Genesis 38

¹It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite , whose name was Hirah .

²There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua . He took her and went in to her,

³and she conceived and bore a son , and he called his name Er .

⁴She conceived again and bore a son , and she called his name Onan .

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

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

⁷But Er , Judah’s firstborn , was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death .

⁸Then Judah said to Onan , Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother .

⁹But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground , so as not to give offspring to his brother .

¹⁰And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also .

¹¹Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law , Remain a widow in your father’s house , till Shelah my son grows up —for he feared that he would die , like his brothers . So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house .

¹²In the course of time the wife of Judah , Shua’s daughter , died . When Judah was comforted , he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers , he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite .

¹³And when Tamar was told , Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep ,

¹⁴she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil , wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim , which is on the road to Timnah . For she saw that Shelah was grown up , and she had not been given to him in marriage .

¹⁵When Judah saw her , he thought she was a prostitute , for she had covered her face .

¹⁶He turned to her at the roadside and said , Come , let me come in to you, for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law . She said , What will you give me, that you may come in to me?

¹⁷He answered , I will send you a young goat from the flock . And she said , If you give me a pledge , until you send it—

¹⁸He said , What pledge shall I give you? She replied , Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand . So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him.

¹⁹Then she arose and went away , and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood .

²⁰When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand , he did not find her.

²¹And he asked the men of the place , Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside ? And they said , No cult prostitute has been here .

²²So he returned to Judah and said , I have not found her. Also , the men of the place said , No cult prostitute has been here .

²³And Judah replied , Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see , I sent this young goat , and you did not find her.

²⁴About three months later Judah was told , Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral . Moreover , she is pregnant by immorality . And Judah said , Bring her out , and let her be burned .

²⁵As she was being brought out , she sent word to her father-in-law , By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant . And she said , Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff .

²⁶Then Judah identified them and said , She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah . And he did not know her again .

²⁷When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb .

²⁸And when she was in labor , one put out a hand , and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand , saying , This one came out first .

²⁹But as he drew back his hand , behold , his brother came out . And she said , What a breach you have made for yourself! Therefore his name was called Perez .

³⁰Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand , and his name was called Zerah .