Judah and Tamar

Yesterday I promised a discussion of Judah and Tamar, as found in Gen 38. Their story seems to interrupt the Joseph pericope but I want to suggest why we can’t discount it as a random distraction.

I am assuming you are somewhat familiar with the story. If not, scan Gen 37-50.

In Genesis 37:33, we see a key word: recognize. When the brothers brought the blood-stained robe to Jacob, he recognized the robe at Joseph’s and grieved for him. In Gen 38:26, Judah, who was about to have his daughter-in-law killed for prostitution, recognized the seal, cord and staff she held as his own and repented. In Gen 42:7, Joseph recognized his brothers in Egypt, although they did not yet recognize him.

The word recognize is key to three different events in the Joseph pericope, including the narrative of Judah and Tamar. The word was a turning point.

Other things to notice:

• Because Judah was the brother who proposed selling Joseph into slavery rather than killing him, he was likely the leader of the brothers. This carried forward in Israelite history, with the tribe of Judah being the largest and strongest.
• Judah’s line was the line of King David and also of Jesus. Thus, Judah carried the hopes of Abraham’s children.
• Just as Jacob was tricked by the bloodstained robe, Judah was tricked by Tamar. His poor treatment of his daughter-in-law (for he owed her a husband and child but had refused to take care of her in that regard) was revealed through her deception.
• When Judah recognized his seal, he acknowledged that she was more righteous than he. He had been broken by his encounter with Tamar, and he recognized his own failing. This was the turning point of Judah’s moral education.
• Judah’s sexual failures in Gen 38 immediately precede Joseph’s triumph when presented with sexual temptation by Potiphar’s wife in Gen 39.
• Later, when Joseph tried to imprison Benjamin (Gen. 44), it was Judah who came forward to take Benjamin’s place. Judah was willing to be enslaved to let Benjamin return home to their father.

The story of Joseph reveals God’s faithfulness to his people. Joseph’s trust in God’s provision protected Jacob’s family. They would probably have perished in the famine except for Joseph’s presence in Egypt. Instead, the family moved to Egypt and grew into a nation in the following 400 years.

Joseph’s story isn’t so much about a young man’s faithfulness as the history of a family growing into a nation, and how the leaders were grown and changed by God. It's about God's hand at work.

The tribe of Judah would lead the nation – into battle, into the Promised Land, and through the kingly line of David.

Judah was transformed from a deceptive, jealous young man into a brother willing to give his life in ransom for another. Surely much of that change came because he recognized his wickedness at the hands of Tamar. It came because he recognized his true nature and repented. His life was pivotal to the future of the nation of Israel – and the coming Messiah.

Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah."

Gen 38:26