1 Eodem tempore, descendens Judas a fratribus suis, divertit ad virum Odollamitem, nomine Hiram. 2 Viditque ibi filiam hominis Chananæi, vocabulo Sue: et accepta uxore, ingressus est ad eam. 3 Quæ concepit, et peperit filium, et vocavit nomen ejus Her. 4 Rursumque concepto fœtu, natum filium vocavit Onan. 5 Tertium quoque peperit: quem appellavit Sela; quo nato, parere ultra cessavit. 6 Dedit autem Judas uxorem primogenito suo Her, nomine Thamar. 7 Fuit quoque Her primogenitus Judæ nequam in conspectu Domini: et ab eo occisus est. 8 Dixit ergo Judas ad Onan filium suum: Ingredere uxorem fratris tui, et sociare illi, ut suscites semen fratri tuo. 9 Ille sciens non sibi nasci filios, introiens ad uxorem fratris sui, semen fundebat in terram, ne liberi fratris nomine nascerentur. 10 Et idcirco percussit eum Dominus, quod rem detestabilem faceret. 11 Quam ob rem dixit Judas Thamar nurui suæ: Esto vidua in domo patris tui, donec crescat Sela filius meus: timebat enim ne et ipse moreretur, sicut fratres ejus. Quæ abiit, et habitavit in domo patris sui. 12 Evolutis autem multis diebus, mortua est filia Sue uxor Judæ: qui, post luctum consolatione suscepta, ascendebat ad tonsores ovium suarum, ipse et Hiras opilio gregis Odollamites, in Thamnas. 13 Nuntiatumque est Thamar quod socer illius ascenderet in Thamnas ad tondendas oves. 14 Quæ, depositis viduitatis vestibus, assumpsit theristrum: et mutato habitu, sedit in bivio itineris, quod ducit Thamnam: eo quod crevisset Sela, et non eum accepisset maritum. 15 Quam cum vidisset Judas, suspicatus est esse meretricem: operuerat enim vultum suum, ne agnosceretur. 16 Ingrediensque ad eam, ait: Dimitte me ut coëam tecum: nesciebat enim quod nurus sua esset. Qua respondente: Quid dabis mihi ut fruaris concubitu meo? 17 dixit: Mittam tibi hædum de gregibus. Rursumque illa dicente: Patiar quod vis, si dederis mihi arrhabonem, donec mittas quod polliceris. 18 Ait Judas: Quid tibi vis pro arrhabone dari? Respondit: Annulum tuum, et armillam, et baculum quem manu tenes. Ad unum igitur coitum mulier concepit, 19 et surgens abiit: depositoque habitu quem sumpserat, induta est viduitatis vestibus. 20 Misit autem Judas hædum per pastorem suum Odollamitem, ut reciperet pignus quod dederat mulieri: qui cum non invenisset eam, 21 interrogavit homines loci illius: Ubi est mulier quæ sedebat in bivio? Respondentibus cunctis: Non fuit in loco ista meretrix. 22 Reversus est ad Judam, et dixit ei: Non inveni eam: sed et homines loci illius dixerunt mihi, numquam sedisse ibi scortum. 23 Ait Judas: Habeat sibi, certe mendacii arguere nos non potest, ego misi hædum quem promiseram: et tu non invenisti eam. 24 Ecce autem post tres menses nuntiaverunt Judæ, dicentes: Fornicata est Thamar nurus tua, et videtur uterus illius intumescere. Dixitque Judas: Producite eam ut comburatur. 25 Quæ cum duceretur ad pœnam, misit ad socerum suum, dicens: De viro, cujus hæc sunt, concepi: cognosce cujus sit annulus, et armilla, et baculus. 26 Qui, agnitis muneribus, ait: Justior me est: quia non tradidi eam Sela filio meo. Attamen ultra non cognovit eam. 27 Instante autem partu, apparuerunt gemini in utero: atque in ipsa effusione infantium unus protulit manum, in qua obstetrix ligavit coccinum, dicens: 28 Iste egredietur prior. 29 Illo vero retrahente manum, egressus est alter: dixitque mulier: Quare divisa est propter te maceria? et ob hanc causam, vocavit nomen ejus Phares. 30 Postea egressus est frater ejus, in cujus manu erat coccinum: quem appellavit Zara.
Genesis 38 Clementine Vulgate
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
People & places in this chapter
From this site's family tree and Bible maps, only where those guides cite this chapter.
People
Bath-shua
The Canaanite daughter of Shua whom Judah married and who bore Er, Onan and Shelah (unnamed in Genesis 38, where she dies after a long time; named Bath-shua in 1 Chronicles 2:3).
Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:12; 1 Chronicles 2:3
Er
Judah's firstborn, who was wicked in the LORD's sight and died young; first husband of Tamar.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:3-7
Hirah
Judah's friend, an Adullamite near whom Judah settled, who went with Judah to the sheepshearing at Timnah and later took the young goat to Enaim but could not find the woman.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:1; Genesis 38:12; Genesis 38:20
Judah
The lion of the tribes, from whom kings and the Messiah would come.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 29:35; 38; 49:8–12
Onan
Judah's second son, who died for refusing to raise up offspring for his late brother.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:4-10
Perez
Born of Judah and Tamar, he became the head of the leading clan of Judah.
Cited in the guide: Gen. 38; Ruth 4:18; 1 Chron. 2:4-5; Matt. 1:3
Shelah
Judah's third son, withheld from Tamar until she took matters into her own hands.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:5, 11; Numbers 26:20
Shua
A Canaanite man whose daughter Judah married; she bore Er, Onan and Shelah.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:2; Genesis 38:12
Tamar
Judah's daughter-in-law who, denied justice, became the mother of Perez.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 38; Matthew 1:3
Zerah
The twin brother of Perez, born to Judah and Tamar, whose hand first reached out at birth.
Cited in the guide: Genesis 38:29-30; 1 Chronicles 2:4
Cross references (25)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 2 Kings 4:8; 1 Samuel 22:1; Proverbs 13:20; Micah 1:15; Genesis 19:2–3
- 2 1 Chronicles 2:3; Genesis 24:3; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Judges 16:1; Genesis 3:6
- 3 Numbers 26:19; Genesis 46:12
- 4 Genesis 46:12; Numbers 26:19
- 5 Numbers 26:20; Genesis 46:12; Genesis 38:26; Genesis 38:11; 1 Chronicles 4:21
- 6 Genesis 21:21; Genesis 24:3; Matthew 1:3
- 7 1 Chronicles 2:3; Genesis 46:12; Numbers 26:19; Genesis 13:13; Genesis 19:13
- 8 Deuteronomy 25:5–10; Matthew 22:23–27; Ruth 4:5–11; Ruth 1:11; Leviticus 18:16
- 9 James 4:5; Deuteronomy 25:6; James 3:16; Titus 3:3; Job 5:2
- 10 Numbers 11:1; Genesis 46:12; Proverbs 14:32; 1 Chronicles 21:7; Numbers 26:19
- 11 Leviticus 22:13; Ruth 1:11–13
- 12 Joshua 15:10; 2 Samuel 13:39; Judges 14:1; Genesis 24:67; Genesis 31:19
- 14 Genesis 38:26; Genesis 38:11–13; Proverbs 7:12; Jeremiah 3:2; Genesis 24:65
- 16 1 Timothy 6:10; Matthew 26:15; 2 Samuel 13:11; Ezekiel 16:33; Deuteronomy 23:18
- 17 Genesis 38:20; Ezekiel 16:33; Luke 16:8; Proverbs 20:16; Genesis 38:24–25
- 18 Genesis 38:25–26; Luke 15:22; Jeremiah 22:24; Hosea 4:11
- 19 Genesis 38:14; 2 Samuel 14:2; 2 Samuel 14:5
- 20 Genesis 20:9; 2 Samuel 13:3; Luke 23:12; Leviticus 19:17; Judges 14:20
- 23 Ephesians 5:12; 2 Samuel 12:9; Proverbs 6:33; Romans 6:21; 2 Corinthians 4:2
- 24 Leviticus 21:9; Judges 19:2; Ezekiel 23:44; Hosea 2:5; Ezekiel 23:19
- 25 Genesis 37:32; Genesis 38:18; Psalm 50:21; Jeremiah 2:26; Revelation 20:12
- 26 1 Samuel 24:17; 1 Peter 4:2–3; John 8:9; Titus 2:11–12; 2 Samuel 24:17
- 27 Genesis 25:24
- 29 Genesis 46:12; Matthew 1:3; 1 Chronicles 2:4; Numbers 26:20; Nehemiah 11:6
- 30 1 Chronicles 9:6; 1 Chronicles 2:4; Matthew 1:3
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
This fact is indeed set forth by many other [occurrences], but typically by [the history of] Thamar, Judah's daughter-in-law. For when she had conceived twins, one of them put forth his hand first; and as the midwife supposed that he was the first-born, she bound a scarlet token on his hand.