Genesis 38:22

22 He returned to Yehudah, and said, "I haven't found her; and also the men of the place said, 'There has been no prostitute here.'"

Genesis 38:22 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 38:22

And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her
That is, the Adullamite returned to him, and informed him that he could not find the harlot to whom he was sent to deliver the kid and receive the pledge, after he had made the strictest inquiry for her he could: and also the men of the place said, [that] there was no harlot in this
[place];
by which it appears, that near the place where Tamar was, there was a town or city, and which was so free from such infamous persons, that there was not one in it that was known to be of such a character, at least, that in such a public manner exposed herself: it would be well if the same could be said of many other places.

Genesis 38:22 In-Context

20 Yehudah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend, the `Adullami, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand, but he didn't find her.

21 Then he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the prostitute, that was at `Enayim by the road?" They said, "There has been no prostitute here."

22 He returned to Yehudah, and said, "I haven't found her; and also the men of the place said, 'There has been no prostitute here.'"

23 Yehudah said, "Let her keep it, lest we be put to shame. Behold, I sent this kid, and you haven't found her."

24 It happened about three months later, that it was told Yehudah, saying, "Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute; and moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution." Yehudah said, "Bring her forth, and let her be burnt."