And it came to pass in the time of her travail When her time to bring forth was come, and her pains were on her, and her midwife with her: that, behold, twins [were] in her womb; which the midwife could discover before the birth of either.
25
But as they were taking her out to kill her, she sent this message to her father-in-law: “The man who owns these things made me pregnant. Look closely. Whose seal and cord and walking stick are these?”
26
Judah recognized them immediately and said, “She is more righteous than I am, because I didn’t arrange for her to marry my son Shelah.” And Judah never slept with Tamar again.
27
When the time came for Tamar to give birth, it was discovered that she was carrying twins.
28
While she was in labor, one of the babies reached out his hand. The midwife grabbed it and tied a scarlet string around the child’s wrist, announcing, “This one came out first.”
29
But then he pulled back his hand, and out came his brother! “What!” the midwife exclaimed. “How did you break out first?” So he was named Perez.