Genesis 38:26

Good News Translation

Judah recognized them and said, "She is in the right. I have failed in my obligation to her—I should have given her to my son Shelah in marriage." And Judah never had intercourse with her again.

Parallel Translations

Hebrew Names Version
Yehudah acknowledged them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, because I didn't give her to Shelach, my son." He knew her again no more.

King James Version
And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

Lexham English Bible
Then Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not know her again.

New Century Version
Judah recognized them and said, "She is more in the right than I. She did this because I did not give her to my son Shelah as I promised." And Judah did not have sexual relations with her again.

New English Translation
Judah recognized them and said, "She is more upright than I am, because I wouldn't give her to Shelah my son." He did not have sexual relations with her again.

Amplified Bible
Judah recognized the articles, and said, "She has been more righteous [in this matter] than I, because I did not give her to my son Shelah [as I had promised]." And Judah did not have [intimate] relations with her again.

New American Standard Bible
And Judah recognized them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not have relations with her again.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Iudah knewe them, and said, She is more righteous then I: for she hath done it because I gaue her not to Shelah my sonne. So he lay with her no more.

Legacy Standard Bible
And Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not know her again.

Contemporary English Version
"Those are mine!" Judah admitted. "She's a better person than I am, because I broke my promise to let her marry my son Shelah." After this, Judah never slept with her again.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then Y'hudah acknowledged owning them. He said, "She is more righteous than I, because I didn't let her become the wife of my son Shelah." And he never slept with her again.

Darby Translation
And Judah acknowledged [them], and said, She is more righteous than I, because I have not given her to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

Easy-to-Read Version
Judah recognized these things and said, "She is right. I was wrong. I did not give her my son Shelah like I promised." And Judah did not sleep with her again.

English Standard Version
Then Judah identified them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not know her again.

George Lamsa Translation
And Judah recognized them, and said, She is more righteous than I; because I did not give her in marriage to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

Christian Standard Bible®
Judah recognized them and said, “She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her intimately again.

Literal Translation
And Judah knew and said, She is more righteous than I, because I did not give her to my son Shelah. And he never knew her again.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Iuda knewe the, & sayde: She is more righteous the I, for I gaue hir not my sonne Sela: But he laye nomore with her.

American Standard Version
And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She is more righteous than I, forasmuch as I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

Bible in Basic English
Then Judah said openly that they were his, and said, She is more upright than I am, for I did not give her to Shelah my son. And he had no more connection with her.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Iuda acknowledged them, and saide: She hath ben more righteous then I, because I gaue her not Selah my sonne. And he lay with her no more.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Judah acknowledged them, and said: 'She is more righteous than I; forasmuch as I gave her not to Shelah my son.' And he knew her again no more.

King James Version (1611)
And Iudah acknowledged them, and said, She hath bin more righteous then I: because that I gaue her not to Shelah my sonne: and he knew her againe no more.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Judas knew them, and said, Thamar is cleared rather than I, forasmuch as I gave her not to Selom my son: and he knew her not again.

English Revised Version
And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She is more righteous than I; forasmuch as I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

Berean Standard Bible
Judah recognized the items and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not have relations with her again.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And whanne the yiftis weren knowun, he seide, Sche is more iust than Y, for Y yaf not hir to Sela, my sone; netheles Judas knewe hir no more fleischli.

Young's Literal Translation
And Judah discerneth and saith, `She hath been more righteous than I, because that I did not give her to Shelah my son;' and he hath not added to know her again.

Update Bible Version
And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She's more righteous than I; since I didn't give her to Shelah my son. And he didn't have sex with her again.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Judah acknowledged [them], and said She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son: and he knew her again no more.

World English Bible
Judah acknowledged them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, because I didn't give her to Shelah, my son." He knew her again no more.

New King James Version
So Judah acknowledged them and said, "She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son." And he never knew her again.

New Living Translation
Judah recognized them immediately and said, "She is more righteous than I am, because I didn't arrange for her to marry my son Shelah." And Judah never slept with Tamar again.

New Life Bible
Judah saw that they belonged to him. He said, "She is more right than I, because I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not lie with her again.

New Revised Standard
Then Judah acknowledged them and said, "She is more in the right than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not lie with her again.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
So Judah examined them and said - More righteous than I! forasmuch, as I had not given her to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.

Douay-Rheims Bible
But he acknowledging the gifts, said: She is juster than I: because I did not give her to Sela, my son. However he knew her no more.

Revised Standard Version
Then Judah acknowledged them and said, "She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not lie with her again.

THE MESSAGE
Judah saw they were his. He said, "She's in the right; I'm in the wrong—I wouldn't let her marry my son Shelah." He never slept with her again.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Judah recognized them, and said, "She is more righteous than I, inasmuch as I did not give her to my son Shelah." And he did not have relations with her again.

Contextual Overview

²⁴ About three months later someone told Judah, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has been acting like a whore, and now she is pregnant." Judah ordered, "Take her out and burn her to death." ²⁵ As she was being taken out, she sent word to her father-in-law: "I am pregnant by the man who owns these things. Look at them and see whose they are—this seal with its cord and this walking stick." ²⁶ Judah recognized them and said, "She is in the right. I have failed in my obligation to her—I should have given her to my son Shelah in marriage." And Judah never had intercourse with her again. ²⁷ When the time came for her to give birth, it was discovered that she was going to have twins. ²⁸ While she was in labor, one of them put out an arm; the midwife caught it, tied a red thread around it, and said, "This one was born first." ²⁹ But he pulled his arm back, and his brother was born first. Then the midwife said, "So this is how you break your way out!" So he was named Perez. ³⁰ Then his brother was born with the red thread on his arm, and he was named Zerah.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

acknowledged: Genesis 37:33

She hath: 1 Samuel 24:17, 2 Samuel 24:17, Ezekiel 16:52, Habakkuk 1:13, John 8:9, Romans 3:19

more righteous: Not less to blame, but more righteous, because. Genesis 38:14

And he knew: Genesis 4:1, 2 Samuel 16:22, 2 Samuel 20:3, Job 4:5, Job 34:31, Job 34:32, Job 40:5, Matthew 3:8, Romans 13:12, Titus 2:11, Titus 2:12, 1 Peter 4:2, 1 Peter 4:3

Reciprocal: Genesis 38:5 - Shelah Genesis 38:18 - Thy signet Leviticus 13:23 - General Leviticus 18:15 - General Numbers 26:20 - Shelah Luke 20:28 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 4:1
Then Adam had intercourse with his wife, and she became pregnant. She bore a son and said, "By the Lord 's help I have gotten a son." So she named him Cain.

Genesis 37:33
He recognized it and said, "Yes, it is his! Some wild animal has killed him. My son Joseph has been torn to pieces!"

Genesis 38:2
There Judah met a young Canaanite woman whose father was named Shua. He married her,

Genesis 38:3
and she bore him a son, whom he named Er.

Genesis 38:11
Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Return to your father's house and remain a widow until my son Shelah grows up." He said this because he was afraid that Shelah would be killed, as his brothers had been. So Tamar went back home.

Genesis 38:12
After some time Judah's wife died. When he had finished the time of mourning, he and his friend Hirah of Adullam went to Timnah, where his sheep were being sheared.

Genesis 38:14
So she changed from the widow's clothes she had been wearing, covered her face with a veil, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, a town on the road to Timnah. As she well knew, Judah's youngest son Shelah was now grown up, and yet she had not been given to him in marriage.

1 Samuel 24:17
Then he said to David, "You are right, and I am wrong. You have been so good to me, while I have done such wrong to you!

2 Samuel 16:22
So they set up a tent for Absalom on the palace roof, and in the sight of everyone Absalom went in and had intercourse with his father's concubines.

2 Samuel 20:3
When David arrived at his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to take care of the palace, and put them under guard. He provided for their needs, but did not have intercourse with them. They were kept confined for the rest of their lives, living like widows.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And Judah acknowledged [them],.... He knew them, and owned them to be his:

and said, she hath been more righteous than I; he means, not with respect to the sin of uncleanness committed by them, in which she was the greatest criminal; she sat not only in the way to tempt him to it, but she knew who he was, and wilfully committed incest with him; whereas he thought and knew of nothing else but simple fornication; but with respect to the affairs in connection between them: she had on her part, according to his direction, kept herself a widow, in expectation of being given to his son Shelah for a wife; but he had not made good his part, he had not fulfilled his promise, he had neglected to give her to his son, which he ought to have done, according to the usage of those times, and as he had suggested to her he would; and his neglect of this had been the cause and occasion of this criminal conversation between them; and this is the reason he himself gives of her being more righteous than he:

because I gave her not to Shelah my son; as he ought to have done, and as he promised he would:

and he knew her again no more; in a carnal way; he did not repeat the sin, but abstained from it having, no doubt, true repentance for it; though Jarchi observes, that some interpret the words, and Ben Melech says some copies read, "he did not cease to know her"; but took her for his wife and married her, which is supposed to be as justifiable as other things done before the law of Moses; but this is not likely, and it looks as if he never married any wife after, or, if he did, had no more children, since we read of no other but Shelah, and the twins he had by Tamar; and it seems as if Shelah also did not marry Tamar upon this, such an incest being committed with her, since he appears to have had children by another woman, Numbers 26:20.

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 38:26. She hath been more righteous than I — It is probable that Tamar was influenced by no other motive than that which was common to all the Israelitish women, the desire to have children who might be heirs of the promise made to Abraham, &c. And as Judah had obliged her to continue in her widowhood under the promise of giving her his son Shelah when he should be of age, consequently his refusing or delaying to accomplish this promise was a breach of truth, and an injury done to Tamar.