1 ויהי בעת ההוא וירד יהודה מאת אחיו ויט עד איש עדלמי ושמו חירה | 1 About that time Judah parted from his brothers and pitched his tent near a certain Adullamite named Hirah. |
2 וירא שם יהודה בת איש כנעני ושמו שוע ויקחה ויבא אליה | 2 There he met the daughter of a Canaanite named Shua, married her, and had relations with her. |
3 ותהר ותלד בן ויקרא את שמו ער | 3 She conceived and bore a son, whom she named Er. |
4 ותהר עוד ותלד בן ותקרא את שמו אונן | 4 Again she conceived and bore a son, whom she named Onan. |
5 ותסף עוד ותלד בן ותקרא את שמו שלה והיה בכזיב בלדתה אתו | 5 Then she bore still another son, whom she named Shelah. They were in Chezib when he was born. |
6 ויקח יהודה אשה לער בכורו ושמה תמר | 6 Judah got a wife named Tamar for his first-born, Er. |
7 ויהי ער בכור יהודה רע בעיני יהוה וימתהו יהוה | 7 But Er, Judah's first-born, greatly offended the LORD; so the LORD took his life. |
8 ויאמר יהודה לאונן בא אל אשת אחיך ויבם אתה והקם זרע לאחיך | 8 Then Judah said to Onan, "Unite with your brother's widow, in fulfillment of your duty as brother-in-law, and thus preserve your brother's line." |
9 וידע אונן כי לא לו יהיה הזרע והיה אם בא אל אשת אחיו ושחת ארצה לבלתי נתן זרע לאחיו | 9 Onan, however, knew that the descendants would not be counted as his; so whenever he had relations with his brother's widow, he wasted his seed on the ground, to avoid contributing offspring for his brother. |
10 וירע בעיני יהוה אשר עשה וימת גם אתו | 10 What he did greatly offended the LORD, and the LORD took his life too. |
11 ויאמר יהודה לתמר כלתו שבי אלמנה בית אביך עד יגדל שלה בני כי אמר פן ימות גם הוא כאחיו ותלך תמר ותשב בית אביה | 11 Thereupon Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Stay as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up"--for he feared that Shelah also might die like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father's house. |
12 וירבו הימים ותמת בת שוע אשת יהודה וינחם יהודה ויעל על גזזי צאנו הוא וחירה רעהו העדלמי תמנתה | 12 Years passed, and Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah completed the period of mourning, he went up to Timnah for the shearing of his sheep, in company with his friend Hirah the Adullamite. |
13 ויגד לתמר לאמר הנה חמיך עלה תמנתה לגז צאנו | 13 When Tamar was told that her father-in-law was on his way up to Timnah to shear his sheep, |
14 ותסר בגדי אלמנותה מעליה ותכס בצעיף ותתעלף ותשב בפתח עינים אשר על דרך תמנתה כי ראתה כי גדל שלה והוא לא נתנה לו לאשה | 14 she took off her widow's garb, veiled her face by covering herself with a shawl, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she was aware that, although Shelah was now grown up, she had not been given to him in marriage. |
15 ויראה יהודה ויחשבה לזונה כי כסתה פניה | 15 When Judah saw her, he mistook her for a harlot, since she had covered her face. |
16 ויט אליה אל הדרך ויאמר הבה נא אבוא אליך כי לא ידע כי כלתו הוא ותאמר מה תתן לי כי תבוא אלי | 16 So he went over to her at the roadside, and not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he said, "Come, let me have intercourse with you." She replied, "What will you pay me for letting you have intercourse with me?" |
17 ויאמר אנכי אשלח גדי עזים מן הצאן ותאמר אם תתן ערבון עד שלחך | 17 He answered, "I will send you a kid from the flock." "Very well," she said, "provided you leave a pledge until you send it." |
18 ויאמר מה הערבון אשר אתן לך ותאמר חתמך ופתילך ומטך אשר בידך ויתן לה ויבא אליה ותהר לו | 18 Judah asked, "What pledge am I to give to you?" She answered, "Your seal and cord, and the staff you carry." So he gave them to her and had intercourse with her, and she conceived by him. |
19 ותקם ותלך ותסר צעיפה מעליה ותלבש בגדי אלמנותה | 19 When she went away, she took off her shawl and put on her widow's garb again. |
20 וישלח יהודה את גדי העזים ביד רעהו העדלמי לקחת הערבון מיד האשה ולא מצאה | 20 Judah sent the kid by his friend the Adullamite to recover the pledge from the woman; but he could not find her. |
21 וישאל את אנשי מקמה לאמר איה הקדשה הוא בעינים על הדרך ויאמרו לא היתה בזה קדשה | 21 So he asked the men of the place, "Where is the temple prostitute, the one by the roadside in Enaim?" But they answered, "There has never been a temple prostitute here." |
22 וישב אל יהודה ויאמר לא מצאתיה וגם אנשי המקום אמרו לא היתה בזה קדשה | 22 He went back to Judah and told him, "I could not find her; and besides, the men of the place said there was no temple prostitute there." |
23 ויאמר יהודה תקח לה פן נהיה לבוז הנה שלחתי הגדי הזה ואתה לא מצאתה | 23 "Let her keep the things," Judah replied; "otherwise we shall become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her the kid, even though you were unable to find her." |
24 ויהי כמשלש חדשים ויגד ליהודה לאמר זנתה תמר כלתך וגם הנה הרה לזנונים ויאמר יהודה הוציאוה ותשרף | 24 About three months later, Judah was told that his daughter-in-law Tamar had played the harlot and was then with child from her harlotry. "Bring her out," cried Judah; "she shall be burned." |
25 הוא מוצאת והיא שלחה אל חמיה לאמר לאיש אשר אלה לו אנכי הרה ותאמר הכר נא למי החתמת והפתילים והמטה האלה | 25 But as they were bringing her out, she sent word to her father-in-law, "It is by the man to whom these things belong that I am with child. Please verify," she added, "whose seal and cord and whose staff these are." |
26 ויכר יהודה ויאמר צדקה ממני כי על כן לא נתתיה לשלה בני ולא יסף עוד לדעתה | 26 Judah recognized them and said, "She is more in the right than I am, since I did not give her to my son Shelah." But he had no further relations with her. |
27 ויהי בעת לדתה והנה תאומים בבטנה | 27 When the time of her delivery came, she was found to have twins in her womb. |
28 ויהי בלדתה ויתן יד ותקח המילדת ותקשר על ידו שני לאמר זה יצא ראשנה | 28 While she was giving birth, one infant put out his hand; and the midwife, taking a crimson thread, tied it on his hand, to note that this one came out first. |
29 ויהי כמשיב ידו והנה יצא אחיו ותאמר מה פרצת עליך פרץ ויקרא שמו פרץ | 29 But as he withdrew his hand, his brother came out; and she said, "What a breach you have made for yourself!" So he was called Perez. |
30 ואחר יצא אחיו אשר על ידו השני ויקרא שמו זרח | 30 Afterward his brother came out; he was called Zerah. |