Judah Impregnates Tamar
- Dates
- 1664 BC
Judah's daughter—in—law, Tamar, loses her husband and has no heir. In Levirate marriage law, the brother—in—law is to provide an heir. This does not happen, so Tamar plays a harlot and Judah unknowingly impregnates her. She gives birth to twins.
In detail
The sudden death of his two older sons, so soon after their marriage to Tamar, made Judah hesitate to give her the third as a husband. In harmony with a superstition found in the Apocryphal book of Tobit (ch. 3:7—10), he may have thought that either she herself, or marriage to her, had in some way occasioned the deaths of Er and Onan.
Therefore he sent her away to her father's house, with the promise of his youngest son as soon as he had grown up. That Judah never intended to fulfill his promise is clear from his excuse that Shelah might "die also, as his brethren did." When Shelah had reached a marriageable age but was not given to her, Tamar determined to secure a child by Judah himself.
This was completely in harmony with prevailing Hittite and Assyrian custom. The laws of the Hittites and Assyrians contained the provision that the duty of levirate marriage was to be performed by the father of the deceased if no brother was available. Dressing as a harlot, she deceives Judah, who impregnates her. He leaves a signet with her, not knowing who she is and later condemns her for getting pregnant, only to discover he was the guilty party.
Bible passages
- Genesis 38:1-30
1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. 3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. …
Text of the King James Version.