Genesis 38

Judah and Tamar (1)

It seems strange that the moving story of Joseph should be interrupted by this story about his brother, Judah, in chapter 38. One result of this is that the story of Joseph is often recounted, for example, in children's story bibles, without any reference to chapter 38. Is it an unnecessary addition? An interpolation? A further 'evidence' of the fact that the Bible is just, as the critics say, an amalgamation of ancient stories, without any rhyme or reason?

If we take a little bit of care to read the narrative, not simply on its own terms, but in terms of the wider story of Genesis, and indeed of the Bible as a whole (what modern scholars call the metanarrative), we will see that not only is chapter 38 integral to the Joseph history, but that it makes a fundamental contribution to the whole Bible story. One of the most helpful books on this theme is Understanding Genesis by Duane Garrett (especially pages 171-6).

Why does Judah feature at this point in the story? Before asking whether the sordid events of chapter 38 have any worthwhile message for us, let's remind ourselves that whatever the meaning of the story might be, this is the logical place for it to appear. In chapter 37, Judah is unmarried; in chapter 46:12, following Joseph's meeting with his brothers in Egypt, Judah comes from Canaan, and by this time he has lost some of his family through death. If the story of Judah is important at all, and if it contributes in any way to our understanding of the story of Joseph, then this is the logical place for it to appear.

Let's just take a moment to review the Genesis material up to this point. Jacob was the (younger) twin brother of Esau, who deceived his father Isaac and received the blessing and the birthright. The focus of Genesis turns to Jacob, whom God names 'Israel' as a sign of the special place Jacob is to have in God's purpose of grace and salvation.

Jacob, the deceiver, then becomes the deceived. He marries the two daughters of Laban, Leah, whom he does not love, but who gives him ten children, the oldest of whom is Reuben; and Rachel, whom he has always loved, who gives him two sons, Joseph and Benjamin. Rachel dies as Benjamin is being born. This goes some way to explaining, although not justifying, the special place Joseph has in Jacob's eyes; this favouritism then fuels the jealousy of Joseph's brothers, who, as we saw in chapter 37, plot to kill Joseph. Instead, largely through the intervention of Reuben (37:21-22), followed by the suggestion of Judah (37:26-27), Joseph is spared, and becomes a slave in Egypt.

Out of the jealous brothers, then, the two who are singled out as instruments in Joseph's survival are Reuben, Jacob's actual firstborn son (29:31-32; 49:3), and Judah, who is named by Jacob as the recipient of special blessing in 49:8-12. Yet here, in chapter 38, Judah is the focus of our attention, and his behaviour is anything but ethical.

Judah married the Canaanite daughter of Shua. His wife is unnamed -- her part in the story is minimal; it is enough for us to know that she bears three sons, named Er, Onan and Shela. Judah's firstborn son, Er, was married to Tamar. But God judged both Er and Onan for their disobedience, and they died. After the death of his wife, Judah slept with Tamar, thinking that she was a prostitute. When it was discovered that she was pregnant, Judah was ready to condemn her, until he realised that he was the father of her twin sons, Perez and Zerah. After this, the Genesis narrative picks up with the story of Joseph again.

What are we to make of this? I think there are four things we can say about this narrative, in terms of continuation, contrast, covenant and Christ.

Continuation

The story of Judah picks up on elements already present in the Genesis narrative. Jacob was the deceiver, who in turn was deceived. Now Judah is also to be deceived; his sin in having sexual relations with his daughter-in-law is uncovered, and he stands guilty before God.

Then, just as twins were born to Isaac, twins are also born to Judah and Tamar. This theme has already been important -- God loved Jacob, but hated Esau (cf. Malachi 1:2). The birth of Perez and Zerah opens up the question of God's purposes -- what is God doing here?

The story is telling us at one level that God over-rules the sins of men for his own honour and glory. He has done it before, and will do so again. Just as Jacob's sin was permitted to show the glory and grandeur of God's purpose of grace, so we can trust and hope that Judah's sin will also reveal God's purpose.

How much we need to learn that this is still the case! God will have the honour and the glory and the praise in all things, even in the midst of all the sin and chaos of this world and its rejection of God's standard and his law.

Judah and Tamar (2)

We have already noted that the story of Judah and Tamar finds a logical place in this part of Genesis. In spite of the seemingly arbitrary nature of these narratives, they are the seams along which the purpose of God's grace is being worked out. We noted the continuation of various themes in Genesis in this story chapter 38: the themes of deception, and the birth of twins. Let's explore this material further.

Contrast

One of the main purposes of Genesis 38 is to show us the difference between Judah and Joseph. Chapter 37 highlighted the fact that Joseph was no ordinary child -- he was a special, favoured child, both in the sight of God and his father, Jacob. The purposes of God's grace are going to include a special role for Joseph, who was sold as a slave into the land of Egypt.

Let's remember that Judah was instrumental in preserving the life of his brother. For all that he joined in the conspiracy, born out of jealousy, to rid themselves of Joseph and then deceive Jacob into thinking that Joseph had been killed, Judah prevented the fratricide (the murder of their brother). In 37:27 we read "Judah said to his brothers, 'What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh'".

There is an interesting double story/contrast here: Ishmael was the son of Abraham (16:15). The descendants of Ishmael are highlighted in 25:12-18. He was the son of Hagar, the bondslave of Sarah; and although God had promised Abraham that his descendants would be blessed, and be a blessing, Ishmael was not the son of the promise. That son was Isaac. Paul sees great significance in this, and uses the contrast between Isaac and Ishmael to great effect in Galatians 4:21-31.

So it is not insignificant that Joseph, one of the most blessed descendants of Isaac, was sold as a slave to the Ishmaelites!. It is a reminder to us that, although the original salvation promise was that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent (3:15), there were times when God's chosen people were dominated by their enemies. This theme will be echoed throughout the Old Testament.

But the main contrast is between Joseph and Judah. Judah reminds the treacherous brothers of the family bond. Yet, while Joseph remains faithful to God, even in his captivity in Egypt, Judah gives himself without any apparent smattering of conscience, to Tamar, when she disguises herself as a temple prostitute. While Judah follows the base lusts of his passion in Canaan, Joseph is contrasted by his unwillingness to sleep with Potiphar's wife in chapter 39. This contrast highlights the need for God to intervene in sovereign grace to save his people, who, left to themselves, would fall into sin. It is the contrast which Paul draws so vividly in Romans 5:20 -- "where sin abounded, grace did much more abound".

Covenant

But there is more here. The story of Genesis -- of the Old Testament, and, indeed, of the whole Bible -- is the story of covenant grace, covenant faithfulness and covenant salvation. God made a covenant with Abraham, promising that in him all the families of the earth would be blessed. This covenant was highlighted in chapters 12, 15 and 17.

God's covenant salvation will be worked out through the line of Abraham, with God working sovereignly and graciously through the seed of his people. In Old Testament times, the focus of attention was on the firstborn son, who would be responsible for perpetuating the family name and the family line.

But Genesis 38 explains to us one of the most important elements of Old Testament revelation -- that the blessing of God's salvation was not necessarily confined to the natural, physical seed in the way we might expect. Esau was Isaac's firstborn, but it was through the line of Jacob that God was going to work.

Similarly, although Reuben was Jacob's firstborn son, it was not through his line that God's salvation was to be revealed. In fact, Reuben was the one who suggested throwing Joseph into a pit instead of killing him, with the intention of rescuing him later (37:22). Perhaps, having seen his father's love of Joseph, Reuben, the firstborn, wanted to find a way of getting into Jacob's favour again. At any rate, although Reuben was the eldest, he was uncontrolled, and Jacob prophesied that his firstborn son would not have pre-eminence (49:3-4).

Instead, God would work through the line of Judah, from whom the 'lawgiver' would come (49:8-12). The Jewish people, fathered by Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Judah, would be the favoured people, out of whom the Messiah would come. Through Joseph, the covenant people will be preserved. The sin of Judah is one reason why God will judge them with famine, and this in turn will require them going to Egypt for food.

But God has gone before them, placing Joseph in a position of prominence in which he will be well-placed to secure the preservation, and eventual release of God's people.

Without Genesis 38, we could not really understand why it was necessary for Joseph to be placed in Egypt at all. But this chapter is a vital thread in the covenant cord that binds the Gospel story together. Grace is going before, preparing the way, opening the door; so that whatever our sin and need may be, there is a wonderful provision in God's covenant for us!

Christ

And, at last, Christ is the focus of the Judah/Tamar story. Over-ruling the sin of Judah, God sovereignly works to provide a son. Again, it is not the firstborn (Zerah, whose hand came out first and was marked with a scarlet thread to distinguish him as the actual firstborn). Instead, Perez is born first, and Zerah (whose name means 'a dawning') second.

The genealogy of Christ in Matthew 1 sets all this in context: "... to Judah were born Perez and Zerah by Tamar; and to Perez was born Hezron ..." (Matthew 1:3). Thus Tamar, a Canaanite woman, is the first of five women named in the genealogy, integral to the purpose of God's salvation in providing the Messiah, and bringing the Saviour into the world. From the seed of Perez, Christ will come.

On a literary and theological level, Genesis 38 is vital to the biblical story. It is a great signal to us of the fact that for those who sat in darkness, light has indeed shined!

© Iain D. Campbell 2002