Tamar (Genesis)

This could have substantial economic repercussions, with any son born deemed the heir of the deceased Er, and able to claim the firstborn's double share of inheritance.

Tamar sent the staff, seal, and cord to Judah with a message declaring that the owner of these items was the man who had made her pregnant.

[11] John Emerton regards the connections as evidence for including chapter 38 in the J corpus, and suggests that the J writer dovetailed the Joseph and Judah traditions.

[12] Derek Kidner points out that the insertion of chapter 38 "creates suspense for the reader",[13] but Robert Alter goes further and suggests it is a result of the "brilliant splicing of sources by a literary artist."

'[15] Emerton notes that Dillman and Noth considered the account of the deaths of Er and Onan to "reflect the dying out of two clans of Judah bearing their names, or at least of their failure to maintain a separate existence."

[15] Along with the account of Lot and his daughters[16] Tamar and Judah is one of two instances of sperm stealing in the Bible, in which a woman seduces a male relative under false pretenses in order to become pregnant.

[17] According to the Talmud, Judah's confession of guilt itself atoned for some of his prior faults, and resulted in his being divinely rewarded by a share in the future world.

[18] The Talmud also suggests that Tamar's actions were for the purpose of avoiding Judah's humiliation,[19][20] although the Genesis Rabbah portrays her as boastful and unashamed in regard to the pregnancy itself.

[21] Both the Genesis Rabbah and Talmud state that Tamar was an Israelite,[22][23] and that Judah ended up marrying her and had further sexual liaisons with her as a result.

[26] Frymer-Kensky finds Tamar's traits of assertiveness in action, willingness to be unconventional, and deep loyalty to family to be qualities that distinguish her descendant, King David.

As a judge, Judah gave a decision that Tamar was liable to the death penalty by burning according to the law, for she was the daughter of the high priest (Shem) who was accused of leading an unchaste demeanor.

After Tamar showed the three pledges from the man who came to her, Judah's countenance grew pale to green color when he publicly confessed his relationship with her.

According to some textual scholars, the reason for these features is that the passage derives from the Jahwist source, while the immediately surrounding narrative is from the Elohist, the two being spliced together at a later date.