Context No. 3330 of 4322 · Genesis

Genesis 38:1-11: in context

1At that time, Judah went down from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2There, Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite man named Shua. He took her, and went in to her. 3She conceived, and bore a son; and he named him Er. 4She conceived again, and bore a son; and she named him Onan. 5She yet again bore a son, and named him Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him. 6Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the LORD’s sight. So the LORD killed him. 8Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” 9Onan knew that the offspring wouldn’t be his; and when he went in to his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother. 10The thing which he did was evil in the LORD’s sight, and he killed him also. 11Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;” for he said, “Lest he also die, like his brothers.” Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

The narrative steps aside from Joseph's story to Judah's household, and it is a somber account. Judah's firstborn Er is wicked and dies. The second son, Onan, refuses the duty of raising up offspring for his dead brother, taking the benefit of the marriage while withholding its obligation, and he too dies. And Judah, now fearful, quietly withholds his third son from the widowed Tamar, leaving her in limbo.

Underneath the hard events runs a theme of duty evaded. Obligations to family, to the vulnerable widow, to the dead brother's name, are shirked out of self-interest and fear. Onan wanted the privilege of the marriage without its responsibility; Judah wanted to protect his own remaining son at Tamar's expense, leaving her trapped between marriage and widowhood. The passage exposes, without excusing it, how self-interest corrodes the duties we owe one another, and how often it is the vulnerable, here a childless widow, who bear the cost of others' evasions.

Am I faithful in the duties I owe to others, especially the vulnerable in my care, rather than evading responsibility out of self-interest or fear?

Sources

Genesis 38:7: "Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the LORD's sight."
Genesis 38:9: "Onan knew that the offspring wouldn't be his... lest he should give offspring to his brother."
Genesis 38:11: "Then Judah said to Tamar... Remain a widow in your father's house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up."