Genesis 38:19-23

"And she arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand: but he found her not. Then he asked the men of the place, saying, Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There hath been no prostitute here. And he returned to Judah, and said, I have not found her; and also the men of the place said, There hath been no prostitute here. And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be put to shame: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her."

"Where is the prostitute... ?" The word here for prostitute is [~qªdeshah], strictly sacred prostitute."[26] "All of the other places in the O.T. where this word is used, namely, in Deuteronomy 23:17,18 and Hosea 4:14, use the word in this sense."[27] If we inquire as to why Judah did not himself go to redeem the pledge, it would appear that he was ashamed to do so. Some commentators try to make excuses for Judah on the grounds that he "lived in that kind of a society." Sure he did, but he knew better, and his conduct here proves it. Keil rendered Genesis 38:23 thus: "Let her take them (the signet, etc.) for herself, that we may not become (an object of) ridicule!"[28] It would have involved publicity that Judah did not want if they had made any further inquiry about the Kedeshah. All of this shows clearly that Judah was ashamed and wished, as much as possible, to avoid any talk about his deed. Little could he have imagined that people thousands of years afterward would know all about it and keep on speaking of it! Yes, Judah would get his signet, cord and staff back again, but in circumstances he never dreamed of.