This Week’s Torah Reading #35–The Judah-Tamar Story
This week’s Torah Reading, number 35 in our three-year Torah Reading cycle, is found in Genesis/Beresheit 38:1-30.
It is the story of Yehudah (aka Judah) and Tamar. It conveys tremendous spiritual lessons that scream for our attention and our steadfast compliance to Yah’s Will and Ways despite the tugs and pulls of our flesh.
A Brief Overview of the Storyline
As the story goes, Yehudah/Judah separated himself from his father and brothers and marries a Canaanite woman who ends up bearing him three sons.
Yehudah’s first son is named Er. And when Er was of age, Yehudah acquires him a Canaanite wife by the name of Tamar.
Yah kills Er because he was evil in Yah’s sight, leaving Tamar childless.
Thus, Yehudah’s second son, Onan, was required (under ancient Levirate law) to impregnate his dead brother’s wife Tamar so as to “raise up a descendant for his brother” (verse 8).
First Mention of The Levirate Marriage
Now, as odd and even gross as this may appear to many of us living in the 21st century west, this was a life and death act among the ancients. It was implemented by Yah to protect the childless widow and to carry on the biological line of the deceased husband and thus, provide the widow a new family and financial support in the aftermath of her husband’s death.
The mitzvah of the Levirate is codified and rendered in Deuteronomy/Devarim 25:5 and was alluded to in Matthew 22:24.
According to the Levirate requirement and custom, if the deceased husband had marrying age brothers, the widow was not permitted to remarry outside that family. It was required that the oldest surviving brother marry their deceased brother’s widow.
As the story continues, Onan steps up to fulfill his duty as a Levirate husband. However, Onan intentionally prevent Tamar from conceiving, which angered Yah. Yah therefore killed Onan.
The Story Morally Unravels
Yehudah’s youngest son, Shelah, who at the time of Onan’s death, was not old enough to fulfill the role of the Levirate husband. So, Yehudah initially determined to send Tamar back to her father’s home to await Shelah’s coming of age and to then carry through with the required Levirate marriage. But Yehudah, for whatever reason, fails to carry through with that promise. And thus, Tamar persisted as a doomed widow living in her father’s house.
But Tamar devised a plan to get herself out of the situation she was in and force Yehudah to fulfill the requirements of the Levirate.
Tamar disguised herself as what some have determined to be a Canaanite (cultic) prostitute and situates herself in the area where Yehudah was in order to entrap him into engaging in sexual relations with her. Unknowing that the woman he’d engaged in relations with was his daughter-in-law, Yehudah left behind with Tamar evidence of his carnality.
Tamar conceives a child from her union with Yehudah and a trimester later, word reached Yehudah that she had turned to prostitution, or rather, had been sexually promiscuous, resulting in her pregnancy.
Outraged over this revelation, Yehudah demanded that Tamar be burned. (Is that not hypocrisy in its truest meaning?)
The laws related to how prostitutes were to be treated is found in Leviticus/Vayiqra 21:9, with special reference to be given to John/Yochanan 8:5.
Nevertheless, Tamar produces the physical evidence that Yehudah had impregnated her which convicted Yehudah and compelled him to say of Tamar: “She is more upright (i.e., more righteous) than he.”
Yehudah’s statement could be taken a number of ways I guess. One way that seems most popular is that Tamar’s actions, as distasteful as they may appear to us, forced Yehudah to fulfill the law of the Levirate Marriage. She saw to this law being fulfilled in her life.
Tamar ends up giving birth to the twins Perez and Zerah.
The Lineage of the Messiah Firmly Established, Despite Immoral Impediments
We must never overlook the fact that the biological line of our Mishiyach is the focus here. Yahoshua was of the line of Yehudah through the Canaanite Tamar. And we see from this story that Yah is willing to turn the evil and sinful intentions and actions of humanity–in this case Yehudah and Tamar–to good (i.e., make lemonade out of lemons if you will).
And the other thing that is of note is that Yehudah, a product of the Avrahamic covenant, appears to place no significance whatsoever in the covenant. He marries a Canaanite woman and he engages in the ungodly practice of sexual relations with (although unbeknownst by him at the time that she was actually his daughter-in-law) a Canaanite prostitute.
Regardless the carnality that is splattered throughout this inserted story (i.e., inserted into the Yosef story), Moshe, through Yah, was intent on detailing the coming of the serpent-slayer (Genesis/Beresheit 3:15). Yahoshua HaMashiyach is at the very hub and foci of this story.
The seed would come solely via Yah’s miraculous Will and Plan. As we’ve previously seen in other Patriarchal stories, Yah’s Will would supersede man’s fleshly intentions, efforts and sinful ways. For Yah will fulfill all His covenant promises regardless what man chooses to do otherwise.
Tamar resorted to fleshly means to accomplish what she likely saw as a spiritual end (i.e., Tim Hegg Commentary on this passage). Yes, she did stoop to the low level of deceiving Yehudah through paganistic means. But Yah’s plan still prevailed and Yahoshua’s line remained intact. Yah intended for Tamar to produce Yahoshua’s line. For whatever reason, Yah chose Tamar to be the conduit by which our Master would come on the world scene.
Yehudah, on the other hand, gave into his base-nature during what the text describes as “sheep shearing.” Sheep shearing season in ancient times was an arduous time for all involved. And it would seem that, although Yehudah would not ordinarily solicit a prostitute, he may have talked himself into having some pleasurable downtime.
The Danger of Sycretism
We often feel that we deserve pleasurable downtime and reward when we’ve accomplished some grand tasks. And in so doing, we often open ourselves up to the carnal and exploitation by the enemy, as we saw illustrated in this story.
Using me as an example: I have often sought to reward myself after a difficult day of work with a television veg session. This is not to in anyway insinuate that watching television is in and of itself sinful. But we all know that even the most innocent television program can be morally corrupted. And I have found that when I gave in to watching television as a reward, there would be consequences. For despite my best efforts to watch only that which was suitable for a Child of Yah to watch, I would frequently find myself subjected to things in those television programs that was unbefitting of a Child of Yah: violence; inappropriate and ungodly relationships being played out on the screen; homosexuality; greed; hatred; and so much more. Indeed, the draw of syncretism is strong (i.e., the combining of Yah’s ways with ways of the world). And often, the memories of those inappropriate moments and images linger on in my mind for some time and they overtake and take up the space in my mind that Yah and His Word should have. Not a good place to be. So, I’ve repented of such behavior.
So, I’m learning that I should not embrace such pleasures as a reward for hard labors. But seek Kingdom related pleasures: praise and worship; music; meditation; scripture reading; fellowshipping with likeminded brethren.
May Yah receive the glory and honor He so justly deserves.
Faithfully