Genesis 38
1
And it cometh to pass, at that time, that Judah goeth
down from his brethren, and turneth aside unto a man,
an Adullamite, whose name [is] Hirah;
2 and Judah seeth there the daughter of a man, a
Canaanite, whose name [is] Shuah, and taketh her, and
goeth in unto her. 3 And she conceiveth,
and beareth a son, and he calleth
his name Er; 4 and she conceiveth
again, and beareth a son, and calleth
his name Onan; 5 and she addeth again, and beareth a son, and calleth his
name Shelah; and he was in Chezib
in her bearing him. 6 And Judah taketh a wife for Er,
his first-born, and her name [is] Tamar; 7 and Er,
Judah's first-born, is evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah doth put him to
death. 8 And Judah saith to Onan, `Go in unto the
wife of thy brother, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother;' 9 and
Onan knoweth that the seed is not [reckoned] his; and
it hath come to pass, if he hath gone in unto his brother's wife, that he hath
destroyed [it] to the earth, so as not to give seed to his brother; 10 and that
which he hath done is evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and He putteth
him also to death. 11 And Judah saith to Tamar his
daughter-in-law, `Abide a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah
my son groweth up;' for he said, `Lest he die--even
he--like his brethren;' and Tamar goeth and dwelleth at her father's house. 12 And the days are
multiplied, and the daughter of Shuah, Judah's wife, dieth; and Judah is comforted, and goeth
up unto his sheep-shearers, he and Hirah his friend
the Adullamite, to Timnath.
13 And it is declared to Tamar, saying, `Lo, thy husband's father is going up
to Timnath to shear his flock;' 14 and she turneth aside the garments of her widowhood from off her,
and covereth herself with a vail, and wrappeth herself up, and sitteth
in the opening of Enayim, which [is] by the way to Timnath, for she hath seen that Shelah
hath grown up, and she hath not been given to him for a wife. 15 And Judah seeth her, and reckoneth her for
a harlot, for she hath covered her face, 16 and he turneth
aside unto her by the way, and saith, `Come, I pray
thee, let me come in unto thee,' (for he hath not known that she [is] his
daughter-in-law); and she saith, `What dost thou give
to me, that thou mayest come in unto me?' 17 and he saith, `I--I send a kid of the
goats from the flock.' And she saith, `Dost thou give a pledge till thou send [it]?' 18 and he saith, `What [is] the pledge that I give to thee?' and she saith, `Thy seal, and thy ribbon, and thy staff which [is]
in thy hand;' and he giveth to her, and goeth in unto
her, and she conceiveth to him; 19 and she riseth, and goeth, and turneth aside her vail from off her, and putteth on the garments of her widowhood. 20 And Judah sendeth the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the hand of the
woman, and he hath not found her. 21 And he asketh
the men of her place, saying, `Where [is] the *separated
one--she in Enayim, by the way?' and they say, `There
hath not been in this [place] a separated one.' 22 And he turneth
back unto Judah, and saith, `I have not found her;
and the men of the place also have said, There hath not been in this [place] a
separated one,' 23 and Judah saith, `Let her take to
herself, lest we become despised; lo, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found
her.' 24 And it cometh to pass about three months [after], that it is declared
to Judah, saying, `Tamar thy daughter-in-law hath committed fornication; and also,
lo, she hath conceived by fornication:' and Judah saith,
`Bring her out--and she is burnt.' 25 She is brought out, and she hath sent
unto her husband's father, saying, `To a man whose these [are], I [am]
pregnant;' and she saith, `Discern, I pray thee, whose
[are] these--the seal, and the ribbons, and the staff.' 26 And Judah discerneth and saith, `She hath
been more righteous than I, because that I did not give her to Shelah my son;' and he hath not added to know her again. 27
And it cometh to pass in the time of her bearing, that lo, twins [are] in her
womb; 28 and it cometh to pass in her bearing, that [one] giveth out a hand,
and the midwife taketh and bindeth on his hand a
scarlet thread, saying, `This hath come out first.' 29 And it cometh to pass as
he draweth back his hand, that lo, his brother hath
come out, and she saith, `What! thou hast broken
forth--on thee [is] the breach;' and he calleth his
name *Pharez; 30 and
afterwards hath his brother come out, on whose hand [is] the scarlet thread,
and he calleth his name *Zarah.