fact, in time a
famous harlot from Jericho named Rahab produced yet another male in the
line to the lamb of God. (Mtt 1:4)
Cont.
/
she conceived by him. After she left, she took off her veil and put on
her widow's clothes again.
. . . 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. He asked the men who lived there: Where is the
shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim? There hasn't
been any shrine prostitute here; they said.
. . . So he went back to Judah and said: I didn't find her. Besides, the
men who lived there said there hasn't been any shrine prostitute
here. Then Judah said: Let her keep what she has or we will become
a disgrace. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't
find her.
It might seem silly that Judah was concerned for his tribe's honor in this
matter, but in those days, cult prostitutes did have a measure of respect in
their community, and it wasn't unusual for every woman in the community
to be expected to take a turn at supporting their "church" in that manner; so
cult prostitution wasn't really looked upon as a vice but rather as a sacred
obligation.
Judah's failure to pay up could be construed by locals as mockery of their
religion's way of doing business, thus insulting those who believed and
practiced it; so he emphasized his effort to find the woman and make good
on his I.O.U. This appears to me the first instance of religious tolerance in
the Bible; and the circumstances are intriguing: to say the least.
†. Gen 38:24 . . And it came to pass, about three months after, that
Judah was told, saying: Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the
harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.
At this time, Tamar was living with her dad; so Judah wouldn't have known
she was expecting unless a rumor mill brought the news around.
The word for "harlot" in Gen 38:24 is zanah (zaw-naw'), and the word for
"harlotry" is zanuwn (zaw-noon') and both mean adultery. Tamar is accused
of adultery because at this point, she's assumed betrothed (though not yet
married) to Shelah. (cf. Mtt 1:18-19)
†. Gen 38:24 . . So Judah said: Bring her out and let her be burned!
Since there were no Federal, nor any State, nor any Municipal laws in
existence in primitive Palestine, local sheiks like Judah were the Supreme
Court of their own tribes. Though Tamar was living back at home with her
dad, she remained under Judah's jurisdiction because of her past marriages
to two of Judah's sons.
Note : personally, I think Judah was relieved that he now had a valid excuse
to keep his last surviving son from marrying Tamar.
†. Gen 38:25a . .When she was brought out,
It's odd to me that Judah didn't attend Tamar's execution: possibly because
he was afraid she'd point the finger at him for reneging on his promise to
give her Shelah. However; he was in for a very big jolt because Tamar
produced a surprise witness: himself.
†. Gen 38:26 . . she sent to her father-in-law, saying: By the man to
whom these belong, I am with child. And she said: Please determine
whose these are-- the signet and cord, and staff. So Judah
acknowledged them and said: She has been more righteous than I,
because I did not give her to Shelah my son. And he never saw her
again.
Actually, neither Judah nor Tamar were "righteous" in this matter. His
comment was relative. It's like movies today. The good guys and the bad
guys are no longer distinctly moral and immoral and/or scrupulous and
unscrupulous. Often both sides of the equation are immoral and
unscrupulous; with the "good" guys just being more likable.
†. Gen 38:27-28 . .When the time came for her to give birth, there
were twins in her womb! While she was in labor, one of them put out
his hand, and the midwife tied a crimson thread on that hand, to
signify: This one came out first.
According to modern medicine, a baby isn't really born until it's head is
outside the womb; so that it's legal (in some states) to kill babies with a so
called "dilation and extraction" abortion; which is a term coined by Ohio
abortionist Dr. Martin Haskell for an abortion method in which he removes a
baby's brain while it's head is still partially within the womb, and then
completes the delivery by extracting the corpse. But in Tamar's day, even
the exit of a hand was counted birth: thus Zerah became Tamar's legal
firstborn son.
†. Gen 38:29 . . But just then he drew back his hand, and out came
his brother; and she said: What a breach you have made for yourself!
So he was named Perez (which means: break (as in break through a
barrier or force a way through; viz: buck the line and/or go out of
turn). Afterward his brother came out, on whose hand was the
crimson thread; he was named Zerah (which means: a rising of light;
viz: morning).
Well . . regardless of Zerah's primo-genitive prerogatives, God bypassed him
in Judah's line to Messiah; which, by Divine appointment went to Perez, the
second-born. (Mtt 1:1-3)
Note : you'd think holy propriety would demand that the sacred line to
Messiah be pure. I mean, after all, a child of adultery and incest hardly
seems like a proper ancestor for the King of Kings. But no, an ancestry of
adultery and incest makes no difference to Christ. In point of fact, in time a
famous harlot from Jericho named Rahab produced yet another male in the
line to the lamb of God. (Mtt 1:4)
Cont.
/
