Genesis 44:18-34
Then Judah came near unto him, and said, Oh, my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh.My lord asked his servants, saying, Have ye a father, or a brother?And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother; and his father loveth him.And thou saidst unto thy servants, Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him.And we said unto my lord, The lad cannot leave his father: for if he should leave his father, his father would die.And thou saidst unto thy servants, Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more.And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord.And our father said, Go again, buy us a little food.And we said, We cannot go down: if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down; for we may not see the man’s face, except our youngest brother be with us.And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye know that my wife bare me two sons:and the one went out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces; and I have not seen him since:and if ye take this one also from me, and harm befall him, ye will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to Sheol.Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad’s life;it will come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die: and thy servants will bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to Sheol.For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto thee, then shall I bear the blame to my father for ever.Now therefore, let thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren.For how shall I go up to my father, if the lad be not with me? lest I see the evil that shall come on my father.
Genesis 38:1-30
And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; and he took her, and went in unto her.And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.And she yet again bare a son, and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.And Judah took a wife for Er his first- born, and her name was Tamar.And Er, Judah’s first- born, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah slew him.And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother unto her, and raise up seed to thy brother.And Onan knew that the seed would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother.And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and he slew him also.Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter- in- law, Remain a widow in thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown up; for he said, Lest he also die, like his brethren. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.And in process of time Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheep- shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold, thy father- in- law goeth up to Timnah to shear his sheep.And she put off from her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given unto him to wife.When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; for she had covered her face.And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Come, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee: for he knew not that she was his daughter- in- law. And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet and thy cord, and thy staff that is in thy hand. And he gave them to her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him.And she arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not.Then he asked the men of her place, saying, Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There hath been no prostitute here.And he returned to Judah, and said, I have not found her; and also the men of the place said, There hath been no prostitute here.And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be put to shame: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter- in- law hath played the harlot; and moreover, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.When she was brought forth, she sent to her father- in- law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and the cords, and the staff.And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She is more righteous than I, forasmuch as I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more.And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb.And it came to pass, when she travailed, that one put out a hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, Wherefore hast thou made a breach for thyself? Therefore his name was called Perez.And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zerah.
