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. read more
Verse 27 27.Behold twins were in her womb. Although both Judah obtained pardon for his error, and Tamar for her wicked contrivance; yet the Lord, in order to humble them, caused a prodigy to take place in the birth. Something similar had before happened in the case of Jacob and Esau, but for a different reason: as we know that prodigies sometimes portend good, sometimes evil. Here, however, there is no doubt that the twins, in their very birth, bring with them marks of their parents’ infamy.... read more
The house of Judah: a family record of sin and shame. I. THE WICKEDNESS OF ER AND ONAN . 1. Early . On any hypothesis Er and Onan can have been little more than boys when they were married, and yet they appear to have arrived at a remarkable precocity in sin. Nor was it simply that they had shed the innocence and purity of youth, but they had also acquired a shameful proficiency in vice. Young scholars are mostly apt learners, especially in the devil's school. 2.... read more
The goodness and severity of God. These occurrences in the family of Judah would seem Judah is a wanderer from his brethren; a sensual, self-willed, degenerate man; yet it is in the line of this same wanderer that the promised seed shall appear. The whole is a lesson on the evil of separation from the people of God . Luther asks why such things were placed in Scripture, and answers, read more
And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. Cf. the case of Rebekah ( Genesis 25:24 ). read more
Tamar's twins. I. POINTS OF RESEMBLANCE . II. POINTS OF DISTINCTION . read more
- The Family of Judah1. עדלם ‛ǎdûllâm, ‘Adullam, “righteousness.” חירה chı̂yrâh Chirah, “nobility?”2. שׁוּע shûa‛, Shua‘, “luck, riches, cry.”3. ער ‛êr, ‘Er, “watching.”4. אונן 'ônân, Onan, “strong.”5. שׁלה shēlâh, Shelah, “request? rest.” כזיב kezı̂yb Kezib, “falsehood.”6. תמר tāmār, Tamar, “palm.”12. תמנה tı̂mnâh, Timnah, “counted or assigned.”14. עינים 'êynayı̂m, ‘Enaim, “two fountains.”29. פרץ perets, Perets, “breach.”This strange narrative is an episode in the history of... read more
Judah and his descendants (38:1-30)Back in Canaan, Jacob’s family had further troubles. Judah, Jacob’s fourth eldest son, had three sons, the eldest of whom had married. When this son died childless, Judah, according to the custom of the time, asked his next son Onan to have a temporary sexual relationship with the widow Tamar, with the hope that by him Tamar might produce a child. Legally, this child would be considered son of the dead man and so would carry on the family name and inheritance.... read more
"And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it came to pass when she travailed, that one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold his brother came out; and she said, Wherefore hast thou made a breach for thyself?, therefore his name was called Perez. And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 38:24-30
Here is, I. Judah's rigour against Tamar, when he heard she was an adulteress. She was, in the eye of the law, Shelah's wife, and therefore her being with child by another was looked upon as an injury and reproach to Judah's family: Bring her forth therefore, says Judah, the master of the family, and let her be burnt; not burnt to death, but burnt in the cheek or forehead, stigmatized for a harlot. This seems probable, Gen. 38:24. Note, it is a common thing for men to be severe against those... read more