Genesis 38:12

Translations

Modern

After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah.

Traditional

And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.

Literal

And the days multiplied, and Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. And Judah was comforted, and he went up to the shearers of his sheep, he and Hirah his friend, the Adullamite, at Timnah.

Latin

Evolutis autem multis diebus, mortua est filia Sue uxor Judæ: qui, post luctum consolatione suscepta, ascendebat ad tonsores ovium suarum, ipse et Hiras opilio gregis Odollamites, in Thamnas.

Original

Hebrew

English

After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah.

Notes

Genesis 38:12–13

Without a marriage, the family's future was at risk.
Judah's wife … died: This made Judah available to fulfill the responsibility of providing an heir.

Genesis 38:1–30

The story of Judah and Tamar is a carefully placed break in the larger story. It shows what was happening in Judah’s family. Judah would later become an important leader. The story also shows the early stages of the family mixing with the people of the land. This helps explain why God sent the family to Egypt (chapters 39–47).

The Egyptians kept themselves separate from other peoples (43:32). Because of that, the Israelites were more likely to keep their own identity in Egypt than in Canaan.

Theme notes and profiles

Egypt Judah Human Sexuality Symbolic Numbers

Related verses

Joshua 15:10
The border curled westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Chesalon), went down to Beth-shemesh, and crossed to Timnah.
Genesis 24:67
And Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah and took Rebekah as his wife. And Isaac loved her and was comforted after his mother’s death.
Judges 14:1
One day Samson went down to Timnah, where he saw a young Philistine woman.
2 Samuel 13:39
And King David longed to go to Absalom, for he had been consoled over Amnon’s death.
2 Samuel 13:23–29
Two years later, when Absalom’s sheepshearers were at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, he invited all the sons of the king.
Joshua 15:35
Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah,
Genesis 38:1
About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite.
1 Samuel 25:4–8
While David was in the wilderness, he heard that Nabal was shearing sheep.
Genesis 31:19
Now while Laban was out shearing his sheep, Rachel stole her father’s household idols.
Joshua 19:43
Elon, Timnah, Ekron,
1 Samuel 25:36
When Abigail returned to Nabal, there he was in the house, holding a feast fit for a king, in high spirits and very drunk. So she told him nothing until morning light.
Joshua 15:37
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal-gad,

Parallels

1 Chronicles 2:3–4

People

Hirah: Judah's Adullamite friend Judah: Israelite tribe, kingdom, and province Shua: Father of Canaanite wife of Judah, mother of Er, Onan, and Shelah

Places

Adullam: A Canaanite city, later fortified by Judah Timnah: Canaanite city associated with Judah and Dan

Glossary

Adullam, Adullamite Bible, Manuscripts and Text of the (New Testament) Genesis, Book of Hirah Jacob Judah (Person) Patriarchs, Period of the Shua Shuah Tamar (Person) Timnah (Place) Timnath

Topics

Adultery: Judah Hirah: An Adullamite Judah: Son of Jacob: His Incest with his Daughter-In-Law Sheep: Shearing of Shua: A Canaanite and the Father-In-Law of Judah Tamar: Wife of the Sons of Judah Timnath: A City Given by some Authorities As Identical with Timnah, Number Two

Genesis 38:12

Translations?

Original?

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Parallels?