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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Judah noticed her and thought she was a prostitute, since she had covered her face.

Context of Genesis 38:15

13When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.” “And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked. 17“I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” he said. “Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?” she asked.

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 replied, “Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?”
• Leviticus 19:29“ ‘Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.
• Leviticus 21:14He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people,
• Numbers 25:1While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women,
• Deuteronomy 23:18You must not bring the earnings of a female prostitute or of a male prostitute into the house of the Lord your God to pay any vow, because the Lord your God detests them both.
• Judges 11:1Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior. His father was Gilead; his mother was a prostitute.
• Judges 16:1One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her.
• Judges 19:2But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her parents’ home in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months,
• 1 Kings 3:16Now two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.
• Proverbs 2:18Surely her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead.
• Amos 2:7They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name.
• 1 Thessalonians 5:22reject every kind of evil.
• 1 Peter 3:3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes.
• Genesis 38:14she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his 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