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Judah And Tamar - Gen. 38

Hey Folks -

I wasn't quite sure in which of the forums to post this, so if you think it's more appropriate somewhere else feel free to move this thread

While I was studying the OT I came across Genesis 38 which gives me some problems that I have a hard time understanding. It's the story of Judah and Tamar. Tamar was first married in succession to Judah's two eldest sons. After both of them were killed by the Lord, Judah sent her back to her parents house until his third son would be old enough. After that happened, Judah still didn't give him to her in marriage. She then took off her widows garb and put on a veil (the sign of a prostitute) and went and sat near Timnath in an open place where she knew Judah would walk by on his way to shear his sheep. As Judah saw her, he thought her a prostitute and 'prayed her to let him come in unto her' and she requested his staff and signet as a token from him that he would pay her with a sheep afterwards. He then lay with his daugther-in-law without knowing it and she conceived. When he later went to pay her and get his staff and signet back, she was nowhere to be found.

A few months later people noticed she was pregnant and went to Judah and told him she conceived a child by harlotry. He then ordered her to be burnt for her wickedness. She then went before him and told him

He acknowledged them as his and pronounced her more righteous than himself and didn't have her burnt. The scriptures follow up by saying

(Gen. 38:26).

Tamar later gave birth to twins. This story is specifically interesting for the simple fact that the Saviors ancestry is traced through the union of Judah and Tamar. But since the line of the savior has to be pure, this is where I come to have problems understanding this event. How then can this be understood and how does that affect the purity of the bloodline of the Savior?

Judah lay with a woman that was not his wife. He basically went to a prostitute as he did not know she was not a prostitute. To make things even more complicated, Tamar was his daughter-in-law, and any such union was strictly prohibited in Leviticus 18, though this can be argued that the incest laws are purely temporal laws (see some thoughts by Joseph Fielding Smith on this in Doctrines of Salvation) as the Gospel itself seems to be highly incestuous (at least in certain time frames). So, yeah, how can this be? I have looked for an answer but haven't found one that satisfied me quite yet.
A common one in bible dictionaries or commentaries is actually that this event is completely ignored, or only said to be morally wrong.
In my study Tanakh at home the Jewish commentary may be of interest. The Jewish sages claim that Tamar and Judah were both very righteous (which is why the Messiah will come through them). They assert that Tamar had received revelation that the savior had to be born through her loins, but as she saw Judah prohibiting her from fulfilling her role by keeping her from being married to his sons, she felt inspired to trick Judah into sleeping with her so she could conceive a child to prepare the bloodline of the Savior. They also assert that Judah would never have laid with a prostitute or his daughter in law (hence the necessary veil) but that the Spirit of God was so strong in him that it almost forced him to lay with the "prostitute" Tamar against his own will and judgement.

What do you guys think of this whole section?

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Gen Tamar Judah

Can you qualify that and define 'pure' in this context?

I love the Old Testament stories like this, I have many marked and will have to see what notes I put on this, but I do wonder if the Jews at the time may have had a custom similar to the Muslims where they 'marry' them for the night.

Judah And Tamar - Gen. 38 Studies Doctrine Mormon

Define 'pure'... Interesting question. I was always told the Saviors line was to be "pure" and "holy" and just accepted it. Funny, as I usually question and investigate virtually everything... I guess it just made so much sense. But yeah, I do believe that the line is "Holy", but I regret being unable to define that right now.

I know what you mean about nightly marriage, I was wondering about that myself. At the same time, it just seems kind of inconsistent with the rest of the gospel you know. It just reminds me of how some BYU students drive to Vegas for the weekend, marry, have sex, and then get divorced (yupp, all over one weekend) so as to not violate the honor code.

Still interested to hear what thoughts ya'll have...

Gen Tamar Judah

There are actually a lot of inconsistencies with the Old Testament. When you look at the way the God of the Old Testament dealt with people in the region you can hardly find a difference between Him and the God of other religions. I do not say this any sacrilegious way. For instance you may have a pagan god of war and he may request the heads of new born babies. You might jump and say how terrible! Well, that is what the Old Testament God required too! Whole nations including ALL the children were wiped out. This is not to take away from your original Post but merely to show that certain things in my little mind just do not make sense.

Gen Tamar Judah

That's a lot to get out of that chapter in the Bible but then again unlike verses in the Book of Mormon one verse in the Bible can cover hundreds of years.