Genesis 38 Footnotes

38:8-11 Two questions might arise in connection with this passage: (1) Why did Judah have Onan sleep with Tamar, his widowed daughter-in-law, and then withhold Shelah from her? (2) Why was Onan killed for “evil” behavior after having sexual relations with Tamar? In regard to (1), an established institution of that culture was the “levirate marriage,” in which a widow was taken as wife by the closest male in her husband’s family. Any children from that marriage would be legally considered those of the deceased husband. This practice was made part of the Mosaic law (Dt 25:5-10) and is central in the book of Ruth. Thus, what Judah did in giving Tamar to Onan was morally appropriate, while his stalling in regard to Shelah was not. As to (2), the “evil” which caused Onan to be killed was not that he had sex outside marriage or that he practiced a crude form of birth control (vv. 9-10). Rather, it was his selfishness in refusing to allow his sister-in-law to become pregnant by him that earned him condemnation. He knew that, while he would have to support any child Tamar bore to him, he would not receive any of his deceased brother’s estate since it would legally belong to the child.

38:11-26 Judah’s conclusion that Tamar was “more in the right” (v. 26) does not mean that her impersonation of a prostitute was morally acceptable. Rather, Judah acknowledged his greater fault in seeking a prostitute and his neglect of Tamar’s needs as a helpless widow. The fact that Tamar chose to play the prostitute to ensnare Judah speaks volumes about his moral reputation. By wearing the customary veil of the religious prostitute, she kept Judah from recognizing her.

38:18,23,25 A “signet ring” impressed a person’s distinctive seal into clay or wax, functioning much like a signature on a legal document today. Tamar was shrewd to insist on keeping Judah’s ring as a guarantee of payment for her services. Her possession of the ring was undeniable proof of Judah’s involvement in her pregnancy.