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

13It was told to Tamar, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14So she removed her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gateway of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, for she had covered her face. 16So he turned aside to her by the road, and said, “Here now, let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” 17He said, therefore, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She said, moreover, “Will you give a pledge until you send it?”

Genesis 38:15 word by word

וַיִּרְאֶ֣הָ יְהוּדָ֔ה וַֽיַּחְשְׁבֶ֖הָ לְזוֹנָ֑ה כִּ֥י כִסְּתָ֖ה פָּנֶֽיהָ׃Read the interlinear

• When Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• sawרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• her, he thoughtחָשַׁבchâshab · to devise: thinkH2803
• a harlotזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181
• for she had coveredכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
• her faceפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440

Cross-references for Genesis 38:15

• Genesis 34:31But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?”
• Leviticus 19:29‘Do not profane your daughter by making her a harlot, so that the land will not fall to harlotry and the land become full of lewdness.
• Leviticus 21:14A widow, or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by harlotry, these he may not take; but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people,
• Numbers 25:1While Israel remained at Shittim, the people began to play the harlot with the daughters of Moab.
• Deuteronomy 23:18You shall not bring the hire of a harlot or the wages of a dog into the house of the Lord your God for any votive offering, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.
• Judges 11:1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a valiant warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. And Gilead was the father of Jephthah.
• Judges 16:1Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her.
• Judges 19:2But his concubine played the harlot against him, and she went away from him to her father’s house in Bethlehem in Judah, and was there for a period of four months.
• 1 Kings 3:16Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him.
• Proverbs 2:18For her house sinks down to death And her tracks lead to the dead;
• Amos 2:7These who pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the helpless Also turn aside the way of the humble; And a man and his father resort to the same girl In order to profane My holy name.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:22abstain from every form of evil.
• 1 Peter 3:3Your adornment must not be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;
• Genesis 38:14So she removed her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gateway of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and 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
• 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