בראשית 38

1 ויהי בעת ההוא וירד יהודה מאת אחיו ויט עד איש עדלמי ושמו חירה

Around this time, Judah left his brothers and set up his tents at Adullam, near to a local man named Hirah.

2 וירא שם יהודה בת איש כנעני ושמו שוע ויקחה ויבא אליה

There Judah happened to see the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua and married her. He slept with her,

3 ותהר ותלד בן ויקרא את שמו ער

and she became pregnant and had a son he named Er.

4 ותהר עוד ותלד בן ותקרא את שמו אונן

She became pregnant again and had a son she named Onan.

5 ותסף עוד ותלד בן ותקרא את שמו שלה והיה בכזיב בלדתה אתו

Then she had another son she named Shelah who was born in Kezib.

6 ויקח יהודה אשה לער בכורו ושמה תמר

Much later, Judah arranged for Er, his firstborn son, to marry a woman named Tamar.

7 ויהי ער בכור יהודה--רע בעיני יהוה וימתהו יהוה

But Er did what was evil in the Lord's sight, so the Lord put him to death.

8 ויאמר יהודה לאונן בא אל אשת אחיך ויבם אתה והקם זרע לאחיך

Judah told Onan, “Go and sleep with your brother's wife to fulfill the requirements of a brother-in-law to have children on behalf of your brother.”

9 וידע אונן כי לא לו יהיה הזרע והיה אם בא אל אשת אחיו ושחת ארצה לבלתי נתן זרע לאחיו

Onan realized that any children he had wouldn't be his own, so whenever he slept with his brother's wife he made sure she wouldn't become pregnant by withdrawing and spilling his semen on the ground. In this way he prevented any children being born on behalf of his brother.

10 וירע בעיני יהוה אשר עשה וימת גם אתו

But what he did was evil in the Lord's sight, so he also put Onan to death.

11 ויאמר יהודה לתמר כלתו שבי אלמנה בית אביך עד יגדל שלה בני--כי אמר פן ימות גם הוא כאחיו ותלך תמר ותשב בית אביה

Then Judah told his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Go to your father's house and live there as a widow until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “Maybe he'll die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went and stayed in her father's house.

12 וירבו הימים ותמת בת שוע אשת יהודה וינחם יהודה ויעל על גזזי צאנו הוא וחירה רעהו העדלמי--תמנתה

A long time later Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah had finished the time of mourning, he went to visit his sheepshearers at Timnah with his friend Hirah from Adullam.

13 ויגד לתמר לאמר הנה חמיך עלה תמנתה לגז צאנו

Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going to Timnah to shear his sheep.”

14 ותסר בגדי אלמנותה מעליה ותכס בצעיף ותתעלף ותשב בפתח עינים אשר על דרך תמנתה כי ראתה כי גדל שלה והוא לא נתנה לו לאשה

So she took off her widow's clothes and covered herself with a veil, disguising herself. She sat down beside the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. She had realized that even though Shelah had now grown up, nothing had been done about her marrying him.

15 ויראה יהודה ויחשבה לזונה כי כסתה פניה

Judah saw her and thought she must be a prostitute because she had veiled her face.

16 ויט אליה אל הדרך ויאמר הבה נא אבוא אליך כי לא ידע כי כלתו הוא ותאמר מה תתן לי כי תבוא אלי

He went over to her at the side of the road and said, “I want to sleep with you.” He didn't know she was his daughter-in-law. “What will you give me if I let you sleep with me?” she asked.

17 ויאמר אנכי אשלח גדי עזים מן הצאן ותאמר אם תתן ערבון עד שלחך

“I'll send you a young goat from my flock,” he replied. “What guarantee will you give me to make sure you'll send it?” she asked.

18 ויאמר מה הערבון אשר אתן לך ותאמר חתמך ופתילך ומטך אשר בידך ויתן לה ויבא אליה ותהר לו

“What guarantee do I have to give you?” he asked. “Your signet seal and its cord, and your walking stick that you're holding,” she replied. He handed them over to her. He slept with her and she became pregnant.

19 ותקם ותלך ותסר צעיפה מעליה ותלבש בגדי אלמנותה

She left, went home, took off her veil, and put on her widow's clothes.

20 וישלח יהודה את גדי העזים ביד רעהו העדלמי לקחת הערבון מיד האשה ולא מצאה

Judah sent his friend Hirah from Adullam with a young goat to get back his belongings he'd left as a guarantee from the woman, but he couldn't find her.

21 וישאל את אנשי מקמה לאמר איה הקדשה הוא בעינים על הדרך ויאמרו לא היתה בזה קדשה

Hirah asked the men there, “Where's the cult prostitute that sits by the entrance road to Enaim?” “There's no cult prostitute here,” they answered.

22 וישב אל יהודה ויאמר לא מצאתיה וגם אנשי המקום אמרו לא היתה בזה קדשה

Hirah went back to Judah and told him, “I couldn't find her, and the men there said, ‘There's no cult prostitute here.’”

23 ויאמר יהודה תקח לה פן נהיה לבוז הנה שלחתי הגדי הזה ואתה לא מצאתה

“Let her keep what I gave her,” Judah replied. “We'll look ridiculous to people if we go on searching. In any case I did try to send her the young goat as promised but you couldn't find her.”

24 ויהי כמשלש חדשים ויגד ליהודה לאמר זנתה תמר כלתך וגם הנה הרה לזנונים ויאמר יהודה הוציאוה ותשרף

Then about three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has had sex like a prostitute and now as a result she's pregnant!” “Bring her out and burn her to death!” Judah ordered.

25 הוא מוצאת והיא שלחה אל חמיה לאמר לאיש אשר אלה לו אנכי הרה ותאמר הכר נא--למי החתמת והפתילים והמטה האלה

As she was brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law, saying, “I'm pregnant by the man who owns these things.” Then she added, “Please look carefully at this signet seal and its cord and walking stick. Who do they belong to?”

26 ויכר יהודה ויאמר צדקה ממני כי על כן לא נתתיה לשלה בני ולא יסף עוד לדעתה

Judah recognized them right away and said, “She has honored the law more than I have, because I didn't give her in marriage to my son Shelah.” He didn't sleep with Tamar again.

27 ויהי בעת לדתה והנה תאומים בבטנה

When the time came for Tamar to give birth, she was found to be carrying twins.

28 ויהי בלדתה ויתן יד ותקח המילדת ותקשר על ידו שני לאמר זה יצא ראשנה

One baby put out his hand, and the midwife tied a scarlet thread around on his wrist and said, “This one came out first.”

29 ויהי כמשיב ידו והנה יצא אחיו ותאמר מה פרצת עליך פרץ ויקרא שמו פרץ

But then he pulled back his hand and his brother was born, she said, “How did you burst out?” So he was named Perez.

30 ואחר יצא אחיו אשר על ידו השני ויקרא שמו זרח

Then his brother with the scarlet thread on his wrist was born. He was named Zerah.