Genesis Chapter 38
Showing all 30 verses for Genesis Chapter 38.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. "
"Around that time, Judah left his brothers and went to stay with a man from Adullam named Hirah."
Judah moves away from his brothers, beginning a new, separate chapter of his life. Physical or relational distance from family doesn't erase the need for character; who you become when you're on your own still matters just as much.
"And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. "
"There Judah met a Canaanite woman, the daughter of a man named Shuah. He married her and they had children together."
Judah marries a Canaanite woman, choosing a different path from his father and grandfather. Not every decision made outside a family's usual pattern needs to be treated as scandalous, but it's still worth noticing the influence such choices can have on the family that follows.
"And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. "
"She became pregnant and had a son; Judah named him Er."
Judah's first son, Er, is born, beginning his own family line. New life, however complicated the family story around it, is still worth marking as a genuine beginning.
"And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. "
"She conceived again and had another son, whom she named Onan."
A second son, Onan, is born to Judah. Every child born into a family carries their own future, distinct from whatever came before them, even amid ongoing family difficulty.
"And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. "
"She had still another son and named him Shelah; she gave birth to him while the family was at a place called Kezib."
A third son, Shelah, completes Judah's immediate family. Family growth continues even in seasons that will later prove difficult; the story isn't finished simply because hardship lies ahead.
"And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. "
"Judah arranged a wife for his firstborn son Er; her name was Tamar."
Judah arranges Tamar's marriage to his firstborn son, Er. Bringing someone new into your family through marriage carries real responsibility for how they'll be treated and cared for, not just how the arrangement benefits you.
"And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. "
"But Er, Judah's firstborn son, was evil, and it cost him his life."
Er's wickedness leads to serious consequences. Genuine character, not merely birth order or privilege, is what determines the kind of legacy a person actually leaves behind.
"And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. "
"Judah said to Onan, 'Sleep with your brother's widow. It's your duty as his brother to give her a child to carry on his name.'"
Judah instructs Onan to fulfil his duty towards his brother's widow. Family obligations towards a vulnerable widow or dependent deserve to be honoured fully, not treated as optional or inconvenient.
"And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. "
"But Onan knew the child wouldn't legally count as his own, so whenever he slept with his brother's wife, he made sure not to get her pregnant, to avoid giving his brother an heir."
Onan deliberately avoids his responsibility out of self-interest. Watch for when self-interest quietly shapes your choices while still wearing the appearance of doing the right thing; the difference matters, even when no one else can see it.
"And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. "
"What he did was wrong in the LORD's eyes, and it cost him his life too."
Onan's selfish deception has serious consequences. Genuine faithfulness to a commitment requires more than outward compliance; a hollow, self-serving version of doing right doesn't hold the same integrity as the real thing.
"Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and in her father’s house. "
💡 Highlighted words feature Jacobean 1611 tooltips to clarify shifted 17th-century English terms.
"Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, 'Go back and live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up' - because he was afraid Shelah might die too, like his brothers. So Tamar went and lived in her father's house."
Judah delays keeping his promise to Tamar, secretly never intending to fulfil it. A promise given but quietly never intended to be kept is its own form of deception; it leaves the other person waiting on false hope rather than facing an honest reality.
"And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. "
"Some time later, Judah's wife - Shuah's daughter - died. After the mourning period, Judah went up to Timnath with his friend Hirah the Adullamite for the sheep-shearing."
Time passes, and Judah, now widowed himself, goes about his business. Even amid personal loss, ordinary responsibilities continue; grief and daily life often have to be carried side by side.
"And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. "
"Tamar was told, 'Look, your father-in-law is on his way up to Timnath to shear his sheep.'"
Tamar learns of Judah's travel plans and takes note. Paying close attention to circumstances around you, especially when you've been treated unfairly, can position you to eventually seek what's rightfully yours.
"And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. "
"So she took off her widow's clothing, covered her face with a veil to disguise herself, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, on the road to Timnath - because she could see that Shelah was grown up now, and she still hadn't been given to him as a wife."
Tamar, recognising Judah's broken promise, takes matters into her own hands. When someone in power over your situation has genuinely failed to honour their word, seeking your own rightful place, even through difficult means, is a very human response to real injustice.
"When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. "
"When Judah saw her, he assumed she was a prostitute, because her face was covered."
Judah mistakes Tamar for a prostitute because her face is concealed. Appearances and assumptions can be deeply misleading; what looks obvious in the moment isn't always the full truth of who or what you're actually encountering.
"And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? "
"He turned off the road towards her and said, 'Come, let me sleep with you' - not knowing she was his daughter-in-law. 'What will you give me to sleep with me?' she asked."
Judah propositions the disguised woman, unaware of her true identity. A moment of poor judgement, chosen in secret, can carry consequences far beyond what was ever anticipated at the time.
"And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? "
"'I'll send you a young goat from my flock,' he said. 'Will you give me something as a guarantee until you send it?' she replied."
Tamar cleverly negotiates a pledge before agreeing to Judah's terms. Wisdom and foresight, even employed within a difficult and morally complicated situation, can help protect you when a fuller reckoning eventually comes.
"And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. "
"'What guarantee should I give you?' he asked. 'Your seal, your cord, and the staff in your hand,' she said. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him."
Judah unknowingly hands over items that will unmistakably identify him later. What is done in secret often carries with it, whether we intend it or not, the seeds of its own eventual exposure.
"And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. "
"Then she got up and left, took off her veil, and put her widow's clothing back on."
Tamar quickly returns to her ordinary widow's life after securing her proof. Careful, deliberate follow-through after a risky decision reflects real foresight about what still lies ahead.
"And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not. "
"Judah sent his friend Hirah the Adullamite with the young goat, to collect the pledge from the woman - but Hirah couldn't find her."
Judah tries to fulfil his end of the bargain but cannot locate the woman. Good intentions to make something right can still be genuinely thwarted by circumstances beyond your control; that doesn't excuse the underlying situation that created the need in the first place.
"Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. "
"So Hirah asked the men of that place, 'Where is the shrine prostitute who was here by the road?' 'There's been no such woman here,' they said."
Local men confirm that no such woman was ever seen there. Even the most careful search for the truth can be met with real confusion when appearances have been deliberately arranged to mislead.
"And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. "
"So he went back to Judah and said, 'I couldn't find her, and the men there said there had been no such woman in that place.'"
Hirah returns empty-handed, unable to find any trace of her. Sometimes an unresolved situation has to simply be left as it is for a time, before the fuller truth is finally ready to come to light.
"And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. "
"Judah said, 'Let her keep it, then - we don't want to become a laughing stock. I did send the goat as promised, but you couldn't find her.'"
Judah decides to let the matter go rather than risk public embarrassment. Concern for your own reputation can sometimes lead you to quietly abandon accountability altogether; that avoidance rarely serves the deeper truth still waiting to surface.
"And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. "
"About three months later, Judah was told, 'Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been acting like a prostitute, and now she's pregnant because of it.' 'Bring her out,' Judah said, 'and let her be burned to death.'"
Judah, hearing of Tamar's pregnancy, condemns her without knowing his own role in it. Swift judgement of someone else's wrongdoing can look very different once your own hidden part in the situation comes fully into the light; humility calls for examining your own actions before condemning another's.
"When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. "
"As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law: 'I am pregnant by the man who owns these things. See if you recognise them - this seal, this cord, and this staff.'"
Tamar reveals the truth calmly, through undeniable evidence, rather than through accusation. Sometimes the most powerful way to reveal a wrong done to you is through quiet, unmistakable evidence rather than heated confrontation.
"And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. "
"Judah recognised them and said, 'She is more in the right than I am, since I didn't give her to my son Shelah.' And he did not sleep with her again."
Judah acknowledges the truth honestly, admitting Tamar was more righteous than he had been. Real integrity means owning your own failure honestly the moment it's revealed, rather than continuing to shift blame elsewhere.
"And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. "
"When the time came for her to give birth, it turned out she was carrying twins."
Tamar's pregnancy is revealed to be twins, an unexpected doubling of what seemed like a difficult, isolated situation. Even a story that began in real brokenness and injustice can still produce an abundance you didn't expect; God's provision isn't limited by how a situation began.
"And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. "
"During the delivery, one baby put out his hand first, and the midwife tied a scarlet thread around it, saying, 'This one came out first.'"
A scarlet thread is tied to mark the hand that appeared first. Careful attention to detail, even in an uncertain moment, reflects a genuine desire to get things right, even when the outcome later surprises everyone involved.
"And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. "
"But then he pulled his hand back, and instead his brother came out first. 'So this is how you break out!' she said. So he was named Perez."
The marked hand withdraws, and the other twin is born first unexpectedly. Life doesn't always unfold in the order you expect or prepare for; sometimes a genuine surprise reshapes the story in ways no one anticipated.
"And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah. "
"Afterwards his brother was born, the one with the scarlet thread on his hand, and he was named Zerah."
The second twin, Zarah, is born, completing this unusual birth account. Even the most unconventional beginnings can still become part of a much larger, meaningful story; this family line continues on towards real significance despite how it started.