Genesis 38:1

And it came to pass at that time,.... This some refer to the time of Jacob's coming from Padanaram into Canaan, soon after he came to Shechem, and before the affair of Dinah; but to this may be

And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. At that time.

GENESIS CHAPTER 38 Judah marries a Canaanitish woman, who bears him three sons, . He marries his eldest son to Tamar, . He being wicked is slain by God, . The second son is commanded to marry her, . His wickedness, ; and death, . He promises her his third son, but performs not, . She by a subtle practice commits incest with him, . He gives her a pledge, . She is found with child; Judah commands her to be burnt, . She brings to her father the pledge, . He acknowledges it; acquits her, and condemns himself, . She brings forth two sons, . This story is not without difficulty, if we consider how little time is allowed for all the events of this chapter, there being not above twenty-three years between Judah’ s marriage and the birth of Pharez, yea, and the birth of his sons too, Hezron and Hamul, who are said to go into Egypt with Jacob, . But there are two ways proposed for the resolution of it, as the phrase, at that time, may be understood two ways; either, 1. More largely, for the time since Jacob’ s return from Padan to Canaan, and so the history may be conceived thus, Judah was married some years before the selling of Joseph, though it be here mentioned after it, and so out of its place, as being the foundation of all the following events, which are here placed together, because they followed the selling of Joseph. Judah, and Er, and Onan, and afterwards Pharez, are supposed each to marry and have a child at fourteen years old, which, though unusual, wants not examples both in sacred and profane writers. And they that will quarrel with the Scripture, and question its authority for some such uncustomary occurrences which it relates, show more of impiety than wisdom in it, and shall do well to consider, that God might so order things by his providence, and record such things in his word, upon the same account on which he hath put several other difficult passages in Scripture, partly to try and exercise men’ s faith, humility, and modesty; and partly to punish the evil minds of ungodly men, and for their sins to lay an occasion of stumbling and cavilling at the Scriptures before them that greedily seek and gladly catch at all such occasions. Or, 2. More strictly, for the time following the sale of Joseph, which seems the more probable way, and so the story lies thus, Judah was now about twenty years old when he married, and the three first years he hath three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah. The two first marry each when they were about seventeen years old. Three years after both their deaths, and when Shelah had been marriageable a year or two, and was not given to Tamar, Judah lies with Tamar and begets upon her Pharez.

Genesis 38:1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name [was] Hirah.Ver. 1. And it came to pass at that time.] Before the rape of Dinah, the sale of Joseph, and soon after their return from Mesopotamia. Judah went down from his brethren.] A green youth of thirteen or fourteen years of age, left his company, where he might have had better counsel. There is a special tie to perseverance in the communion of saints. They that "forsake the assembling of themselves together," axe in a fair way for apostasy. To a certain Adullamite.] There is a double danger of evil company. (1.) Infection of sin, - at least, defection from grace. (2.) Infliction of punishment.

(1) At that time.—This does not mean at the time of Joseph’s sale; for as there was only an interval of twenty-two years between that event and the descent into Egypt, this period is scarcely long enough for the events recorded in this chapter. According to the usual chronology, Judah, Leah’s fourth son, would not have been more than eight years old when he left Padan-aram, and only one year at most older than Joseph, the son of Jacob’s old age. But the more true chronology which we have followed, gives time for him to have been Joseph’s senior by twenty years, and the events recorded here probably began soon after his father’s arrival at the tower of Eder. Adullamite.—The town of Adullam, near which was David’s famous cave, has been clearly identified by Lieut. Conder (Tent-work, ii. 158). It lay in the great valley of Elah, which formed the highway from Hebron to the country of the Philistines, some two or three miles south of Shochoh, and fifteen or sixteen miles west by north from Hebron. Judah “went down” thither, not as Abenezra and others have supposed, because it was to the south, but because it was towards the sea, and the road is an actual descent from the hill country of Judah into the Shephelah, or lowland, in which Adullam was situated. The sons of Jacob often, probably, with a few retainers, made expeditions in search of pastures for their cattle; and Hirah, apparently, had shown Judah hospitality on some such journey, and finally a friendship had grown up between them. “Turned in to,” however, literally means pitched (his tent) close by; and the friendship between Judah and Hirah, thus accidentally formed, seems to have ended in Hirah taking the charge of Judah’s cattle.

CHAPTER XXXVIII Judah marries the daughter of a Canaanite, 1, 2; and begets of her Er, 3, Onan, 4, and Shelah, 5. Er marries Tamar, 6; is slain for his wickedness, 7. Onan, required to raise up seed to his brother, refuses, 8, 9. He also is slain, 10. Judah promises his son Shelah to Tamar, when he should be of age; but performs not his promise, 11. Judah's wife dies, 12. Tamar in disguise receives her father-in-law, he leaves his signet, bracelets, and staff in her hand, and she conceives by him, 13-23. Judah is informed that his daughter-in-law is with child; and, not knowing that himself was the father, condemns her to be burnt, 24. She produces the signet, bracelets, and staff, and convicts Judah, 25, 26. She is delivered of twins, who are called Pharez and Zarah, 27-30. NOTES ON CHAP. XXXVIII Verse 1. And it came to pass at that time] The facts mentioned here could not have happened at the times mentioned in the preceding chapter, as those times are all unquestionably too recent, for the very earliest of the transactions here recorded must have occurred long before the selling of Joseph. Mr. Ainsworth remarks "that Judah and his sons must have married when very young, else the chronology will not agree. For Joseph was born six years before Jacob left Laban and came into Canaan; Genesis 30:25, and Genesis 31:41. Joseph was seventeen years old when he was sold into Egypt, Genesis 37:2; Genesis 37:25; he was thirty years old when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream, Genesis 41:46. And nine years after, when there had been seven years of plenty and two years of famine, did Jacob with his family go down into Egypt, Genesis 41:53-54, and Genesis 45:6; Genesis 45:11. And at their going down thither, Pharez, the son of Judah, whose birth is set down at the end of this chapter, had two sons, Hezron and Hamul, Genesis 46:8; Genesis 46:12. Seeing then from the selling of Joseph unto Israel's going down into Egypt there cannot be above twenty-three years, how is it possible that Judah should take a wife, and have by her three sons successively, and Shelah the youngest of the three be marriageable when Judah begat Pharez of Tamar, Genesis 38:14; Genesis 38:24, and Pharez be grown up, married, and have two sons, all within so short a space? The time therefore here spoken of seems to have been soon after Jacob's coming to Shechem, Genesis 33:18, before the history of Dinah, Genesis 34:1-31, though Moses for special cause relates it in this place." I should rather suppose that this chapter originally stood after Genesis 33:1-20, and that it got by accident into this place. Dr. Hales, observing that some of Jacob's son must have married remarkably young, says that "Judah was about forty-seven years old when Jacob's family settled in Egypt.

1. at that time] Cf. Genesis 21:22. The notes of time in this chapter are very indefinite. Cf. 12, “in process of time.” The marriage of Judah with the daughter of Shua, the birth of his three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah, and the marriage of the first two with Tamar, evidently represent a long interval. Adullamite] Judah moved from the high ground near Hebron to the lower, i.e. southern, country. The town of Adullam (Joshua 12:15; Joshua 15:35) is now identified with the ruins ‘Aid-el-mâ, 17 miles S.W. of Jerusalem and about 12 N.W. from Hebron. See 1 Samuel 22:1. Judah and Simeon in Judges 1:1-20 are represented as acting by themselves, and their names do not appear in Deborah’s Song commemorating the patriotism of the Israelite tribes.

- The Family of Judah 1. עדלם ‛ǎdûllâm, ‘Adullam, “righteousness.” חירה chı̂yrâh Chirah, “nobility?” 2. שׁוּע shûa‛, Shua‘, “luck, riches, cry.” 3. ער ‛êr, ‘Er, “watching.” 4. אונן 'ônân, Onan, “strong.” 5.

1. At that time — During the time that Jacob dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings. Genesis 37:1. It does not say after these things, as in Genesis 22:1; so that the exact point of time is altogether indefinite.