Genesis 38:14
12 And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.
13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up 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.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face.
16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she was his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?
Here the Bible tells a story about someone else. Ask yourself what it can say to us today. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- she removed her widow’s garments, covered her face with a veil to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that although Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife.
- KJV
- 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.
- WEB
- She took off the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she wasn’t given to him as a wife.
- ASV
- And she put off from her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given unto him to wife.
- DARBY
- And she put the garments of her widowhood off from her, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the entry of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as wife.
- BLB
- And she took off the garments of her widowhood from her, and covered [herself] with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the entrance of Enaim which [is] on the way to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown, and she was not given to him for a wife.
- ÅB
- tok hun sine enkeklær av og la et slør om seg og hyllet seg inn i det og satte seg ved inngangen til Ena'im, på veien til Timna; for hun så at Sela var blitt voksen, og at hun allikevel ikke var gitt ham til hustru.
- OTB
- Da tok hun av seg enkeplaggene, dekket seg med et slør, og satte seg ved inngangen til Enaim, som ligger ved veien til Timna. Hun så at Sela var blitt voksen, men hun var ikke blitt gitt til ham som kone.
- B1930
- tok hun sine enkeklær av og la et slør om sig og hyllet sig inn i det og satte sig ved inngangen til Ena'im, på veien til Timna; for hun så at Sela var blitt voksen, og at hun allikevel ikke var gitt ham til hustru.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Genesis 38:26
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.
Read in contextGenesis 38:11–13
Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
Read in contextProverbs 7:12
Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
Read in contextJeremiah 3:2
Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
Read in contextGenesis 24:65
For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.
Read in context