Genesis 38:21

Easy-to-Read Version

He asked some of the men at the town of Enaim, "Where is the prostitute who was here by the road?" The men answered, "There has never been a prostitute here."

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Then he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the prostitute, that was at `Enayim by the road?" They said, "There has been no prostitute here."

King James Version
Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.

Lexham English Bible
So he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is that cult prostitute that was at Eynayim by the roadside?" And they said, "There is no cult prostitute here."

New Century Version
He asked some of the people at the town of Enaim, "Where is the prostitute who was here by the road?" They answered, "There has never been a prostitute here."

New English Translation
He asked the men who were there, "Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim by the road?" But they replied, "There has been no cult prostitute here."

Amplified Bible
He asked the men of that place, "Where is the temple prostitute who was by the roadside at Enaim?" They said, "There was no prostitute here."

New American Standard Bible
He asked the people of her place, saying, "Where is the temple prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?" But they said, "There has been no temple prostitute here."

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then asked he the men of that place, saying, Where is ye whore, that sate in Enaim by the way side? And they answered, There was no whore here.

Legacy Standard Bible
So he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the cult prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?" But they said, "There has been no cult prostitute here."

Contemporary English Version
Hirah asked the people of Enaim, "Where is the prostitute who sat along the road outside your town?" "There's never been one here," they answered.

Complete Jewish Bible
He asked the people near where she had been, "Where is the prostitute who was on the road at ‘Einayim?" But they answered, "There hasn't been any prostitute here."

Darby Translation
And he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the prostitute that was at Enaim, by the way-side? And they said, There was no prostitute here.

English Standard Version
And he asked the men of the place, "Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?" And they said, "No cult prostitute has been here."

George Lamsa Translation
Then he asked the men of the place, saying, Where is the harlot who sat at the parting of the road? And they said, There is no harlot here.

Good News Translation
He asked some men at Enaim, "Where is the prostitute who was here by the road?" "There has never been a prostitute here," they answered.

Christian Standard Bible®
He asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”

Literal Translation
And he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the harlot that was at Enaim, by the roadway? And they said, There was no harlot here.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then axed he the men of the same place, & sayde: Where is the whoore yt sat without in the waye? They answered: There hath no whoore bene here.

American Standard Version
Then he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There hath been no prostitute here.

Bible in Basic English
And he put questions to the men of the place, saying, Where is the loose woman who was in Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There was no such woman there.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Then asked he the men of the same place, saying: where is the harlot that sate openly by ye wayes syde? They aunswered: There is no harlot here.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then he asked the men of her place, saying: 'Where is the harlot, that was at Enaim by the wayside?' And they said: 'There hath been no harlot here.'

King James Version (1611)
Then hee asked the men of that place, saying, where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he asked the men of the place, Where is the harlot who was in Ænan by the way-side? and they said, There was no harlot here.

English Revised Version
Then he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was at Enaim by the way side? And they said, There hath been no harlot here.

Berean Standard Bible
He asked the men of that place, "Where is the temple prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?" "No temple prostitute has been here," they answered.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
he axide men of that place, Where is the womman that sat in the weie lot? And whanne alle men answeriden, An hoore was not in this place; he turnede ayen to Judas,

Young's Literal Translation
And he asketh the men of her place, saying, `Where [is] the separated one -- she in Enayim, by the way?' and they say, `There hath not been in this [place] a separated one.'

Update Bible Version
Then he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There has been no prostitute here.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then he asked the men of that place, saying, where [is] the harlot that [was] openly by the way-side? and they said, There was no harlot in this [place].

World English Bible
Then he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the road?" They said, "There has been no prostitute here."

New King James Version
Then he asked the men of that place, saying, "Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?" And they said, "There was no harlot in this place."

New Living Translation
So he asked the men who lived there, "Where can I find the shrine prostitute who was sitting beside the road at the entrance to Enaim?" "We've never had a shrine prostitute here," they replied.

New Life Bible
He asked the men of the place, "Where is the woman who was selling the use of her body beside the road at Enaim?" They said, "There has been no woman selling the use of her body here."

New Revised Standard
He asked the townspeople, "Where is the temple prostitute who was at Enaim by the wayside?" But they said, "No prostitute has been here."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So he asked the men of her place saying. Where is the devotee, she that was in Enaim, by the way? And they said, - Then hath been here no devotee.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Asked the men of that place: Where is the woman that sat in the cross way? And when they all made answer: There was no harlot in this place,

Revised Standard Version
And he asked the men of the place, "Where is the harlot who was at Enaim by the wayside?" And they said, "No harlot has been here."

New American Standard Bible (1995)
He asked the men of her place, saying, "Where is the temple prostitute who was by the road at Enaim?" But they said, "There has been no temple prostitute here."

Contextual Overview

¹² Later, Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah's time of sadness, he went to Timnah with his friend Hirah from Adullam. Judah went to Timnah to have the wool cut from his sheep. ¹³ Tamar learned that Judah, her father-in-law, was going to Timnah to cut the wool from his sheep. ¹⁴ Tamar always wore clothes that showed that she was a widow. So she put on some different clothes and covered her face with a veil. Then she sat down near the road going to Enaim, a town near Timnah. Tamar knew that Judah's younger son Shelah was now grown up, but Judah would not make plans for her to marry him. ¹⁵ Judah traveled on that road and saw her, but he thought that she was a prostitute. (Her face was covered with a veil like a prostitute.) ¹⁶ So he went to her and said, "Let me have sex with you." (Judah did not know that she was Tamar, his daughter-in-law.) She said, "How much will you give me?" ¹⁷ Judah answered, "I will send you a young goat from my flock." She answered, "I agree to that. But first you must give me something to keep until you send me the goat." ¹⁸ Judah asked, "What do you want me to give you as proof that I will send you the goat?" Tamar answered, "Give me your seal and its string and your walking stick." Judah gave these things to her. Then Judah and Tamar had sexual relations, and she became pregnant. ¹⁹ Then Tamar went home, took off her veil that covered her face, and again put on the special clothes that showed she was a widow. ²⁰ Later, Judah sent his friend Hirah to Enaim to give the prostitute the goat he promised. Judah also told Hirah to get the special seal and the walking stick from her, but Hirah could not find her. ²¹ He asked some of the men at the town of Enaim, "Where is the prostitute who was here by the road?" The men answered, "There has never been a prostitute here."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

openly by the way side: or, in Enajim, Genesis 38:14

Reciprocal: Ezekiel 16:25 - at every

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then he asked the men of that place,.... Or "of her place" d, of the woman's place, supposing that she dwelt somewhere thereabout:

saying, where [is] the harlot that [was] openly by the wayside? that sat there very publicly some little time ago: the word for "harlot" e comes from another, which signifies to sanctify or separate to holy uses; and harlots were so called, either by an antiphrasis, by way of contradiction, being unholy; or because, as Jarchi observes, they were separated and destined to whoredom; or because they were such as were devoted to Venus, and the worshippers of her, and prostitutes in her temple, and in the temples of other Heathen deities; but it is questionable whether such practices as yet were used;

and they said, there was no harlot in this [place]; they had not known any harlot to frequent that place lately, and Tamar sat there so small a time as not to have been observed by them.

d אנשי מקמה "viros loci ejus, scil mulieris", Piscator, Schimdt. e הקדשה

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

- 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 k^ezı̂yb 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 strange narrative is an episode in the history of Joseph; but an integral part of the “generations” of Jacob. It is loosely dated with the phrase “at that time.” This does not indicate a sequel to the preceding record, the proper phrase for which is “after these things” (האלה חדברים אחר 'achar had^ebārı̂ym hâ'ēleh Genesis 22:1). It implies rather a train of events that commenced at least in the past, some time before the closing incident of the previous narrative Genesis 21:22. But the sale of Joseph, which alone is recorded in the last chapter, only occupied some few weeks or months of a year. Hence, the circumstances contained in this memoir of Judah’s family must have taken their rise before that event. The date “at that time,” is rendered indefinite also by being attached to the phrase, “And it came to pass,” which covers at least all the events in the first eleven verses of the chapter.

All this is in accordance with the customary mode of arranging parallel lines of events in Hebrew narrative. We shall see reason afterward for placing the birth of Er at as early a date as possible in the life of Judah Genesis 46:12. Now Judah, we conceive, was born when his father was eighty-seven, and Joseph when he was ninety-one, and hence, there is a difference about four years in their ages. We suppose Er to have been born in Judah’s fourteenth year, when Joseph and Dinah were in their tenth, and therefore, about three years before the rape of Dinah, and shortly after Jacob arrived at the town of Shekem. The dishonor of Dinah, and the cruel treatment of Joseph, being of essential moment in the process of things, had to be recorded in the main line of events. The commencement of Judah’s family, having no particular influence on the current of the history, is fitly reserved until the whole of the circumstances could be brought together into a connected narrative. And the private history of Judah’s line is given, while that of the others is omitted, simply because from him the promised seed is descended. As soon as Jacob is settled in the promised land, the contact with Hebron and its neighborhood seems to have commenced. A clear proof of this is the presence of Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, in Jacob’s family Genesis 35:8. The great thoroughfare from Damascus to Egypt runs through Shekem and Hebron, and we know that when Jacob was residing at Hebron, his sons fed their flocks at Shekem and Dothan, and the youthful Joseph was sent to inquire after their welfare.

Genesis 38:1-11

Judah marries and has three sons. “Went down from brethren.” This seems to have been an act of willful indiscretion in Judah. His separation from his brethren, however, extends only to the matter of his new connection. In regard to property and employment there seems to have been no long or entire separation until they went down into Egypt. He went down from the high grounds about Shekem to the lowlands in which Adullam was situated Joshua 15:33-35. “A certain Adullamite.” He may have become acquainted with this Hirah, when visiting his grandfather, or in some of the caravans which were constantly passing Shekem, or even in the ordinary wanderings of the pastoral life. Adullam was in the Shephelah or lowland of Judah bordering on Philistia proper. “A certain Kenaanite.” This connection with Shua’s daughter was contrary to the will of God and the example of his fathers. Onan was born, we conceive, in Judah’s fifteenth year, and Shelah in his sixteenth.

At Kezib. - This appears the same as Akzib, which is associated with Keilah and Mareshah Joshua 15:44, and therefore, lay in the south of the lowland of Judah. This note of place indicates a change of residence since her other children were born. In the year after this birth the dishonor of Dinah takes place. “Took a wife for Er.” Judah chose a wife for himself at an early age, and now he chooses for his first-born at the same age. “Was evil in the eyes of the Lord.” The God of covenant is obliged to cut off Er for his wickedness in the prime of life. We are not made acquainted with his crime; but it could scarcely be more vile and unnatural than that for which his brother Onan is also visited with death. “And be a husband to her.” The original word means to act as a husband to the widow of a deceased brother who has left no issue. Onan seems to have been prompted to commit his crime by the low motive of turning the whole inheritance to his own house. At the time of Er’s death Judah must have been in his twenty-seventh year; Joseph was consequently in his twenty-third, and Jacob had for ten years past had his headquarters at Hebron. Hence, the contact with Timnah, Adullam, and Enaim was easy.

Genesis 38:12-23

Judah now comes into criminal, and, though unknown to him, incestuous sexual intercourse with Tamar. “And many were the days,” a year or somewhat more. “To Timnah.” This town is about twenty miles northwest of Hebron. There is another, however, in the hills about seven miles south of Hebron. “Put on a veil;” to conceal her face from Judah, or any other beholder. “The qate of Enaim.” This is supposed to be the same as Enam Joshua 15:34. “And thy lace.” This is the cord by which the signet was suspended round his neck. “Courtesan.” The original word קדשׁה q^edêshâh means one consecrated to the worship of Ashtoreth, in which chastity is sacrificed.

Genesis 38:24-30

Tamar bears Perez and Zerah to Judah. After three months her pregnancy was manifest. “Let her be burnt.” It is manifest Judah had the power to execute this punishment. The life of the widow of his son was in his hands. Stoning was the mode of punishment by the law of Moses Deuteronomy 22:20-24; burning, only in aggravated cases Leviticus 20:14; Leviticus 21:9. He is a severe judge in a case where he is equally criminal. “She hath been more righteous than I. Tamar was less culpable in this matter than Judah. For he was moved by lust to commit fornication, and was the indirect occasion of Tamar’s conduct by withholding Selah. But Tamar, though wronged, was not free from blame in her mode of righting herself. The youthful indiscretion of Judah in forming an intermarriage with a Canaanitish family, without the concurrence of his brothers or his father, has been fruitful of crime. If this immorality goes on, the chosen family will be speedily absorbed in the surrounding paganism. Hence, we begin to see the necessity of an immediate removal to another land, where they may be kept more distinct from the native superstition. By the disclosure of Tamar Judah is brought to acknowledgment of his fault, and, we may infer, to repentance. His abstaining from all further sexual intercourse with her may be accepted as a proof of this. “A scarlet thread.” The right of primogeniture here manifests its importance. “Perez” - a breach. Slight incidents become the foundation of names, and are often the hinges on which great events turn. The minutest circumstances connected with the progenitors of the promised seed have a lasting interest.

Judah was at the close of his twenty-ninth year when Perez and Zerah were born. The dates in his family history may be arranged as underneath, on the supposition that the first child was born when the father was in his fourteenth year. This hypothesis is fairly allowable when we take into consideration not only other cases, but the early willfulness of Judah, and the example he gave to his children. The command also to be fruitful and multiply Genesis 35:11, which was given especially to Jacob, may have had a tendency to encourage early marriages. It is certain that the Jewish rabbis considered a man to have transgressed a divine precept who passed the age of twenty without being married. They also fixed the marriageable age for males at thirteen years and a day. King Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah when he was not more than twelve 2 Kings 16:2; 2 Kings 18:2; and King Josiah the father of Jehoiakim, when fourteen years of age 2 Kings 22:1; 2 Kings 23:36.

Judah 13 years 6 months when Er was born.

Judah 14 years 4 12 months when Onan was born.

Judah 15 years 3 months when Shelah was born.

Judah 28 years 9 months when Perez was born.

Judah 42 years 3 months when Hezron was born to Perez.

Judah 43 years 2 months when Hamul was born.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Genesis 38:21. Where is the harlot that was openly by the wayside? — Our translators often render different Hebrew words by the same term in English, and thus many important shades of meaning, which involve traits of character, are lost. In Genesis 38:15, Tamar is called a harlot, זונה zonah, which, as we have already seen, signifies a person who prostitutes herself for money. In this verse she is called a harlot in our version; but the original is not זונה but קדשה kedeshah, a holy or consecrated person, from קדש kadash, to make holy, or to consecrate to religious purposes. And the word here must necessarily signify a person consecrated by prostitution to the worship of some impure goddess.

The public prostitutes in the temple of Venus are called ιεροδουλοι γυναικες, holy or consecrated female servants, by Strabo; and it appears from the words zonah and kedeshah above, that impure rites and public prostitution prevailed in the worship of the Canaanites in the time of Judah. And among these people we have much reason to believe that Astarte and Asteroth occupied the same place in their theology as Venus did among the Greeks and Romans, and were worshipped with the same impure rites.