Genesis 38:5

5 And once again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. And he 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.

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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 And she conceived again and bore a son, and he called his name Onan.

5 And once again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. And he was in Chezib when she bore him.

6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name [was] Tamar.

7 And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him.

Footnotes

• [a] That is, Judah