| Subject: Genesis 37 vss 1-11 Post 182 |
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Hillbilly
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Date Posted: 10:37:01 02/04/12 Sat
CHAPTER 38
Genesis 38:1-11 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. 3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. 4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. 5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. 6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. 7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. 8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. 9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. 11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house.
As noted in the last study chapter 38 does not fit the order of the narrative of Joseph. In fact Joseph is not mentioned and the chapter centers around Judah and some less than honorable events in his and his sons lives. The time period of the events in this chapter span several years and while we are being treated to the "soap opera" of Judah's life Joseph is in Egypt and the events of his life that will be continued in the next chapter are happening concurrently with this chapter.
We can get a premonition that things are not going to go well in the 2nd verse when Judah falls for a certain "cutie" who is a Canaanite. This wife of Judah is not named. Shuah is her father and not her name (see verse 12) Canaan land may be the goal and promise to Israel but overwhelmingly the Canaanite is viewed negatively in the Bible. From the curse issued in Gen. 9:25 and the promise in Gen. 12:7-8 to take away the land of the Canaanite and give it to Abraham and his seed you know there is going to be trouble when the Canaanite shows up.
Judah takes this unnamed Canaanite woman to himself to be his wife (after the fact) and the result is three sons, one of which is wicked and the other disobedient and stubborn while we are not given the character of the youngest.
We are not told what was so wicked about Er but what ever the details God saw him wicked enought that He took it upon Himself to slay Er. At this point we get a glimpse of a custom that is strange to the western world. Judah takes the wife of Tamar (who was probably a Canaanite also and gives her to his second son Onan to lay with her that she might raise up "seed to his brother"
The custom has to do with the importance of inheritance and family name within these family tribes. God incorporated this as law in the statutes He gave to Israel: Deuteronomy 25:5-10 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her. 6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. 7 And if the man like not to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate unto the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up unto his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother. 8 Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak unto him: and if he stand to it, and say, I like not to take her; 9 Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house. 10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.
Even to this day in the Middle East one of the greatest insults you can give has to do with showing the bottom of the shoe to a Muslim. Shoe throwing also has been much in the news of late.
Onan balks at the command and determines that the sister-in-law is not going to have a baby by him and at the last moment pulls out that his seed goes on the ground and not in his sister-in-law. For his disobedience God kills him. This act from God in itself shows the importance God placed on family continuity. Even though Er was wicked and God killed him, without a son and progeny to continue Er's wife could have been left without anyone to provide for her and the rightful inheritance of the firstborn Er would end.
Judah at this point, having lost two sons and only the third son to pass the inheritance to fears that God will kill his youngest son also if the duty of the brother is not fulfilled. At this point Judah promises Tamar, the wife of the deceased Er, that when his youngest son Shelah is of age she will be given to him for him to fulfill the duty of the brother.
Tamar is then sent home to her father to wait for Shelah to grow up to manhood. What age that is we are not told but as we see in the next study Tamar is not willing to wait until she is too old to bare.
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