Matthew 1:1 says,
"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." Fifteen verses detail the lineage of Christ from Abraham to Joseph and only four women are named. Tamar is the first. A study of all the men in this lineage would also be interesting, but I'm sticking with the women.
According to the
Genesis Record by Dr. Henry Morris,
"The time that elapsed between the events of Genesis
37, when Joseph was sent into Egypt, and those of chapter 47, which
describe the coming of Jacob into Egypt, was about twenty-two years." Genesis chapter 38 is the only chapter that tells about the sons of Jacob while Joseph was in Egypt.
"This chapter contains details, which probably would never have obtained a place in the inspired record, had it not been to exhibit the full links of the chain that connects the genealogy of the Savior with Abraham." (A Commentary on the Old and New Testaments by Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown {JFB})
Verses: Genesis 38:6-30
Background –
parents, husband, children, siblings
The Bible doesn't give any background on Tamar. Judah had moved away from his father and brothers and married a Canaanite woman. Most commentaries agreed that Tamar was a Canaanite as well.
Tamar was married to two of Judah's sons - Er and Onan. She later had twin sons by Judah, Pharez and Zarah.
What is she
most known for? Victories?
Defeats? How can I be
like her? How can I
avoid being like her?
We are introduced to Tamar as the wife Judah chose for his son. According to the Genesis Record, Er was probably a teenager when Judah chose Tamar as his wife. "Knowing
the weak and sinful character of his sons as he must have by this time,
he probably felt it was all the more important that a wife be selected
for his oldest son who would be a good influence on her husband, as well
as on her children. He
finally found Tamar, a girl he apparently judged suitable for such
needs. Though nothing is said about her background, we believe the above
inferences are warranted from all the recorded circumstances."
The Bible doesn't say how long Tamar and Er were married, but only one verse later it says, "And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him." We don't know what the wickedness was, just that Er was wicked and the Lord slew him.
As was the custom, Judah then gave Tamar to his next son, Onan. "Onan,
however, was of the same mind as his brother in this matter. No doubt
he was supported in this attitude, perhaps encouraged in it in the first
place, by his mother. At the same time, he was aware of the fate which
had taken his brother, and so was torn between fear of disobeying his
father’s God and his antipathy toward the idea of being the father of
Tamar’s son. He especially disliked the idea of fathering a son who
would not be reckoned as his. In
his indecisiveness, he did go ahead and marry Tamar and actually “went
in unto his brother’s wife.” At the last moment, however, he changed his
mind and “spilled the seed on the ground.” As a result, the Lord was
greatly displeased, and slew Onan also." (The Genesis Record)
Judah then put a restriction on Tamar, "Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown." "She could not marry in any other family so long as Judah would retain her in his." (1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes)
Did she
reach a place when she needed to reset?
If so, did she? For good or evil?
Genesis 38:12 says, "And in process of time..." We don't know how long this was, but Tamar had continued to wait for Judah to make good on his promise to give Shelah as her husband. She heard that Judah had gone "to Timnath to shear his sheep. And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife." (Genesis 38:13-14)
Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible said, "Tamar wickedly prostituted herself as a harlot to Judah, that, if the son might not, the father might raise up seed to the deceased. Some excuse this by suggesting that, though she was a Canaanite, yet she had embraced the true religion, and believed the promise made to Abraham and his seed, particularly that of the Messiah, who was to descend from the loins of Judah, and that she was therefore thus earnestly desirous to have a child by one of that family that she might have the honor, or at least stand fair for the honor, of being the mother of the Messiah. And, if this was indeed her desire, it had its success; she is one of the four women particularly named in the genealogy of Christ. Her sinful practice was pardoned, and her good intention was accepted, which magnifies the grace of God, but can by no means be admitted to justify or encourage the like. Bishop Patrick thinks it probable that she hoped Shelah, who was by right her husband, might have come along with his father, and that he might have been allured to her embraces. Judah was taken in the snare, and though it was ignorantly that he was guilty of incest with his daughter-in-law (not knowing who she was), yet he was willfully guilty of fornication: whoever she was, he knew she was not his wife, and therefore not to be touched."
Judah and Tamar came to an agreement. Judah would send a kid from the flock. Tamar wanted to be sure that Judah would pay up so she requested a pledge. "And he said, What pledge shall I give thee?" He was "willing to part with anything for the gratification of his lust." (John Gill) "And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And he gave it her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him." Judah didn't argue, he willingly gave all three items to fulfill his lust.
Three months passed before Judah and Tamar were faced with the consequences. During that time, Tamar put back on the garments of widowhood and Judah
tried to send a kid from his flock, but the harlot could not be found. "And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt." (Genesis 38:24)
"Consequently, Judah immediately judged Tamar to be
guilty of a capital crime and ordered her to be burned. It may be, also,
that he was subconsciously happy at this unexpected opportunity to
solve the vexatious problem of how to avoid marrying Shelah to Tamar. In
the process of interrogating her as to the other guilty party, however,
Judah suddenly experienced an even greater shock. He
himself—self-righteous Judah!—had been the adulterer responsible for her
condition. There was no doubt about it, because she brought forth his
seal and cord and staff to prove it. Tamar did know enough about Judah that she had
confidence he would treat her fairly, once he saw the full truth of the
situation. The mystery of the vanishing harlot was solved, and he
immediately realized not only what she had done, but why she had done
it. No longer could he be angry, but only repentant and compassionate.
She had been more righteous than he. Rather than slaying her and her
unborn child, he would care for them as his own. He could no longer give
her to Shelah, nor would it be right for him to live with her as
husband and wife, but he would at least acknowledge her son as his heir." (The Genesis Record)
Finally, when it was time for the baby to be born, there were twins. Like their grandfather, Jacob, they wrestled at birth with Zarah putting for his hand first, but Pharez being born first. "The midwife attending the birth first saw a tiny hand
emerge and, in order to keep the twins distinct, assuming this one
would be born first, she tied a scarlet thread on his hand. But then,
surprisingly, his hand drew back, and the other twin forged ahead and
came out first. The latter was named Pharez, meaning “breaking-through,”
in token of the manner of his birth. The other was named Zerah, meaning
“rising.” It was he on whose hand had been tied the scarlet thread." (The Genesis Record)
We don't read anymore of Tamar. Most commentaries agree that Judah provided for her but he did not marry her In spite of her background and her sins, she is still named in the genealogy of Jesus.
