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Judah and Tamar

¹ Now it happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain ^(C1)Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.² And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was ^(C1)Shua; and he took her and went in to her.³ So she conceived and bore a son, and he named him ^(C1)Er.⁴ Then she conceived again and bore a son, and she named him ^(C1)Onan.⁵ And she bore still another son, and she named him ^(C1)Shelah; and it was at Chezib ^(F1)that she bore him.

⁶ Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.⁷ But ^(C1)Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so Yahweh put him to death.⁸ Then Judah said to Onan, "^(C1)Go in to your brother's wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a seed for your brother."⁹ And Onan knew that the ^(C1)seed would not be his; and it happened that when he went in to his brother's wife, he wasted it on the ground in order not to give seed to his brother.¹⁰ But what he did was displeasing in the sight of Yahweh; so He ^(C1)put him to death also.¹¹ Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "^(C1)Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up"; for he ^(F1)thought, "I am afraid lest he also die like his brothers." So Tamar went and lived in her father's house.

¹² And ^(F1)after a considerable time, Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Then Judah was comforted, and he went up to his sheepshearers at ^(C1)Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.¹³ Then it was told to Tamar, "^(F1)Behold, your father-in-law is going up to ^(C1)Timnah to shear his sheep."¹⁴ So she removed her widow's garments from herself and ^(C1)covered herself with a ^(F1)veil and wrapped herself. And she sat at the entrance of ^(F2)Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and ^(C2)she had not been given to him as a wife.¹⁵ Then Judah saw her, and he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face.¹⁶ So he turned aside to her by the road and said, "Here now, let me come in to you"; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, "What will you give me, that you may come in to me?"¹⁷ He said, therefore, "I will send you a ^(F1)young goat from the flock." She said, moreover, "Will you give a pledge until you send it?"¹⁸ Then he said, "What pledge shall I give you?" And she said, "^(C1)Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand." So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him.¹⁹ Then she arose and went. And she removed her ^(F1)veil from herself and put on her widow's garments.

²⁰ Then Judah sent the ^(F1)young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take the pledge from the woman's hand, but he did not find her.²¹ So he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the cult prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?" But they said, "There has been no cult prostitute here."²² So he returned to Judah and said, "I did not find her; and furthermore, the men of the place said, 'There has been no cult prostitute here.'"²³ Then Judah said, "Let her ^(F1)keep them, lest we become a laughingstock. Behold, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her."

²⁴ Now it happened about three months later that it was told to Judah saying, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot, and behold, she is also with child by harlotry." Then Judah said, "Bring her out and ^(C1)let her be burned!"²⁵ It was while she was being brought out that she sent to her father-in-law, saying, "I am with child by the man to whom these things belong." And she said, "^(C1)Please recognize this and see, whose signet ring and cords and staff are these?"²⁶ And Judah recognized them and said, "^(C1)She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as ^(C2)I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not ^(F1)know her again.

²⁷ Now it happened at the time she was giving birth, that behold, there were ^(C1)twins in her womb.²⁸ And it happened, while she was giving birth, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, "This one came out first."²⁹ And then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that behold, his brother came out. So she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" So he was named ^(F1)(C1)Perez.³⁰ Afterward his brother came out who had the scarlet thread on his hand; and he was named ^(F1)(C1)Zerah.