Chapter 4, Tamar & Israeli Wives Summary and Analysis

Tamar wanted to have children. She was married. Her first husband died. The woman remarried her deceased husband's brother. This was the custom: to keep the wife with her in-laws. The brother-husband didn't get her pregnant either. According to Levite law, she had the right to become pregnant by her husband, and the accountability for this spread throughout the male relatives. During this time, she developed the view that she might have better luck with her father-in-law than with his younger son. Then she found a way to have a sexual liaison with him. She tricked him into it by taking advantage of the wantonness of his desires. She disguised herself. He went to her, and not recognizing her, attempted to seduce her. It worked. Later, he went looking for the prostitute of her village...