Genesis 38:5

5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. She was in Chezib when she bore him.

Genesis 38:5 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 38:5

And she conceived, and bare a son
A third son: and called his name Shelah;
which signifies tranquil, quiet, peaceable and prosperous, and is a word that comes from the same root as Shiloh, that famous son of Judah that should spring from him, ( Genesis 49:10 ) the reason of the name, as given by the Targum, is,

``because her husband forgot her:''
and she was at Chezib when she bare him;
Chezib is the name of a place, by some taken to be the same with Achzib or Ecdippe, now Zib, see ( Micah 1:14 ) ; it seems to be a city in the tribe of Judah; and Jerom says, in his time there was a desert place of this name near Adullam, on the borders of Eleutheropolis; the reason of her being here at the time of her delivery, and of this circumstance being related, is not certain.

FOOTNOTES:

F14 De loc. Heb. fol. 90. E.

Genesis 38:5 In-Context

3 and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er.
4 Again she conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Onan.
5 Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. She was in Chezib when she bore him.
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his first-born, and her name was Tamar.
7 But Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.