Genesis 38: 13-22: “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. When Judah saw her, he thought her to be an harlot; because she had covered her face. 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? And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it? And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? 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. And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not. 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.”
Judah got on with his life while Tamar wasn’t able to get on with hers because Judah wasn’t assuming his responsibility on her behalf. She was a prisoner of her culture but he was free to come and go as he wanted. While she was forced to stay in her father’s home he was free to do whatever he wanted to do. Tamar devised a plan whereby she would remind him of his responsibilities. This plan may offend our politically correct sensibilities today but it was just about the only way that she could escape from the imprisonment that Judah was forcing on her. She disguised herself and pretended to be a prostitute. Judah, now a widower felt the need to take advantage of this woman beside the road. In those days, the Canaanite religions were fertility religions, much like the neo-animistic (conservationist) religions today, they believed that sexual intercourse was a way of worshipping their god; this was encourage fertility and enrichment. Tamar was wife and made sure that she kept evidence to show that Judah was involved, that is why she kept his signet, bracelets walking stick. Judah promised to pay her for her services but she left that place and kept his identity symbols (these were much like identity documents that many people carry with them today). She knew that these would be her defence later and would make Judah understand that he had not fulfilled his duty to her. When Judah sent the payment she had left and he didn’t want to look stupid so he kept quiet about the whole episode.
(The view expressed in this blog are my own and should not be taken as inspired in any way.)
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