Γένεσις 38
1 ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ ἐκείνῳ κατέβη Ιουδας ἀπὸ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀφίκετο ἕως πρὸς ἄνθρωπόν τινα Οδολλαμίτην ᾧ ὄνομα Ιρας
At that time, Judah left his older and younger brothers and went down from the hilly area and stayed with a man whose name was Hiram, who lived in Adullam [town].
2 καὶ εἶδεν ἐκεῖ Ιουδας θυγατέρα ἀνθρώπου Χαναναίου ᾗ ὄνομα Σαυα καὶ ἔλαβεν αὐτὴν καὶ εἰσῆλθεν πρὸς αὐτήν
There he (met/became acquainted with) a woman who was the daughter of a man from Canaan named Shua. He married her. He had sex [EUP] with her,
3 καὶ συλλαβοῦσα ἔτεκεν υἱὸν καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ηρ
and she became pregnant and later gave birth to a son, whom he named Er.
4 καὶ συλλαβοῦσα ἔτι ἔτεκεν υἱὸν καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Αυναν
Later she became pregnant again and gave birth to another son whom she named Onan.
5 καὶ προσθεῖσα ἔτι ἔτεκεν υἱὸν καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Σηλωμ αὐτὴ δὲ ἦν ἐν Χασβι ἡνίκα ἔτεκεν αὐτούς
Many years later, when Judah and his family went to live in Kezib [town], Judah’s wife gave birth to another son, whom she named Shelah.
6 καὶ ἔλαβεν Ιουδας γυναῖκα Ηρ τῷ πρωτοτόκῳ αὐτοῦ ᾗ ὄνομα Θαμαρ
When Judah’s oldest son Er [grew up], Judah got a wife for him, a woman named Tamar.
7 ἐγένετο δὲ Ηρ πρωτότοκος Ιουδα πονηρὸς ἐναντίον κυρίου καὶ ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτὸν ὁ θεός
But Er did something that Yahweh considered to be very wicked, so Yahweh caused him to die.
8 εἶπεν δὲ Ιουδας τῷ Αυναν εἴσελθε πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου καὶ γάμβρευσαι αὐτὴν καὶ ἀνάστησον σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ σου
Then Judah said to Onan, “Your older brother died without having any sons. So marry his widow and have sex [EUP] with her. That is what our customs require that you should do.”
9 γνοὺς δὲ Αυναν ὅτι οὐκ αὐτῷ ἔσται τὸ σπέρμα ἐγίνετο ὅταν εἰσήρχετο πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐξέχεεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τοῦ μὴ δοῦναι σπέρμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ
But Onan knew if he did that, any children who would be born would not be considered to be his. So every time he had sex [EUP] with his brother’s widow, he spilled his semen on the ground, so that she would not get pregnant and produce children for his older brother.
10 πονηρὸν δὲ ἐφάνη ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι ἐποίησεν τοῦτο καὶ ἐθανάτωσεν καὶ τοῦτον
Yahweh considered that what he did was wicked, so he caused him to die also.
11 εἶπεν δὲ Ιουδας Θαμαρ τῇ νύμφῃ αὐτοῦ κάθου χήρα ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ πατρός σου ἕως μέγας γένηται Σηλωμ ὁ υἱός μου εἶπεν γάρ μήποτε ἀποθάνῃ καὶ οὗτος ὥσπερ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ ἀπελθοῦσα δὲ Θαμαρ ἐκάθητο ἐν τῷ οἴκῳ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῆς
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Return to your father’s house, but do not marry anyone else. When my youngest son Shelah grows up, [he can marry you].” But Judah [really did not want Shelah to marry her, because] he was afraid that then Shelah would die too, just as his older brothers had died. So Tamar [obeyed Judah and] went back to live in her father’s house again.
12 ἐπληθύνθησαν δὲ αἱ ἡμέραι καὶ ἀπέθανεν Σαυα ἡ γυνὴ Ιουδα καὶ παρακληθεὶς Ιουδας ἀνέβη ἐπὶ τοὺς κείροντας τὰ πρόβατα αὐτοῦ αὐτὸς καὶ Ιρας ὁ ποιμὴν αὐτοῦ ὁ Οδολλαμίτης εἰς Θαμνα
Several years later, Judah’s wife, who was the daughter of Shua, died. When the time of mourning for her was finished, Judah decided to go up to Timnah, to the place where his (men were shearing his sheep/sheep were being sheared) His friend Hiram, from Adullam, went with him.
13 καὶ ἀπηγγέλη Θαμαρ τῇ νύμφῃ αὐτοῦ λέγοντες ἰδοὺ ὁ πενθερός σου ἀναβαίνει εἰς Θαμνα κεῖραι τὰ πρόβατα αὐτοῦ
Someone said to Tamar, “Your father-in-law is going to [the fields near the city of] Timnah to help the men who are shearing his sheep.”
14 καὶ περιελομένη τὰ ἱμάτια τῆς χηρεύσεως ἀφ’ ἑαυτῆς περιεβάλετο θέριστρον καὶ ἐκαλλωπίσατο καὶ ἐκάθισεν πρὸς ταῖς πύλαις Αιναν ἥ ἐστιν ἐν παρόδῳ Θαμνα εἶδεν γὰρ ὅτι μέγας γέγονεν Σηλωμ αὐτὸς δὲ οὐκ ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν αὐτῷ γυναῖκα
[She realized that now Shelah was grown up, but Judah had not given her to him to be his wife. So] she took off her widow’s clothes, and covered her head with a veil, so that people would not (recognize her/know who she was). Then she sat down at the entrance to Enaim [town], which is on the road to Timnah.
15 καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὴν Ιουδας ἔδοξεν αὐτὴν πόρνην εἶναι κατεκαλύψατο γὰρ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῆς καὶ οὐκ ἐπέγνω αὐτήν
When Judah came along and saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, because she had covered her head [like prostitutes often did] (OR, [and sat where prostitutes often sat)].
16 ἐξέκλινεν δὲ πρὸς αὐτὴν τὴν ὁδὸν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ ἔασόν με εἰσελθεῖν πρὸς σέ οὐ γὰρ ἔγνω ὅτι ἡ νύμφη αὐτοῦ ἐστιν ἡ δὲ εἶπεν τί μοι δώσεις ἐὰν εἰσέλθῃς πρός με
Judah did not realize that she was his daughter-in-law. So he said to her, “Hey, let me have sex [EUP] with you!” She replied, “What will you give me for allowing you to have sex [EUP] with me?”
17 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν ἐγώ σοι ἀποστελῶ ἔριφον αἰγῶν ἐκ τῶν προβάτων ἡ δὲ εἶπεν ἐὰν δῷς ἀρραβῶνα ἕως τοῦ ἀποστεῖλαί σε
He replied, “I will send you a young goat from my flock of goats.” She asked, “Will you give me something now for me to keep until you send the goat?”
18 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν τίνα τὸν ἀρραβῶνά σοι δώσω ἡ δὲ εἶπεν τὸν δακτύλιόν σου καὶ τὸν ὁρμίσκον καὶ τὴν ῥάβδον τὴν ἐν τῇ χειρί σου καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτῇ καὶ εἰσῆλθεν πρὸς αὐτήν καὶ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔλαβεν ἐξ αὐτοῦ
He replied, “What do you want me to give to you?” She replied, “Give me the ring that has your name on it that is tied by a cord around your neck, and give me the walking stick that you are holding in your hand.” So he gave them to her. Then he had sex [EUP] with her, and she became pregnant.
19 καὶ ἀναστᾶσα ἀπῆλθεν καὶ περιείλατο τὸ θέριστρον ἀφ’ ἑαυτῆς καὶ ἐνεδύσατο τὰ ἱμάτια τῆς χηρεύσεως αὐτῆς
After she left, she took off the veil and put her widow’s clothes on again.
20 ἀπέστειλεν δὲ Ιουδας τὸν ἔριφον ἐξ αἰγῶν ἐν χειρὶ τοῦ ποιμένος αὐτοῦ τοῦ Οδολλαμίτου κομίσασθαι τὸν ἀρραβῶνα παρὰ τῆς γυναικός καὶ οὐχ εὗρεν αὐτήν
Judah gave a young goat to his friend from Adullam, for him to take back to the woman, as he had promised. But his friend could not find the woman.
21 ἐπηρώτησεν δὲ τοὺς ἄνδρας τοὺς ἐκ τοῦ τόπου ποῦ ἐστιν ἡ πόρνη ἡ γενομένη ἐν Αιναν ἐπὶ τῆς ὁδοῦ καὶ εἶπαν οὐκ ἦν ἐνταῦθα πόρνη
So he asked the men who lived there, “Where is the prostitute who was sitting by the road at Enaim?” They replied, “There has never been a prostitute here!”
22 καὶ ἀπεστράφη πρὸς Ιουδαν καὶ εἶπεν οὐχ εὗρον καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι οἱ ἐκ τοῦ τόπου λέγουσιν μὴ εἶναι ὧδε πόρνην
So he went back to Judah and said, “I did not find her. [Furthermore], the men who live in that town said, ‘There has never been a prostitute here.’”
23 εἶπεν δὲ Ιουδας ἐχέτω αὐτά ἀλλὰ μήποτε καταγελασθῶμεν ἐγὼ μὲν ἀπέσταλκα τὸν ἔριφον τοῦτον σὺ δὲ οὐχ εὕρηκας
Judah said, “She can keep the things that I gave to her. If we continued to search for her, people would ridicule us. I tried to send this young goat to her, but you could not find her to give it to her.”
24 ἐγένετο δὲ μετὰ τρίμηνον ἀπηγγέλη τῷ Ιουδα λέγοντες ἐκπεπόρνευκεν Θαμαρ ἡ νύμφη σου καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχει ἐκ πορνείας εἶπεν δὲ Ιουδας ἐξαγάγετε αὐτήν καὶ κατακαυθήτω
About three months later, someone told Judah, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has become a prostitute and now she is pregnant!” Judah said, “Drag her outside of the city and kill her by burning her!”
25 αὐτὴ δὲ ἀγομένη ἀπέστειλεν πρὸς τὸν πενθερὸν αὐτῆς λέγουσα ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τίνος ταῦτά ἐστιν ἐγὼ ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχω καὶ εἶπεν ἐπίγνωθι τίνος ὁ δακτύλιος καὶ ὁ ὁρμίσκος καὶ ἡ ῥάβδος αὕτη
But as they were taking her outside of the city, she gave the ring and walking stick to someone, and told him to take them to Judah, and say to him, “The man who owns these things is the one who caused me to become pregnant.” She also said to tell him, “Look at this ring, and the cord that is attached to it, and this walking stick. Whose are they?”
26 ἐπέγνω δὲ Ιουδας καὶ εἶπεν δεδικαίωται Θαμαρ ἢ ἐγώ οὗ εἵνεκεν οὐκ ἔδωκα αὐτὴν Σηλωμ τῷ υἱῷ μου καὶ οὐ προσέθετο ἔτι τοῦ γνῶναι αὐτήν
When the man did that, Judah recognized the ring and the stick. He said, “She is more righteous than I am. I did not tell my son Shelah to marry her, as I promised that I would.” And Judah did not have sex [EUP] with her again.
27 ἐγένετο δὲ ἡνίκα ἔτικτεν καὶ τῇδε ἦν δίδυμα ἐν τῇ γαστρὶ αὐτῆς
When it was time for her to give birth, [she was surprised that] there were twin boys in her womb.
28 ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ τίκτειν αὐτὴν ὁ εἷς προεξήνεγκεν τὴν χεῖρα λαβοῦσα δὲ ἡ μαῖα ἔδησεν ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ κόκκινον λέγουσα οὗτος ἐξελεύσεται πρότερος
As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand. So the midwife fastened a scarlet thread around his wrist, saying, “This one came out first.”
29 ὡς δὲ ἐπισυνήγαγεν τὴν χεῖρα καὶ εὐθὺς ἐξῆλθεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ἡ δὲ εἶπεν τί διεκόπη διὰ σὲ φραγμός καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Φαρες
But he pulled his hand back inside the womb, and his brother came out first. So she said, “So this is how you break your way out first!” So she named him Perez, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘breaking out].’
30 καὶ μετὰ τοῦτο ἐξῆλθεν ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ἐφ’ ᾧ ἦν ἐπὶ τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ τὸ κόκκινον καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ζαρα
Then his younger brother, the one who had the scarlet thread around his wrist, came out. And he was named Zerah, [which sounds like the Hebrew word that means ‘redness of dawn].’
