Genesis 38:15

Genesis 38:15 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
• New International Version (NIV)When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
• English Standard Version (ESV)When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
• New King James Version (NKJV)When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face.

Context of Genesis 38:15

13Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14So she took off her widow’s clothes, veiled her face, covered herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16He went over to her and said, “Come, let me sleep with you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me for sleeping with me?” 17“I will send you a young goat from my flock,” he replied. But she said, “Only if you leave something with me until you send it.”

Genesis 38:15 word by word

וַיִּרְאֶ֣הָ יְהוּדָ֔ה וַֽיַּחְשְׁבֶ֖הָ לְזוֹנָ֑ה כִּ֥י כִסְּתָ֖ה פָּנֶֽיהָ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• When Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• saw herרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• he thoughtחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: thinkH2803
• an harlotזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• because she had coveredכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
• her faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440

Cross-references for Genesis 38:15

• Genesis 34:31But they answered, “Should he treat our sister like a prostitute?”
• Leviticus 19:29“Do not debase your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity.
• Leviticus 21:14He is not to marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people,
• Numbers 25:1While Israel was staying in the Acacia Grove, the people began to prostitute themselves with the women of Moab.
• Deuteronomy 23:18Do not bring a female prostitute’s wages or a male prostitute’s earnings into the house of the Lord your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the Lord your God.
• Judges 11:1Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute, and Gilead was his father.
• Judges 16:1Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute and went to bed with her.
• Judges 19:2But she was unfaithful to him and left him for her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah. She was there for four months.
• 1 Kings 3:16Then two women who were prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
• Proverbs 2:18for her house sinks down to death and her ways to the land of the departed spirits.
• Amos 2:7They trample the heads of the poor on the dust of the ground and obstruct the path of the needy. A man and his father have sexual relations with the same girl, profaning my holy name.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:22Stay away from every kind of evil.
• 1 Peter 3:3Don’t let your beauty consist of outward things like elaborate hairstyles and wearing gold jewelry or fine clothes,
• Genesis 38:14So she took off her widow’s clothes, veiled her face, covered herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife.

Commentaries on Genesis 38:15

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15Thought her to be a harlot - See the original of this term, Genesis 34:31; (note). The Hebrew is זונה zonah, and signifies generally a person who prostitutes herself to the public for hire, or one who lives by the public; and hence very likely applied to a publican, a tavern-keeper, or hostess, Joshua 2:1; translated by the Septuagint, and in the New Testament, , from , to sell, which certainly may as well apply to her goods as to her person. It appears…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-30Verses 1-30 - The Family of Judah 1. עדלם ‛ǎdûllâm Adullam, “righteousness.” חירה chı̂yrâh Chirah, “nobility?” 2. שׁוּע shûa‛ Shua, “luck, riches, cry.” 3. ער ‛êr Er, “watching.” 4. אונן 'ônân Onan, “strong.” 5. שׁלה shēlâh Shelah, “request? rest.” כזיב kezı̂yb Kezib, “falsehood.” 6. תמר tāmār Tamar, “palm.” 12. תמנה tı̂mnâh Timnah, “counted or assigned.” 14. עינים 'êynayı̂m Enaim, “two fountains.” 29. פרץ perets Perets, “breach.” This…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14-19Tamar understood she needed to act to secure her family's future. Following the levirate custom (see study note on 38:8), she remained loyal to her dead husband. She had a legal right to have a child with Judah's son or Judah himself. So she tricked her father-in-law into having sexual relations with her. Again, Jacob’s family experiences deception, this time by a Canaanite daughter-in-law.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-301. at that time--a formula frequently used by the sacred writers, not to describe any precise period, but an interval near about it.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 38:15

• Adultery
• Judah
• Lasciviousness
• Sheep
• Tamar
• Women

In the dictionaries

• Judah
• Judah, kingdom of Judah
• Judea, Judah
• Harlot
• Lay
• Remain
• Abraham
• Archaeology; Archaeology and Criticism
• Ben-Ammi
• Crime; Crimes

Commentaries on Genesis 38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings