Tamar (Bible)

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For the rape victim, see Rape of Tamar. For the wife of Rehoboam, daughter of Absalom, mother of Abijah, see Maachah. For the place, see Hatzeva Fortress

In the Bible, Tamar (Hebrew: תָּמָר, Standard Tamar Tiberian Tāmār ; Date Palm) was twice the daughter-in-law of Judah, as well as the mother of two of his children - the twins Zarah and Pharez^[1].

Narrative

In Genesis chapter 38, Tamar is first described as marrying Er, the eldest son of Judah^[2]; according to the text, YHVH killed Er because he was wicked (although it doesn't give any further details)^[3], and so Judah asked his second son, Onan, to have sex with Tamar, so that the offspring could be declared Er's heir^[4]. The narrative implies that Onan didn't object to the sex itself, but performed coitus interruptus so that there wouldn't be any offspring he couldn't claim as his own, so YHVH killed him^[5]. Judah is portrayed as viewing Tamar to be cursed, and is therefore relucant to give her to his remaining son, Shelah^[6]; he first tells Tamar to act like a widow, until Shelah, the youngest son, has grown up^[7], and then when he finally does, he still won't give Tamar to Shelah in marriage^[8]. According to the text, after Judah's own wife had later died^[9], he decided to use a prostitute at Enaim; the prostitute in question was Tamar, who had disguised herself with a veil, so that he wouldn't notice who she was^[10]. The passage goes on to state that Judah offered to pay her a goat in arrears, but she asked for Judah's staff and seal, as security towards this payment^[11]; having given her this security, he made her pregnant^[12], but when he later sends the goat, she has gone and taken the seal and staff with her^[13]. The text states that three months later, Judah is told that Tamar had been acting as a prostitute, and had become pregnant as a result, so he orders that she should be burnt to death^[14]; Tamar is described as publicly announcing that the father of the children is the owner of the seal and staff she has with her, and Judah recognises them, stating that she is more righteous than he is^[15]

Significance

The main motive of the Tamar narrative, is, according to biblical scholars, an eponymous aetiological myth concerning the fluctuations in the constituency of the tribe of Judah; textual scholars attribute the narrative to the Yahwist, though Biblical scholars regard it as concerning the state of the clans not much earlier than this^[16][17]. A number of scholars have proposed that the deaths of Er and Onan reflect the dying out of two clans^[18][19]; Onan may represent an Edomite clan named Onam^[20], who are mentioned in an Edomite genealogy in Genesis^[21], while Er appears from a genealogy in the Book of Chronicles^[22] to have been a clan that was later been subsumed by the Shelah clan^[23][24]. Some scholars have argued that the narrative secondarily aims to either assert the institution of levirate marriage, or present an aetiological myth for its origin, since it highlights cases of marriage for pleasure not for having children (Onan), of refusal to perform the marriage (Jacob, on behalf of Shelah), and of levirate activities with men related to the dead husband other than fraternally^[25]; Emerton regards the evidence for this as inconclusive, though classical rabbinical writers argued that this narrative concerns the origin of levirate marriage^[26]. A number of scholars, particularly in recent decades (as of 1980), have proposed that the narrative reflects an anachronistic interest in the biblical account of king David, with the character of Tamar being the same^[27][28]; the proposals partly being due to the scenes of the narrative - Adullam, Chezib, and Timnah - overlapping^[29][30]. Instead of the scholarly positions, Protestant theological commentaries generally treat the story as a character study, concluding that the story depicts Judah's moral growth as he learns to take responsibility for his actions, and overcomes his past misdeeds. In such commentaries, Judah's avoidance of marrying Tamar to Shelah is taken to be due to an abdication of responsibility, rather than concern for his son, since Tamar would, in the view of these commentaries, need a husband to care for her, and children to look after her in her old age; Judah's initial condemnation of Tamar's prostitution is seen as being an attempt to rid himself of her burden, rather than an act of moral indignation. Tamar, on the other hand, is interpreted as being forgiving and discrete rather than wily, bending over backwards to prevent Judah from losing his reputation, by obtaining children in secret rather than in public, and using the seal and staff as subtle hints of Judah's part in her pregnancy, rather than publicly accusing him; the Talmud similarly argues that Tamar's actions were for the purpose of avoiding Judah being humiliated^[31][32], although the Genesis Rabbah portrays her as boastful and unashamed in regard to the pregnancy itself^[33]. The Protestant commentaries argue that when confronted with the truth, Judah finally stopped running away from his duties, and slowly began repairing he relationships he had damaged; Tamar is hence seen by these commentaries as a device employed by God for this purpose. According to the Talmud, Judah's confession of guilt itself atoned for some of his prior faults, and resulted in him being divinely rewarded by a share in the future world^[34]. While the Protestant commentaries argue that Tamar was a way for Judah to have non-Israelite children, and that Judah did not have further sexual relations with her after he discovered he had fathered her children, the Genesis Rabbah and Talmud state that Tamar was an Israelite^[35][36], and that Judah ended up marrying her and had further sexual liaisons with her as a result^[37]

Chronological issues

Together with the brief preceding narrative of the birth of Er, Onan, and Shelah, and the subsequent narrative of the birth of Pharez's children, the passage is often regarded as presenting a significant chronological issue, since it is surrounded by a narrative concerning Joseph; before the passage occurs, Joseph is described as being 17 years old^[38], and after the passage, Joseph is described as meeting up with Judah some 9 years^[39][40] after Joseph had reached 30 years in age^[41]. The gap, a maximum of 22 years, is somewhat small to contain within it Judah's first marriage, the birth of Er and Onan, Er's marriage to Tamar, Tamar's subsequent pregnancy by Judah, and the birth of Tamar's grandchildren; the passage is also widely regarded as an abrupt change to the surrounding narrative Joseph story. According to 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^[42][43][44].

See also

• Judah (Biblical figure)
• Vayeshev

Notes and citations