Genesis chapter 38

After reading chapter 38:

*In which we interrupt the story of Joseph to learn about Judah and Tamar. The story will be important later, so it had to be stuck into the narrative of the Israelites somewhere.

*Judah went off and married a Canaanite woman. They had three sons, Er, Onan, and Shela. Er grew up and married Tamar. Er was wicked so Yahweh killed him. Judah told Onan to get Er's wife pregnant so Er would have an heir. (Tamar's opinion on this matter didn't matter) Onan didn't want to produce a son that would not be his, so he practiced primitive natural birth control. Yahweh thought Onan's behavior in this regard was wicked,  so he killed Onan. These verses have been the cause of much consternation for people of the bible for centuries. Is using birth control worthy of death? Does God hate birth control? As usual, the opinions on this topic are many and varied. We will not go into them, other than to say that for thousands, from Catholics to fundamentalists, the answer is yes. Plus, they would prefer the whole world refrained from using birth control, so they attempt to affect public policy and the medical profession.

*Judah sent Tamar back to her father's house to wait for Shela to grow up, presumably so he could impregnate her. Meanwhile, Judah's wife died. Shela had grown up, but Tamar had not been married to him. Tamar got tired of waiting around with no husband and no child so she took matters into her own hands. She heard that her father-in-law would be passing by a certain spot and went to sit by the road dressed like a prostitue. When Judah passed by, he offered to give her a young goat in exchange for her services. She requested his seal and staff as proof of his pledge. He complied and so did she.

*Later, Judah sent the goat, expecting to get his staff and seal back, but Tamar was nowhere to be found. He didn't pursue the matter because he didn't want to look like a fool. Three months later, Tamar was discovered to be pregnant and was accused of prostitution, which was apparently considered wicked, even though we haven't seen God make  any rules about it yet. We saw earlier, in the case of Shechem and Dinah, that treating a woman like a prostitute was also considered wicked.(Maybe it was only Israelite women that mattered. )  In spite of this fact, when he heard the news, Judah condemned Tamar to death by burning,  exhibiting the double standard that men all over the world have operated under for as long as recorded history.

*When she was being brought to her execution, Tamar sent Judah his seal and staff, showing who was the person responsible for her condition. Judah recognized his responsibility in the matter and Tamar was not killed. Tamar had twin sons. One put out a hand first and was marked with a scarlett thread as the first born, then he withdrew and his other brother was born. This is to follow the younger brother theme. The boy with the scarlett thread was Zerah. The other was Perez.