Kejadian 38:11-14

38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until Shelah my son grows up.” For he thought, ¹  “I don’t want him to die like his brothers.” ²  So Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

38:12 After some time ³  Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah was consoled, he left for Timnah to visit his sheepshearers, along with ⁴  his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 38:13 Tamar was told, ⁵  “Look, your father-in-law is going up ⁶  to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 38:14 So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because ⁷  she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) ⁸ 

[38:11]  ¹ tn Heb “said.”

[38:11]  ² tn Heb “Otherwise he will die, also he, like his brothers.”

[38:11]  sn I don’t want him to die like his brothers. This clause explains that Judah had no intention of giving Shelah to Tamar for the purpose of the levirate marriage. Judah apparently knew the nature of his sons, and feared that God would be angry with the third son and kill him as well.

[38:12]  ³ sn After some time. There is not enough information in the narrative to know how long this was. The text says “the days increased.” It was long enough for Shelah to mature and for Tamar to realize she would not have him.

[38:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and he went up to the shearers of his sheep, he and.”

[38:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “And it was told to Tamar, saying.”

[38:13]  ⁶ tn The active participle indicates the action was in progress or about to begin.

[38:14]  ⁷ tn The Hebrew text simply has “because,” connecting this sentence to what precedes. For stylistic reasons the words “she did this” are supplied in the translation and a new sentence begun.

[38:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she was not given to him as a wife.”