Genesis 38:18

18 And he said, What is the earnest that I shall give thee? and she said, Thy ring, and thy bracelet, and the staff in thy hand; and he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.

Genesis 38:18 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 38:18

And he said, what pledge shall I give thee?
&c.] Being willing to part with anything for the gratification of his lust: and she said, thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that [is]
in thine hand;
she asks all these, that if one should be lost, or fail of being sufficient proof, the other might: the first of these the Septuagint version renders, "thy ring"; the ring upon his finger, which had a seal on it, and was the signet of his right hand; so Onkelos and Ben Melech: the second word seems not so well rendered, since "bracelets" were wore by women and not men: Jarchi takes it to be a garment with which he was covered; so Ben Melech and the Targum, a cloak, which is not likely, that she should desire him to strip off his clothes: it seems to be either a covering of his head, a wrap of linen such as the Turks wear, or else a handkerchief he had in his pocket; and the staff in his hand was either his walking staff or a shepherd's crook or staff: and he gave [it] her,
all the above things as a pledge: and came in unto her;
not on the public road, but in some private place at some distance, to which they retired. Maimonides ^F3 says, before the law was given, if a man met a woman in the street, and he and she agreed, he gave her hire, and he lay with her, and went away, and such an one was called "Kedeshah", a harlot, the word used afterwards for Tamar: and she conceived by him;
she proved with child upon it.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 Hilchot lshot, c. 1. sect. 4.

Genesis 38:18 In-Context

16 And he went out of his way to her, and said to her, Let me come in to thee; for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law; and she said, What wilt thou give me if thou shouldest come in to me?

17 And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from my flock; and she said, , if thou wilt give me an earnest, until thou send it.

18 And he said, What is the earnest that I shall give thee? and she said, Thy ring, and thy bracelet, and the staff in thy hand; and he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.

19 And she arose and departed, and took her veil from off her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.

20 And Judas sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his shepherd the Odollamite, to receive the pledge from the woman; and he found her not.