Genesis 38 Commentary

“And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.”

Wife. This was then customary among the Chanaanites, as Philo insinuates. It also continued to be practised in Egypt, till the year of Christ 491 at least, when the marriage had not been consummated. Moses established it as a law, when no issue had sprung from the deceased brother. (Calmet) (Deuteronomy xxv. 5.) The eldest son bore his name; the rest were called after their own father. This law is now abrogated; and the prohibition, which has been issued by the Church, can be dispensed with only by herself, (Worthington) as was the case in the marriage of Henry VIII, with Catherine, the virgin relict of his brother Arthur. (Haydock)

“And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. displeased: Heb. was evil in the eyes of the Lord”

Slew him, perhaps by the hand of evil angels, Psalm lxxvii. 49. Asmodeus, &c., who slew the libidinous husbands of Sara. (Tobias iii. 7.) (Menochius)

“Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.”

Till. Juda had no design to give her to Sela, as the custom of that age required. (Calmet) — She waited patiently for a time; when, perceiving that she was neglected, she devised a wicked scheme to punish Juda, even at the hazard of her own life. (Haydock)

“And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife. an open: Heb. the door of eyes, or, of Enajim”

Veil; (theristrum) a long robe, covering the whole body, except the eyes. Thus she was disguised; or, as it were, masked, as Aquila translates. Harlots herein imitated modest women, chap. xxiv. 65. — Cross way. Hebrew Henayim, which the Septuagint and Syriac take for a proper name. Others translate “at the gate of the eyes,” which means two roads, where a person must open his eyes to judge which is the right one—or “at the gate of the two fountains leading to Thamnas,” Judges xiv. 1. Prostitutes formerly infested the high roads. (Jeremias iii. 2; Ezechiel xvi. 25.) Chrysippus says, “at first harlots remained out of the city, and covered their faces; but afterwards growing more hardened, they laid aside the mask,” &c.

“And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.”

Staff. These were all marks of dignity. “Kings made use of spears, or sceptres, before they wore a diadem.” (Trogus. 43.) (Calmet) — Juda might blame himself for exposing these valuable things, and divesting himself of all his dignity, to gratify his unjustifiable passion. If some have excused both the parties concerned, the Scripture at least sufficiently shews in what light we ought to consider their conduct. Juda himself thought her worthy of death; though in some sense, she was juster than himself, ver. 24, 26. (Haydock) — She was guilty of a sort of adultery, being engaged to Sela; and also of incest, &c.; whereas the fault of Juda, through ignorance of her person, was simply fornication; which is, however, always contrary to the law of nature, as the pagans themselves confessed. (Grotius in Matthew v.) (Calmet) — From Christ’s choosing to be born of such progenitors, we may learn to adore his humility and tender regard for sinners. (Haydock)

“Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place. openly: or, in Enajim”

Harlot. Hebrew Kedesha a person consecrated to good or evil. Many nations esteemed prostitution, in honour of Venus, as a laudable action, 2 Kings[4 Kings?] xvii. 30. (Calmet)

“And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. be shamed: Heb. become a contempt”

A lie. Hebrew, “lest we be exposed to shame,” by making any farther search. (Menochius)

“When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff.”

Execution. The Rabbin say she was to be marked with a hot iron. If she was to die, before she was delivered, God prevented the cruel sentence from taking effect. (Haydock) — Many nations have punished adultery with fire. Macrinus, the Roman emperor, ordered the culprits to be tied together and thrown into the flames. (Capitolin.) — Moses commanded the daughters of priests, who should be detected in this crime, to be given to the flames, (Leviticus xxi. 9,) and others to be stoned; (Leviticus xx. 10,) whence the Rabbin have concluded, that Thamar was a priest’s daughter. (Calmet)

“And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.”

Juster. For Juda had been guilty of injustice; and had thus exposed her to the danger of following a life of lewdness. (Haydock) — She remained a widow afterwards, as she was now rendered unfit to be married either to Juda or Sela. The latter married another woman, Numbers xxvi. 19. (Calmet) — While Juda was engaged in this unlawful commerce, and yielded to the temptation, Joseph was triumphing over a much greater temptation, in rejecting the solicitations of his master’s wife. (Haydock)

“And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. How hast: or, Wherefore hast thou made this breach against thee? Pharez: that is A breach”

Partition; the secundinĉ. The midwife was apprehensive of danger. (Menochius) — Phares. That is, a breach or division. (Challoner)

“And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.”

Zara. “Orient, or rising;” in whose hand the red ribband denoted, that the blood of Christ is the source of all our merits and happiness. These two brothers were a type of the vocation of the Gentiles, and of the reprobation of the Jews, who lost the privileges to which they thought themselves entitled. (St. Irenĉus iv. 42; St. Chrysostom; &c.) (Calmet) — Phares was the ancestor of Jesus Christ, St. Matthew i. 3.