Free Bible Commentary
“Genesis 38:1-5”
Categories: Genesis“And it came about at that time, that Judah departed from his brothers and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; and he took her and went in to her. So she conceived and bore a son and he named him Er. Then she conceived again and bore a son and named him Onan. She bore still another son and named him Shelah; and it was at Chezib that she bore him.”
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“And it came about at that time, that Judah departed from his brothers...” (verse 1) The term “about at that time” ties the events of this chapter chronologically with the selling of Joseph into slavery at the end of the previous chapter, but it by no means indicates that the second occurred immediately after the first. The reason why “Judah departed from his brother” could have been one of many. Perhaps they had regretted selling their younger brother into slavery at Judah's recommendation and they resented him for it. Or possibly he was disgusted with the lot of them for their murderous intentions and wicked ways, not withstanding the poor moral choices that Judah would make himself when isolated from his family as recorded in this chapter. Or maybe it was just time for a change, or he sought some business venture or social interactions with that “certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.” According to Nahum Sarna, Adullam was “a city in the northern sector of the Judean shefelah (lowland)... This Canaanite royal city, captured by Joshua and made part of the tribal inheritance of Judah, was also associated with the life of David.”
“Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; and he took her and went in to her.” (verse 2) “Without consulting his father, and with total disregard of the Canaanite nature of Shua's daughter, Judah simply took her. That he actually married her appears in Genesis 38:12. God could not have been pleased with this union of the prince of Israel, destined to receive the birthright of Jacob, with one of the women of Canaan. It is stated in the previous verse that Judah 'went down'; and it is clear that he not only descended to a lower level, geographically, but that he also descended to a lower level spiritually.” (James Burton Coffman) “Her name is not recorded. In verse 12 she is termed 'the daughter of Shua' (Heb. Bat-shua). In 1 Chronicles 2:3 she is called 'Bath-Shua the Canaanite woman.' Bathsheeba David's wife, also appears in the variant form Bath-shua in 1 Chronicles 3:5.” (Nahum Sarna)
“So she conceived and bore a son and he named him Er. Then she conceived again and bore a son and named him Onan. She bore still another son and named him Shelah” (verses 3-5) “It is of interest that Judah named Er, but that his wife named the other sons. Morris gave the names this meaning: "Er means watcher; Onan means strong; and the meaning of Shelah is not known."[11] None of these first three sons of Judah was destined to receive the birthright, in all probability, because of the pagan persuasion of their mother. There might have been a strong aversion on the part of the mother to Judah's choice of Tamar, evidently a believer in God, as the bride for her sons. Certainly, there was some reason why neither Er nor Onan consented to have a child by Tamar.” (James Burton Coffman) Nahum Sarna suggests that Onan means “vigorous,” and Shelah “perhaps means 'drawn out' (namely, out of the womb).”
“And it was at Chezib that she bore him.” (verse 5) “Doubtless, the city that is elsewhere called Achzib, situated in the territory of Judah, southwest of Adullam... This clearly indicates that the clan had occupied the city of Chezib, and it explains why Judah's whereabouts are noted only in connection with Shelah. Because the Hebrew roots used here of clan and city—k-z-v and sh-l-h—both mean 'to deceive, disappoint,' some commentators see here a word play referring to the mother's disappointment at the absence of her husband or a suggestion of Tamar's subsequent disappointment at not being given to Shelah.” (Nahum Sarna)
Please read Genesis 38:6-11 for tomorrow.
Have a blessed and safe day!
-Louie Taylor
