Episode 19: Er, Onan, Judah, and Tamar

(Genesis 38)

Judah and the daughter of Shuah

38 ¹ At about that time, Judah had sex with a Canaanite woman, the daughter of Shuah, which resulted in three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah.

Er, Tamar, and Onan

⁶ Judah selected a wife for Er, whose name was Tamar. ⁷ Er was wicked in God's sight, and God killed him.

⁸ Judah said unto Onan,

Go have sex with your dead brother's wife.

^9-10 Onan did as he was told, but while doing so, he spilled his seed on the ground, so God killed him too.

¹¹ After God killed her husband (Er) and his brother (Onan), Judah said to his daughter-in-law, Tamar,

Remain a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah is old enough to have sex with you.

It'd be a shame if he also died before impregnating you.

¹² Later, when Judah's wife died, he went to Timnath to sheer his sheep.

Judah and Tamar

^12-14 When Tamar heard that her father-in-law was in Timnath, she took off her widow's garments, covered herself with a veil, and sat in an open place on the way to Timnath.

¹⁵ When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. ¹⁶ So Judah said,

Let me have sex with you. (He didn't know she was his daughter-in-law.)

And she said, "What will you give me to have sex with you?"

¹⁷ Judah said, "I'll give you a young goat."

¹⁸ Tamar asked for Judah's seal, bracelets, and staff as a deposit until he sent the goat. Judah gave them to Tamar, and then he had sex with her.

²⁴ A few months later, someone said to Judah,

Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the harlot, and is with child by whoredom.

Judah said, "Find her and burn her to death."

²⁵ When Tamar was found and was brought to Judah, she said,

I had sex with a man who gave me this seal, bracelets, and this staff.

²⁶ Judah recognized them, and said,

She is more righteous than I, because I didn't make my son Shelah have sex with her.

²⁷ Tamar later gave birth to two twin boys, Pharez and Zarah.

²⁸ When the twins were delivered, the midwife put a scarlet thread on Zarah's finger, saying,

This one came out first.

²⁹ But Zarah drew back his hand, and Pharez came out first.

³⁰ And then Zarah came out with the scarlet thread on his finger..