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

13And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep. 14And she put the garments of her widowhood off from her, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the entry of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as wife. And Judah saw her, and took her for a harlot; because she had covered her face. 16And he turned aside to her by the way, and said, Come, I pray thee, let me go in to thee; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in to me? 17And he said, I will send [thee] a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give [me] a pledge, until thou send it?

Genesis 38:15 word by word

וַיִּרְאֶ֣הָ יְהוּדָ֔ה וַֽיַּחְשְׁבֶ֖הָ לְזוֹנָ֑ה כִּ֥י כִסְּתָ֖ה פָּנֶֽיהָ׃Read the interlinear

• Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• coveredכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
• faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440

Cross-references for Genesis 38:15

• Genesis 34:31And they said, Should people deal with our sister as with a harlot?
• Leviticus 19:29— Do not profane thy daughter, to give her up to whoredom; lest the land practise whoredom, and the land become full of infamy.
• Leviticus 21:14A widow, or a divorced woman, or a dishonoured one, a harlot, these shall he not take; but he shall take as wife a virgin from among his peoples.
• Numbers 25:1And Israel abode in Shittim; and the people began to commit fornication with the daughters of Moab.
• Deuteronomy 23:18Thou shalt not bring the hire of a harlot, or the price of a dog, into the house of Jehovah thy God for any vow; for even both these are an abomination to Jehovah thy God.
• Judges 11:1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of a harlot; and Gilead had begotten Jephthah.
• Judges 16:1And Samson went to Gazah, and saw there a harlot, and went in to her.
• Judges 19:2And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him to her father's house to Bethlehem-Judah, and was there some time, — four months.
• 1 Kings 3:16Then came two women, harlots, to the king, and stood before him.
• Proverbs 2:18— for her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead;
• Amos 2:7panting after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turning aside the way of the meek; and a man and his father will go in unto the [same] maid, to profane my holy name.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:22hold aloof from every form of wickedness.
• 1 Peter 3:3whose adorning let it not be that outward one of tressing of hair, and wearing gold, or putting on apparel;
• Genesis 38:14And she put the garments of her widowhood off from her, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the entry of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as 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
• Harlot
• Lay
• Remain
• Abraham
• Archaeology; Archaeology and Criticism
• Ben-Ammi
• Crime; Crimes
• Genealogy
• Genesis

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