-
†. Gen 38:3-5 . . She conceived and bore a son, and he named him
Er. She conceived again and bore a son, and named him Onan. Once
again she bore a son, and named him Shelah; he was at Chezib when
she bore him.
The community of Chezib (a.k.a. Achzib and Chozeba) has been identified
with Khirbet Kueizibah by somebody named Conder (Palestine Exploration,
Jan. 1875). The Talmud mentions that a plain is in front of Chozeba; so
Kueizibah has before it the valley of Berachoth (wady Arrub); which is a bit
southwest of Adullum. So although Judah moved away from Bath-shua's
parents, it wasn't far away.
†. Gen 38:6 . . Judah got a wife for Er his first-born; her name was
Tamar.
Ms. Tamar is a total mystery. Neither her family, her ethnic identity, her
age, her looks, her education, her material worth, nor anything else is
known about her. But she's the one through whom God will bring Messiah
into the world; so I think it's safe to say she was probably a much better
woman than Bath-shua.
†. Gen 38:7 . . But Er, Judah's first-born, was displeasing to The
Lord, and The Lord took his life.
Er has the distinction of being the very first member of the people of Israel--
the chosen people --whom God personally clipped Himself. Er was only the
beginning because God's chosen people weren't chosen to be His pampered
pets; no, they were selected to be the number-one caretakers, and
propagators, of the knowledge of God. So then, of all the people in the
world, Jews have the least excuse for failure to comply with God's wishes
because they have always had that information at their fingertips while a
very large portion of the rest of the world; for many, many centuries, didn't.
Therefore, the status of God's chosen people isn't something to be proud of;
no, it's something to be afraid of.
"Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel--
against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt --saying:
You only have I known of all the families of the earth: that's why I will
punish you for all your iniquities." (Amos 3:1-2)
†. Gen 38:8 . .Then Judah said to Onan: Join with your brother's wife
and do your duty by her as a brother-in-law, and provide offspring
for your brother.
According to Deut 5:2-4, the covenant that Yhvh's people agreed upon with
God as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy isn't retroactive.
So then Judah's directive wasn't a strict by-the-book legal requirement as
stipulated by Deut 25:5-6; but was nevertheless something that God
approved without it being a covenanted requirement.
The "duty" to which Judah referred was apparently a widely accepted
custom, not only in his own day, but in days preceding him. Some feel that
the custom had its origin in the early-day practice of purchasing a wife
rather than courting; so that she became a portion of the dead man's estate.
As such, she remained the "property" (and the responsibility) of the clan;
thus assuring widows of a livelihood, and of protection and security after
their husband's death. In that respect, being a "mail order" bride had its
advantages in an era when very few women had careers of their own outside
the home or were entitled to assistance programs.
†. Gen 38:9 . . But Onan, knowing that the seed would not count as
his, spilled it on the ground whenever he joined with his brother's
wife, so as not to provide offspring for his brother.
It's been suggested that Onan's motivation for leaving his new wife childless
was to make sure Er didn't posthumously cause his own inheritance to be
reduced. As the firstborn, Er came in for a larger portion of Judah's estate
than Onan. But with Er dead and out of the way, Onan became the firstborn
by natural succession. Actually, Onan didn't have to marry Tamar; but if and
when he did, it was an implied consent to try his best to engender a boy so
the dead man would have someone to carry on his name. But Onan chose
instead to take advantage of his brother's widow and use her like a harlot;
and that was not only a cruel thing to do, but a fatal error too.
†. Gen 38:10 . .What he did was displeasing to The Lord, and He took
his life also.
Some have attempted to use this passage as a proof text that it's a sin to
practice contraception. But any honest examination of the facts testifies
otherwise. Onan evaded his obligation, and married his brother's widow
under false pretenses; apparently with the full intention of protecting his
own inheritance rather than that of his dead brother. That was unforgivable
because it's all the same as fraud and breech of contract; not to mention
deplorably uncaring about a widow's predicament (cf. Luke 7:11-15). Tamar
had a legitimate right to a baby fathered by Judah's clan, and it was their
moral, if not sacred, duty to make an honest attempt to provide her with not
only a baby, but also a man by her side to take care of her too.
†. Gen 38:11a . .Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar: Stay
as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up
At this point, Judah did the unthinkable: he disowned his daughter-in-law.
That just wasn't done. When a girl married into a clan; she became one with
that clan. I can scarce believe Judah sent Tamar back to her father; and I'm
honestly surprised Tamar's dad didn't march her right back to Judah's front
door and get in his face about it and demand he fulfill his obligations to one
of Israel's own widows.
†. Gen 38:11b . . for he thought: He too might die like his brothers.
No doubt Shelah's mom Bath-shua was by this time up in arms and
protesting vehemently against any more marriages of her own sons to this
"toxic" female.
I've a pretty good notion of what Judah had in mind. He had no intention of
letting Tamar anywhere near his one and only surviving male heir. As far as
he was concerned, Tamar was nothing less than a Black Widow-- one of the
those deadly spiders in the southwest that eats her mate for dinner after the
poor hormone-driven slob fulfills his one and only purpose in life.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
†. Gen 38:3-5 . . She conceived and bore a son, and he named him
Er. She conceived again and bore a son, and named him Onan. Once
again she bore a son, and named him Shelah; he was at Chezib when
she bore him.
The community of Chezib (a.k.a. Achzib and Chozeba) has been identified
with Khirbet Kueizibah by somebody named Conder (Palestine Exploration,
Jan. 1875). The Talmud mentions that a plain is in front of Chozeba; so
Kueizibah has before it the valley of Berachoth (wady Arrub); which is a bit
southwest of Adullum. So although Judah moved away from Bath-shua's
parents, it wasn't far away.
†. Gen 38:6 . . Judah got a wife for Er his first-born; her name was
Tamar.
Ms. Tamar is a total mystery. Neither her family, her ethnic identity, her
age, her looks, her education, her material worth, nor anything else is
known about her. But she's the one through whom God will bring Messiah
into the world; so I think it's safe to say she was probably a much better
woman than Bath-shua.
†. Gen 38:7 . . But Er, Judah's first-born, was displeasing to The
Lord, and The Lord took his life.
Er has the distinction of being the very first member of the people of Israel--
the chosen people --whom God personally clipped Himself. Er was only the
beginning because God's chosen people weren't chosen to be His pampered
pets; no, they were selected to be the number-one caretakers, and
propagators, of the knowledge of God. So then, of all the people in the
world, Jews have the least excuse for failure to comply with God's wishes
because they have always had that information at their fingertips while a
very large portion of the rest of the world; for many, many centuries, didn't.
Therefore, the status of God's chosen people isn't something to be proud of;
no, it's something to be afraid of.
"Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel--
against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt --saying:
You only have I known of all the families of the earth: that's why I will
punish you for all your iniquities." (Amos 3:1-2)
†. Gen 38:8 . .Then Judah said to Onan: Join with your brother's wife
and do your duty by her as a brother-in-law, and provide offspring
for your brother.
According to Deut 5:2-4, the covenant that Yhvh's people agreed upon with
God as per Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy isn't retroactive.
So then Judah's directive wasn't a strict by-the-book legal requirement as
stipulated by Deut 25:5-6; but was nevertheless something that God
approved without it being a covenanted requirement.
The "duty" to which Judah referred was apparently a widely accepted
custom, not only in his own day, but in days preceding him. Some feel that
the custom had its origin in the early-day practice of purchasing a wife
rather than courting; so that she became a portion of the dead man's estate.
As such, she remained the "property" (and the responsibility) of the clan;
thus assuring widows of a livelihood, and of protection and security after
their husband's death. In that respect, being a "mail order" bride had its
advantages in an era when very few women had careers of their own outside
the home or were entitled to assistance programs.
†. Gen 38:9 . . But Onan, knowing that the seed would not count as
his, spilled it on the ground whenever he joined with his brother's
wife, so as not to provide offspring for his brother.
It's been suggested that Onan's motivation for leaving his new wife childless
was to make sure Er didn't posthumously cause his own inheritance to be
reduced. As the firstborn, Er came in for a larger portion of Judah's estate
than Onan. But with Er dead and out of the way, Onan became the firstborn
by natural succession. Actually, Onan didn't have to marry Tamar; but if and
when he did, it was an implied consent to try his best to engender a boy so
the dead man would have someone to carry on his name. But Onan chose
instead to take advantage of his brother's widow and use her like a harlot;
and that was not only a cruel thing to do, but a fatal error too.
†. Gen 38:10 . .What he did was displeasing to The Lord, and He took
his life also.
Some have attempted to use this passage as a proof text that it's a sin to
practice contraception. But any honest examination of the facts testifies
otherwise. Onan evaded his obligation, and married his brother's widow
under false pretenses; apparently with the full intention of protecting his
own inheritance rather than that of his dead brother. That was unforgivable
because it's all the same as fraud and breech of contract; not to mention
deplorably uncaring about a widow's predicament (cf. Luke 7:11-15). Tamar
had a legitimate right to a baby fathered by Judah's clan, and it was their
moral, if not sacred, duty to make an honest attempt to provide her with not
only a baby, but also a man by her side to take care of her too.
†. Gen 38:11a . .Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar: Stay
as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up
At this point, Judah did the unthinkable: he disowned his daughter-in-law.
That just wasn't done. When a girl married into a clan; she became one with
that clan. I can scarce believe Judah sent Tamar back to her father; and I'm
honestly surprised Tamar's dad didn't march her right back to Judah's front
door and get in his face about it and demand he fulfill his obligations to one
of Israel's own widows.
†. Gen 38:11b . . for he thought: He too might die like his brothers.
No doubt Shelah's mom Bath-shua was by this time up in arms and
protesting vehemently against any more marriages of her own sons to this
"toxic" female.
I've a pretty good notion of what Judah had in mind. He had no intention of
letting Tamar anywhere near his one and only surviving male heir. As far as
he was concerned, Tamar was nothing less than a Black Widow-- one of the
those deadly spiders in the southwest that eats her mate for dinner after the
poor hormone-driven slob fulfills his one and only purpose in life.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=