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Outline:

Though Genesis 37 marked a shift from Jacob to Joseph as being the central character, chapter 38 documents a side story seemingly unrelated to either man. While Joseph (who’s been betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery) has been taken to Egypt where he’s ultimately sold again to a man by the name of “Potiphar,” the bizarre events of Genesis 38 (which center upon Judah) coincide with this time of Joseph’s extended suffering.



Genesis 38:1-2, “It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited an Adullamite whose name was Hirah. And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her.”



Though we aren’t given any of the specifics, the very fact “Judah departed from his brothers” is revealing. Keep in mind, it had been Judah (the fourth son of Jacob by Leah) who’d proposed selling Joseph into slavery - a plan everyone other than Reuben went along with.



Not only is it likely his conscious is naturally struggling with the guilt of his actions, but you can imagine the constant weeping and open grief of his father Jacob was more than he could bear. Everything in his home reminded him of the terrible thing he’d done to his brother.



As such Judah bounces! We’re told he goes to visit his pal “Hirah” who was “an Adullamite.” The city of Adullam was one of the royal cities of the Canaanites located in the hill country near the Valley of Elah. From Hebron Adullam was approximately 50 miles northwest.



Sadly, in seeking to run away from his guilt, Judah compounds his mistakes. Not only was it fundamentally unwise to “depart from his brothers,” but Judah has now surrounded himself with immoral influences. Hirah was a pagan. He was an idolater. He and Judah didn’t worship the same God nor share the same worldview. As Paul would write in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’”



Well, it doesn’t take long for Judah’s moral slide to take another tragic turn. As he and Hirah are palling around, a “Canaanite” woman who was “the daughter of Shua” catches his eye.



Tragically, Judah “marries her” intentionally defying the precedent of remaining separate established long ago by Abraham. Not only had his grandfather Isaac and his father Jacob specifically married within the family, but Judah knew his uncle Esau had squandered any spiritual heritage afford to him because he’d broken tradition by marrying a Canaanite.



Genesis 38:3-6, “So she conceived and bore a son, and Judah called his name Er. She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. And she conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. Judah was at Chezib when she bore Shelah. Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.”



Judah has not only committed a great sin by marrying this women, but he proceeds to compound matters by having three sons with her: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Moses tells us Judah ultimately settles in an area called “Chezib” and creates a life for himself there.



Understand… None of this was a snap decision. Judah has chosen to completely reject his family and father by creating a home separate from them. He’s taken a Canaanite bride and has started his own family with her. Because we quickly find Judah’s “firstborn Er” now of marrying age, we can assume two decades or so have passed since he first departed. Note: Chronologically this means Joseph has likely risen to second in command of all of Egypt.



There is much about this woman “Judah took as a wife for Er” that we don’t know. While likely “Tamar” was also a “Canaanite” Moses doesn’t provide us with any biographical details.



We can say Tamar was not of Hebrew descent for Moses would have included such a detail in the record; however, we aren’t told her ethnicity, who her father was, or even where she grew up. All we can say with certainty is that she was tall… “Tamar” means “palm-tree.”



Genesis 38:7, “But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him.”



As you’re reading through the text verse seven demands a double-take! Because “Er was wicked in the sight of the Lord” Moses tells us “the Lord killed him.” In the Hebrew this word “wicked” would be better translated as “evil.” Once again, while we’re sparse on specifics, there was something fundamental to Er’s character that was simply rotten to the core.

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