Ruth 4:12

12. Whom Tamar bare unto Judah See the history, as given in Genesis 38:0. There was a peculiar appropriateness in this allusion to Boaz’s ancient ancestors, for Tamar’s playing the harlot with Judah was not from lust on her part, but a forcing of him unawares to perform the part of a kinsman to her. His two sons Er and Onan had married her, and died leaving her childless. He then had promised her his younger son, but seems not to have kept his word, and therefore she took the bold step to be redeemed by Judah himself from the lonely estate and condition of a childless widow. Nor was Pharez, the offspring of that connexion, ever regarded as illegitimate, but he figures most honourably in the genealogy of David and the Messiah.