When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
Genesis 38 breaks off the story of Joseph and follows Judah down a road of his own choosing. Verse 15 is the moment the trap closes. A veiled woman waits by the roadside, and Judah does not know his own daughter-in-law. Two questions press on the reader: what did the disguise mean, and how does God work through a scene like this?
The road down
The chapter opens with Judah leaving his brothers. One writer reads the wording of that departure as a warning sign.
Edwin N. CrossJudah leaves his brothers to join the world of the Canaanite (the Merchant) in all its ruined character. The actual words of Scripture, "went down from," show the course of departure he had set out on. They warn the reader that sin will mark what follows. The consequences of Judah's wilful departure will be serious. He will have to learn that he cannot please himself without reaping a harvest of sorrow. He has to learn that whatever one sows, that will he also reap (Gal. 6:7). The heart that has strayed from God is easy prey to the deceit and enticements of men. Anyone who does not walk closely with God will soon walk with the unconverted men of the world.
The broken promise
One writer traces Tamar's disguise back to a promise Judah never kept, and shows what Judah did after his loss.
L. M. GrantEventually Judah's wife died. Judah was not driven to the feet of the Lord by this, but turned to the company of one whom he thought was a prostitute. He had promised to give his youngest son Shelah to Tamar, but had not kept his promise. So she took matters into her own hands and deceitfully posed as a prostitute to seduce Judah (vv. 13-15).
What Judah took her for
Judah took the woman for a prostitute because such women were a normal part of the culture around him.
Edwin N. CrossThis sordid event took place at sheep-shearing, the time when something was taken from the sheep. To take and leave naked is Satan's work. The practices of the Canaanite cult increased sexual temptation. Ritual fornication was part of their fertility magic. It seems that Tamar posed as a temple prostitute. Such was the world that Judah had married into!
Commentators have argued over the Hebrew word used in this chapter for such a woman. One writer sets aside the idea that it named a holy woman.
William KellyI doubt that many serious readers will agree with one scholar's notion that the Hebrew word means a holy woman or seer. Far more probable is the ordinary view, which supposes a "consecration" to the corrupt Astarte, or Venus, of early and later idolatry. Terrible to say, prostitution was an almost universal element of heathen holiness!
The man who condemned her
Later Judah called for Tamar's punishment, though he had drawn her into the sin himself.
Edwin N. CrossWhat a hypocrite! Judah acts as if he is completely right and blameless, but it is he who has the greater guilt. It was he who caused Tamar to stumble, and now he wants her punished. If I cause another to sin because of my own wickedness, how great then is my responsibility. He has a double standard, which is not acceptable to a holy God. Judah is ready to condemn Tamar to be burnt, but she had secured a pledge from him. She now brought this forward as evidence (v. 25), and everyone saw Judah's part in the sin. Tamar is acknowledged to be more righteous than Judah (v. 26).
Grace at the end of the chapter
The story excuses nothing. Yet its names reappear in the opening pages of Matthew's Gospel.
F. B. HoleWe need not dwell on this. We only note that the Tamar of this chapter is the first of the women listed in the genealogy of our Lord in Matthew 1. Of the four women mentioned, only Ruth had a clean record morally, and she came from an accursed race. Such names would never have appeared in the record without the grace of God — the grace that triumphs over human sin.
We rank sins on a scale God does not use.
J. G. BellettIn our thoughts, the way of the harlot and the tax collector is worse than the easy, respectable course of the world. If we had the balances of the sanctuary, we would weigh things differently. "What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God."
Summary
- Down — "Went down from his brothers" sets the direction of the chapter. Judah left God's people first; the roadside meeting came later.
- Disguise — Judah broke his promise to give Shelah to Tamar. So she covered her face and posed as a prostitute.
- Defilement — Canaanite religion used ritual fornication in its fertility magic. That was the world Judah had married into.
- Double standard — Judah demanded Tamar's death by fire for a sin he had drawn her into. The pledge in her hand exposed him.
- Deliverance — Tamar stands first among the women in Matthew's genealogy. Her name is there only because the grace of God triumphs over human sin.