Genesis 38

1 About that time [at that moment, during that period], Judah [a son of Jacob, the tribe’s ancestor] left [went down from, departed] his brothers [male siblings, relatives] and settled [stayed, turned in] near [with, close to] a man [an individual, person] named [whose name was] Hirah [a friend of Judah], an Adullamite [from Adullam, a place of justice]. word study 2 There [in that place, at that time] Judah [the son of Jacob, a leader of Israel] saw [perceived, became aware of] the daughter [a female child, a woman] of a Canaanite [a person from the land of Canaan, a merchant] man named Shua [a Canaanite, the father of the woman], and he took [received, married] her as a wife [a companion, a partner] and slept [had intimate relations, lay] with her [in a physical and emotional union]. word study 3 So she conceived [became pregnant, to conceive or become pregnant as seen in the story of Sarah and Abraham] and gave birth [beget, to give birth or bring forth a child] to a son [a male child, descendant], and Judah named [to call out to someone or something, often by name] him Er [the eldest son of Judah]. word study 4 Again [once more, still] she conceived [became pregnant, to conceive or become pregnant] and gave birth [to beget, brought forth] to a son [a male child, descendant], and she named [to call out to someone or something, called] him Onan [a son of Judah]. word study 5 Then she gave birth [conceived and bore] to another son [a male child, a descendant] and named [called out to, identified] him Shelah [a man of rest, a gift]; it was at Chezib [a place of falsehood, deception] that she gave birth [brought forth, delivered] to him. word study 6 Now Judah [the fourth son of Jacob] acquired [took, got, or obtained] a wife [woman, female companion] for Er [his firstborn son], his firstborn [oldest child, heir], and her name [identity, character] was Tamar [meaning palm tree]. word study 7 But Er [Judah’s eldest son], Judah’s firstborn [the first child, holding a special status], was wicked [bad, evil, morally wrong] in the sight [eye, presence, judgment] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God]; so the LORD [the supreme Ruler, Yehovah] put him to death [caused him to die, slew him]. word study 8 Then Judah [a son of Jacob, the tribe’s ancestor] said to Onan, “Sleep with [go in to, marry] your brother’s [male sibling, close relative] wife [the woman, female partner]. Perform your duty [the office of a kinsman, levirate marriage] as her brother-in-law [husband’s brother, responsible for her well-being] and raise up [establish, bring forth] offspring [seed, descendants] for your brother [male sibling, close relative].” word study 9 But Onan [fully aware, having knowledge] knew that the offspring [seed, descendants] would not belong to him; so whenever he would sleep with his brother’s wife [as a duty, to fulfill a family obligation], he would spill his seed [seminal fluid, offspring] on the ground [to the earth, in vain] so that he would not produce [give, provide] offspring [children, heirs] for his brother [male sibling, relative]. word study 10 What he did [evil in the eyes of God] was wicked [detestable, to shatter or break something into pieces] in the sight [in the eyes, before] of the LORD [Yehovah, The covenant Name of God], so He put Onan to death [caused him to die, slew him] as well [also, too]. word study 11 Then Judah [the son of Jacob, a patriarch] said to his daughter-in-law [bride or wife of his son] Tamar, “Live as a [bereaved, lonely] widow in your father’s [ancestral, paternal] house until my son [child, descendant] Shelah grows up [matures, becomes strong].” For he thought, “He may die [perish, come to an end] too, like his brothers [male siblings, kinsmen].” So Tamar went to live [dwell, reside] in her father’s [parental, ancestral] house. word study 12 After a long time [in process of time, several years later] Judah’s wife, the daughter [Bath, female child] of Shua, died [passed away, came to her end]. When Judah had finished mourning [was comforted, felt sorry no more], he and his friend [neighbor, companion] Hirah the Adullamite [from Adullam, justice of the people] went up [ascended, rose] to his sheepshearers [those who cut the wool, sheep shearers] at Timnah [a town in Judah, portion]. word study 13 When Tamar [the palm tree, a woman of perseverance] was told [declared openly, informed], “Your father-in-law [relative by marriage, Judah] is going up [to ascend, rising] to Timnah [a town in Judah, a place of portion] to shear [cut, harvest] his sheep [flock],” word study 14 she removed her widow’s garments [clothing of mourning], covered her face with a veil [shawl] to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance [gate, doorway] to Enaim [double spring, a city in Judah’s lowlands], which is on the way [road, path] to Timnah [portion, a town in the hill country of Judah]. For she saw that although Shelah [a man, son of Judah] had grown up [matured, become an adult], she had not been given to him as a wife [woman, partner in marriage]. word study 15 When Judah [the son of Jacob, a leader of Israel] saw her, he thought she was a prostitute [a harlot, an unfaithful woman] because she had covered [veiled, hidden] her face [her presence, identity]. word study 16 Not realizing [being unaware, without knowledge] that she was his daughter-in-law [bride, wife of his son], he went over to her and said, “Come now [please, I pray], let me sleep with you [lie with, have intimate relations].” “What [how, in what way] will you give me [provide, bestow upon] for sleeping with you [lying with, being intimate]?” she inquired [asked, requested to know]. word study 17 “I will send [to dispatch, to commission] you a young goat [kid, a juvenile goat] from my flock [a group of sheep or goats, a herd],” Judah answered [replied, responded]. But she replied [said, spoke], “Only if [on the condition that, provided that] you leave me something [a pledge, a guarantee] as a pledge [a promise, a security] until [as far as, till] you send [dispatch, deliver] it [the young goat].” word study 18 “What [pledge or guarantee] pledge should I give you?” he asked. She answered, “Your [signet, a ring used to sign important documents] seal and your cord [cord or thread], and the staff in your hand [symbolizing power or direction].” So he gave them to her and [came in unto her, lay with her] slept with her, and she became [conceived, pregnant] pregnant by him. word study 19 Then Tamar [arose, stood up] got up and departed [went away, left]. And she removed [turned aside, took off] her veil [shawl] [from upon her head] and put on [clothed herself with] her widow’s garments [clothing of her widowhood] again [once more, as before]. word study 20 Now when Judah [the son of Jacob, a leader of Israel] sent his friend [neighbor, companion] Hirah the Adullamite [from Adullam, a place of justice] with the young goat [kid of the goats, a juvenile goat] to collect [to take, receive] the items [pledge, security] he had left [given as a guarantee] with the woman [female, wife], he could not find [did not discover, was unable to locate] her. word study 21 He asked [inquired, sought information from] the men [individuals, people] of that place [location, region], “Where [in what location] is the shrine prostitute [cult prostitute, temple worker] who was beside [near, adjacent to] the road [path, way] at Enaim [double spring, a city in Judah’s lowlands]?” “No [not, none] shrine prostitute [female temple worker] has been here [in this place, present],” they answered [replied, spoke]. word study 22 So Hirah returned [to turn back, to come again] to Judah [the tribe descended from Judah, the son of Jacob] and said, “I could not find [to discover, to locate] her, and furthermore [also, in addition], the men [male persons, individuals] of that place [location, region] said, ‘No [not, none] shrine prostitute [cult prostitute, temple worker] has been [to exist, to be present] here [in this location].’” word study 23 “Let her keep the items [take them to herself, lest we be put to shame],” Judah [the son of Jacob, a leader of the tribe] replied. “Otherwise [lest] we will become a laughingstock [be shamed, held in contempt]. After all [behold], I did send [dispatch, cause to go] her this young goat [kid, a juvenile goat], but you could not find [discover, attain] her [the woman, Tamar].” word study 24 About three [several] months later, Judah [the son of Jacob, the tribe’s ancestor] was told, “Your daughter-in-law [bride, wife of his son] Tamar [palm tree] has prostituted [committed fornication, played the harlot] herself, and now she is pregnant [with child, expecting a baby].” “Bring her out [expel her, put her to death]!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death [executed by fire, put to death as punishment]!” word study 25 As she was being brought out [led to execution, taken away], Tamar sent a message to her father-in-law [husband’s father, relative by marriage]: “I am pregnant [with child, conceived] by the man to whom these items [belongings, possessions] belong.” And she added, “Please [I pray thee, kindly] examine them [scrutinize, investigate]. Whose [to whom do they belong, whose are these] seal [signet, ring] and cord [thread, string] and staff [walking stick] are these [these things, these items]?” word study 26 Judah recognized [acknowledged, admitted] the items and said, “She is more righteous [just, upright] than I, since I did not give [bestow, provide] her to my son Shelah [as a wife, in marriage].” And he did not have relations [intimacy, sexual relations] with her again [any more, still]. word study 27 When the time [in the course of events, at the appointed moment] came for Tamar to give birth [to be delivered, to bear a child], there were twins [two children born at the same time, a dual birth] in her womb [belly, the seat of life and emotions] [behold, surprisingly]. word study 28 And as she was giving birth [in travail, with great effort], one of them put out his hand [in a sign of life]; so the midwife [the woman who assisted in childbirth] took a scarlet thread and tied it around his wrist [as a sign of priority]. “This one came out first,” she announced. word study 29 But when he pulled his hand [an open hand; strength, a side or share] back and his brother [male sibling, close relative] came out, she said, “You have [by force, burst forth] broken out [to break through] first [as a breach, a sudden outburst]!” So he was named [given the identity] Perez [meaning breach, a break or gap]. word study 30 Then his brother [younger sibling, close relative] came out [was born, emerged] with the scarlet [deep red, crimson] thread [cord, string] around his wrist [hand, arm], and he was named [called, designated] Zerah [meaning redness of dawn]. word study