Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Judah Wanders Away - Part 2. Genesis 38:12-23

May the mumbling commence!

The deceivers are once again deceived.  Oh, the irony!  Read from Peterson’s The Message:

            Time passed.  Judah’s wife, Shua’s daughter, died.  When the time of mourning was over, Judah with his friend Hirah of Adullam went to Timnah for the sheep shearing.
                Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law had gone to Timnah to shear his sheep.”  She took off her widow’s clothes, put on a veil to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the road to Timnah.  She realized by now that even though Shelah was grown up, she wasn’t going to be married to him.
                Judah saw her and assumed she was a prostitute since she had veiled her face.  He left the road and went over to her.  He said, “Let me sleep with you.”  He had no idea that she was his daughter-in-law.
                She said, “What will you pay me?”
                “I’ll send you,” he said, “a kid goat from the flock.”
                She said, “Not unless you give me a pledge until you send it.”
                “So what would you want in the way of a pledge?”
                She said, “Your personal seal-and-cord and the staff that you carry.”
                He handed them over to her and slept with her.  And she got pregnant.
                She then left and went home.  She removed her veil and put on her widow’s clothes back on.
                Judah sent the kid goat by his friend Adullam to recover the pledge from the woman.  But he couldn’t find her.  He asked the men of that place, “Where’s the prostitute that used to sit by the road here near Enaim?”
                They said, “There’s never been a prostitute here.”
                He went back to Judah and said, “I couldn’t find her.  The men there said there never has been a prostitute there.”
                Judah said, “Let her have it then.  If we keep looking, everyone will be poking fun at us.  I kept my part of the bargain – I sent the kid goat but you couldn’t find her.”  (Genesis 38:12-23)

Now read the same passage from the NIV translation:

After a long time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him. 
When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep," she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife. 
When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.  Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, "Come now, let me sleep with you."
"And what will you give me to sleep with you?" she asked. 
"I'll send you a young goat from my flock," he said.
"Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?" she asked. 
He said, "What pledge should I give you?"
"Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand," she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.  After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow's clothes again. 
Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her.  He asked the men who lived there, "Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?"
"There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here," they said. 
So he went back to Judah and said, "I didn't find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, 'There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here.'" 
Then Judah said, "Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't find her."  (Genesis 38:12-23)

It seems that Peterson’s misnomer about Shua being the name of Judah’s wife is now rectified.  It makes me wonder more about the reason for that ambiguous distinction in the first place.

And Judah is fooled by Tamar’s dress.  He thinks she’s a shrine prostitute.  The “shrine” designation is important.  Five of the nine translations that I looked at include that distinction in one form or another.  It shows clearly the unrighteousness of Judah.  He was frequenting shrine prostitutes.  He was embracing other gods.


Judah should be more worried about how God will react to his behaviors and attitudes than how other people will see him!  

Enough mumbling for now…  

Peace Out

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