The Story Through the Bible Gen 38-39

The Cult Prostitute

We take what at first seems like a wild detour from our story that has been following Joseph. Like a tv show it left us hanging at the end of the season drawing us in to find out what’s going on only to not deal with the cliff hanger on episode one of the next season! I promise you though it is not random. So much so we’re going to talk about both 38 and 39 tonight!

Lets lay out chapter 38 for storyline. (Er is protector) (Onan is Strong Man) (Shelah is petition) (Tamar is a date palm) (Shua is a call for help)

First Judah is departing from the family in parallel with Joseph’s “going down to Egypt”

Genesis 38:1 ESV

It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers and turned aside to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.

Genesis 39:1 ESV

Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, had bought him from the Ishmaelites who had brought him down there.

Both are now isolated from family, Judah by choice and Joseph by force

Judah ends up in a new household with new people.

Genesis 38:2–5 ESV

There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua. He took her and went in to her, and she conceived and bore a son, and he called his name Er. She conceived again and bore a son, and she called his name Onan. Yet again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. Judah was in Chezib when she bore him.

Joseph is also in a new household

Genesis 39:2–6 ESV

The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. So Joseph found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house and put him in charge of all that he had. From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.

Now we get the sad tale of the sons of Judah and the wife Tamar.

Genesis 38:6–11 ESV

And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death. Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his. So whenever he went in to his brother’s wife he would waste the semen on the ground, so as not to give offspring to his brother. And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also. Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, till Shelah my son grows up”—for he feared that he would die, like his brothers. So Tamar went and remained in her father’s house.

There is a lot we could unpack here. It seems that Levirate marriage is at play even before we see it appear in the law where the brother should marry the widow so they’ll have offspring. In a modern context this doesn’t particularly make sense. In the ancient world this is protection for women to remain cared for not abused. Onan however figures out how to turn what was intended to protect Tamar into an abuse for his own pleasure.

Tamar should have stayed with Judah’s household and not her own Father’s, this is another indication of the poor behavior Judah had by not continuing to take care of her under his own roof until and financial obligation.

Eventually Tamar takes matters into her own hands.

Genesis 38:12–19 ESV

In the course of time the wife of Judah, Shua’s daughter, died. When Judah was comforted, he went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. And when Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,” she took off her widow’s garments and covered herself with a veil, wrapping herself up, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she had not been given to him in marriage. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. He turned to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me come in to you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?” He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” And she said, “If you give me a pledge, until you send it—” He said, “What pledge shall I give you?” She replied, “Your signet and your cord and your staff that is in your hand.” So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she conceived by him. Then she arose and went away, and taking off her veil she put on the garments of her widowhood.

Judah turns to some random prostitute and thinks nothing of handing over his ID, credit card, and power of attorney essentially. He’s essentially willing to just toss aside who he is as a son of promise for this moment of promiscuity.

Meanwhile we have Joseph and a woman with a very different interaction.

Genesis 39:6–10 ESV

So he left all that he had in Joseph’s charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance. And after a time his master’s wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” But he refused and said to his master’s wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and he has put everything that he has in my charge. He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.

Temptation not looked for throws itself at Joseph’s feet and he rejects sin.

The results of these actions come next in our stories. First Judah in

Genesis 38:20–26 ESV

When Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite to take back the pledge from the woman’s hand, he did not find her. And he asked the men of the place, “Where is the cult prostitute who was at Enaim at the roadside?” And they said, “No cult prostitute has been here.” So he returned to Judah and said, “I have not found her. Also, the men of the place said, ‘No cult prostitute has been here.’ ” And Judah replied, “Let her keep the things as her own, or we shall be laughed at. You see, I sent this young goat, and you did not find her.” About three months later Judah was told, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has been immoral. Moreover, she is pregnant by immorality.” And Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law, “By the man to whom these belong, I am pregnant.” And she said, “Please identify whose these are, the signet and the cord and the staff.” Then Judah identified them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not know her again.

Interesting how it’s now a cult prostitute and not just a prostitue when he’s asking other people about it…

Judah recognizes that what she did was essentially his fault. I also find it interesting Judah lost 2 sons and got 2 back because she has twins. Notice also that the Bible doesn’t say that God said what Tamar did was righteous, or wrong for that matter, this is Judah’s proclamation that she was more righteous that what he did.

Joseph on the other hand ends up in prison.

Genesis 39:11–20 ESV

But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.” As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.

Like we talked about last time Romans 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” comes to mind. But also point to God’s sovereignty and accomplishing his will despite sinners like Judah.

Genesis 38:27–30 ESV

When the time of her labor came, there were twins in her womb. And when she was in labor, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.” But as he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out. And she said, “What a breach you have made for yourself!” Therefore his name was called Perez. Afterward his brother came out with the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.

Perez leads to David who leads to Christ in geneology. This marriage outside of covenant family later is explained as against the law through Moses and it’s to the 10th generation

Deuteronomy 23:2 ESV

“No one born of a forbidden union may enter the assembly of the Lord. Even to the tenth generation, none of his descendants may enter the assembly of the Lord.

David is the 10th from Perez and this in some sense might have freed up the inclusion of Rahab and Ruth into the line. But that’s a story for another time.

Back with Joseph we find the Lord faithful to bless him in his affliction

Genesis 39:21–23 ESV

But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph’s charge, because the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.