Genesis 38:14

And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
put	וַתָּסַר֩ va.ta.Sar	H5493	to turn off (literal or figurative) · conjunction + verb, hiphil sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
widow’s	אַלְמְנוּתָ֜הּ 'al.me.nu.Tah	H491	concrete · noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
garments	בִּגְדֵ֨י big.Dei	H899	a covering · noun, common masculine plural construct
off	סוּר çûwr	H5493	to turn off (literal or figurative)
her	וַתְּכַ֤ס va.te.Khas	H3680	properly · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
vail	בַּצָּעִיף֙ ba.tza.'If	H6809	a veil · preposition with the article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
herself	וַתִּתְעַלָּ֔ף va.tit.'a.Laf	H5968	to veil or cover · conjunction + verb, hithpael sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
in	וַתֵּ֙שֶׁב֙ va.Te.shev	H3427	properly · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
open	עַיִן ʻayin	H5869	an eye (literally or figuratively)
place	בְּפֶ֣תַח be.Fe.tach	H6607	an opening (literally) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct
way	דֶּ֣רֶךְ De.rekh	H1870	a road (as trodden) · noun, common both genders singular construct
Timnath	תִּמְנָ֑תָה tim.Na.tah	H8553	Timnah · proper noun, a place name + directional suffix
saw	רָאֲתָה֙ ra.'a.Tah	H7200	to see · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
Shelah	שֵׁלָ֔ה she.Lah	H7956	Shelah · proper noun, a man's name
grown	גָדַ֣ל ga.Dal	H1431	to be (causatively make) large (in various senses · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
given	נִתְּנָ֥ה ni.te.Nah	H5414	to give · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
wife	לְאִשָּֽׁה le.'i.Shah	H802	a woman · preposition + noun, common feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Genesis 38:26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her ag…
Genesis 24:65 For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefo…
Genesis 38:11-13 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 peradvent…
Proverbs 7:12 Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)
Jeremiah 3:2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in t…
Ezekiel 16:25 Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 38:12-23

It is a very ill-favoured story that is here told concerning Judah; one would not have expected such folly in Israel. Judah had buried his wife; and widowers have need to stand upon their guard with the utmost caution and resolution against all fleshly lusts. He was unjust to his daughter-in-law, either through negligence or design, in not giving her his surviving son, and this exposed her to temptation. I. Tamar wickedly prostituted herself as a harlot to Judah, that, if the son might not, the father might raise up seed to the deceased. Some excuse this by suggesting that, though she was a Canaanite, yet she had embraced the true religion, and believed the promise made to Abraham and his se…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 38:12

Judah . . . went up unto his sheep-shearers--This season, which occurs in Palestine towards the end of March, was spent in more than usual hilarity, and the wealthiest masters invited their friends, as well as treated their servants, to sumptuous entertainments. Accordingly, it is said, Judah was accompanied by his friend Hirah. Timnath--in the mountains of Judah.

Adam Clarke on Genesis 38:12

In process of time - This phrase, which is in general use in the Bible, needs explanation; the original is וירבו הימים vaiyirbu haiyamim, and the days were multiplied. Though it implies an indefinite time, yet it generally embraces a pretty long period, and in this place may mean several years.

John Gill on Genesis 38:14

And she put her widow's garments off from her,.... By which it appears that in those times and countries it was usual for widows to have a different apparel from others, especially in the time of their mourning, as it has been since in other nations, and with us at this day, and which is commonly called "the widow's weed": and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself; in it, or in a cloak, or some such like garment, which the Arabs now call "hykes"; this she did that she might not be known, and not that she might appear as an harlot; for it was common to all women in those countries to go abroad with their veils: and on the contrary, whatever might be the custom here in those early…

The Church Fathers

ON THE CLOTHES OF THE WIDOWS. — She took off her widow's clothes . This text implies that also in the time of the patriarchs the widows wore certain dresses, different from those that the married women wore. [
— Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON GENESIS, Q. 128 (tr. J. Litteral, draft)

(Verse 14) And he sat at the gate of Enaim, which is on the road to Thamna. The Hebrew phrase Enaim (), is translated as 'in the eyes.' Therefore, it is not a place name, but rather a description. He sat at a crossroads or a junction where a traveler must carefully look to choose the right path.
— Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis

When Shelah had become a young man and Judah did not wish to bring her back to his house, Tamar thought, "How can I make the Hebrews realize that it is not marriage for which I am hungering, but rather that I am yearning for the blessing that is hidden in them? Although I am able to have relations with Shelah, I would not be able to make my faith victorious through Shelah. I ought then to have relations with Judah so that by the treasure I receive, I might enrich my poverty, and in the widowhood I preserve, I might make it clear that I did not desire marriage."
— Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 34:2

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Open place — Gen. 38:14, 21, mar. Enaim; the same probably as Enam (Josh. 15:34), a city in the lowland or Shephelah.
Pharez — Breach, the elder of the twin sons of Judah (Gen. 38:29). From him the royal line of David sprang (Ruth 4:18-22). “The chief of all the captains of the host” was of the children of Perez (1 Chr.…
Shelah — Petition. (1.) Judah’s third son (Gen. 38:2, 5, 11, 14). (2.) A son of Arphaxad (1 Chr. 1:18).
Tamar — Palm. (1.) A place mentioned by Ezekiel (47:19; 48:28), on the southeastern border of Palestine. Some suppose this was “Tadmor” (q.v.). (2.) The daughter-in-law of Judah, to whose eldest son, Er, she…
Timnah — A portion. (1.) A town of Judah (Josh. 15:10). The Philistines took possession of it in the days of Ahaz (2 Chr. 28:18). It was about 20 miles west of Jerusalem. It has been identified with Timnatha…
Timnath — Gen. 38:12, 14. (1.) Heb. Timnathah, which is appropriately rendered in the Revised Version, Timnah, a town in Judah. (2.) The town where Samson sojourned, probably identical with “Timnah” (1) (Judg.…
Veil — With regard to the use of the veil, it is important to observe that it was by no means so general in ancient as in modern times. Much of the scrupulousness in respect of the use of the veil dates…
Judah · .His incest with his daughter-in-law — .His incest with his daughter-in-law
Masking · By Tamar — By Tamar
Sheep · Shearing of — Shearing of
Shelah · 1. — 1.
Tamar · 1. Wife of the — 1. Wife of the

Genesis 38:14

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 38:12-23

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 38:12

Adam Clarke on Genesis 38:12

John Gill on Genesis 38:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Genesis 38:14

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Genesis 38:12-23

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Genesis 38:12

Adam Clarke on Genesis 38:12

John Gill on Genesis 38:14

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Genesis 38:14

Keil & Delitzsch on Genesis 38:12–end

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Genesis 38:14-19

Rashi on Genesis 38:9