Genesis 38:21

Translations

Modern

He asked the men of that place, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?” “No shrine prostitute has been here,” they answered.

Traditional

Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where is the harlot, that was openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this place.

Literal

And he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the temple prostitute—she was in Enaim by the way?” And they said, “There has not been a temple prostitute in this place.”

Latin

…interrogavit homines loci illius: Ubi est mulier quæ sedebat in bivio? Respondentibus cunctis: Non fuit in loco ista meretrix.

Original

Hebrew

English

He asked the men of that place, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?” “No shrine prostitute has been here,” they answered.

Notes

Genesis 38:20–23

Judah had gone to Tamar as a regular prostitute (Hebrew zonah, 38:15), whereas Hirah was mistakenly looking for a shrine prostitute (Hebrew qedeshah), of which there were none.

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