Genesis 38:26

Genesis 38:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Then Judah identified them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not know her again.
• New King James Version (NKJV)So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again.

Context of Genesis 38:26

24Three months later, someone told Judah, ‘Your dead son's wife, Tamar, has become a prostitute and now she is pregnant.’ Judah said, ‘Take her out of the town and burn her to death!’ 25So they took Tamar away to kill her. But she sent a message to her dead husband's father. She said, ‘The man that these things belong to had sex with me. That is why I am pregnant. Look at these things carefully. Do you know who the ring, its string, and the stick belong to?’ Judah saw that the things belonged to him. He said, ‘She is more honest than I am. She has done this because I would not give her to my son, Shelah, as his wife.’ Judah did not have sex with Tamar again. 27The time came for Tamar to give birth, and there were twins! 28While she was giving birth, one baby put out his hand. The woman who was helping Tamar tied a red string to that baby's arm. She said, ‘This baby came out first.’

Genesis 38:26 word by word

וַיַּכֵּ֣ר יְהוּדָ֗ה וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ צָֽדְקָ֣ה מִמֶּ֔נִּי כִּֽי־עַל־כֵּ֥ן לֹא־נְתַתִּ֖יהָ לְשֵׁלָ֣ה בְנִ֑י וְלֹֽא־יָסַ֥ף ע֖וֹד לְדַעְתָּֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• acknowledgedנָכַרnâkar · to recognizeH5234
• and saidאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• She hath been more righteousצָדֵקtsâdaq · to justifyH6663
• than I; because that I gaveנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• her not to Shelahשֵׁלָהshêlâh · ShelahH7956
• my sonבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• And he knew herיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• againיָסַףyâsaph · to add: againH3254

Cross-references for Genesis 38:26

• Genesis 37:33Jacob saw that it was Joseph's coat. He said, ‘It is my son's coat! A wild animal must have eaten him! The animal has torn Joseph's body into pieces.’
• 1 Samuel 24:17He said to David, ‘You are a better man than I am. You have been kind to me even when I have tried to hurt you.
• 2 Samuel 24:17David saw the angel who was killing the people. So he said to the Lord, ‘I am the person who has done an evil thing. These people have followed me like sheep that follow a shepherd. They have not done anything wrong. You should only punish me and my family.’
• Ezekiel 16:52So now you must accept that you are guilty. You have done such wicked things that your sisters think that they are good people. You have done much worse things than they ever did. I must punish you even more than I punished them. So you should be ashamed and you should accept your punishment. You have made your sisters seem to be righteous.
• Habakkuk 1:13But you are too holy to accept anything that is evil. You cannot agree with people who do wrong things. So why do you let these wicked people live? Why do you say nothing? They are killing people who are more righteous than themselves.
• John 8:9When they heard what Jesus said, the people began to go away. They went one by one. The older people went first. After some time, only Jesus remained with the woman. She was still standing there.
• Romans 3:19So, we know that God's Law belongs to the Jews. God told them to obey everything that his Law teaches. As a result, nobody can say: ‘God should not punish me.’ Everybody in the world must stand in front of God and he will judge them.
• Genesis 38:14Tamar knew that Judah's son Shelah had now become a man. But Judah had not yet let Shelah marry her. So Tamar took off her widow's clothes and she put on other clothes. She covered her head with a veil. She did not want anyone to recognize her. Then she sat at the gate of Enaim. Enaim is a town on the road that goes to Timnah.
• Genesis 4:1Adam had sex with his wife, Eve. She became pregnant. She gave birth to Cain. She said, ‘With the Lord's help, I have given birth to a son.’
• 2 Samuel 16:22So they put up a tent for Absalom on the roof of the palace. There he had sex with his father's slave wives, and all the Israelites could see him.
• 2 Samuel 20:3David returned to his palace in Jerusalem. Then he took the ten slave wives that he had left there to take care of his palace. Now he made them live in their own house, with guards to keep them safe. He gave them everything that they needed, but he did not sleep with them. They lived there on their own. They lived like widows until they died.
• Job 4:5But now you are the person who has trouble. You yourself are not patient. Trouble has come to you and you feel afraid.
• Job 34:31Someone could say to God, “I am guilty, and I have received my punishment. But I will not do any more wrong things.
• Job 40:5I have already spoken too many times. I will say no more.’
• Matthew 3:8You have to show that you are sorry. Change how you live. Stop doing things that God does not like.
• Romans 13:12The night has nearly finished and the day is almost here. So we must stop doing the bad things that belong to the dark. Instead, we must take weapons like soldiers who are ready to fight in the light.

Commentaries on Genesis 38:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26She hath been more righteous than I - It is probable that Tamar was influenced by no other motive than that which was common to all the Israelitish women, the desire to have children who might be heirs of the promise made to Abraham, etc. And as Judah had obliged her to continue in her widowhood under the promise of giving her his son Shelah when he should be of age, consequently his refusing or delaying to accomplish this promise was a breach of truth…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. 26She is more righteous than I: Judah admitted he had failed to provide an heir. It was wrong for Judah to visit a prostitute, but Tamar had a legal right to have Judah's child and acted on it. In the book of Ruth, the elders gave a similar blessing at the marriage of Boaz and Ruth. They prayed that God would make Ruth like Tamar (Ruth 4:12; compare Matthew 1:3, 5).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 38:26

• Judah
• Shelah

In the dictionaries

• Judah
• Judah, kingdom of Judah
• Judea, Judah
• Lay
• Remain
• Archaeology; Archaeology and Criticism
• Ben-Ammi
• Child; Children
• 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