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Genesis 38

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1 And it was at this time that Judah went·​·down from his brothers, and went·​·aside, even·​·to a man, an Adullamite, and his name was Hirah.

2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a man, a Canaanite, and his name was Shua; and he took her, and came to her.

3 And she conceived and gave·​·birth·​·to a son, and he called his name Er.

4 And she conceived yet·​·again and gave·​·birth·​·to a son, and she called his name Onan.

5 And she added yet·​·again and gave·​·birth·​·to a son, and she called his name Shelah; and he was in Chezib when she gave·​·birth·​·to him.

6 And Judah took a woman for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

7 And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Jehovah; and Jehovah put· him ·to·​·death.

8 And Judah said to Onan, Come to the wife of thy brother, and perform the duty of a husband’s·​·brother for her, and raise·​·up seed for thy brother.

9 And Onan knew that the seed would not be for himself; and it was, when he came to the wife of his brother, that he destroyed it to the earth, so·​·that he might not give seed to his brother.

10 And what he did was·​·evil in the eyes of Jehovah; and He caused· him also ·to·​·die.

11 And Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Dwell· a widow ·in thy father’s house, until Shelah my son be grown·​·up; for he said, Lest he also die, like his brothers. And Tamar went and dwelt·​·in her father’s house.

12 And the days were·​·multiplied, and the daughter of Shua, the wife of Judah, died; and Judah was comforted, and went·​·up to the shearers of his flock, he and his companion Hirah the Adullamite, to Timnath.

13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law is going·​·up towards Timnath to shear his flock.

14 And she removed from upon herself the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the entrance of the founts which are upon the way toward Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown·​·up, and she was not given to him for a woman.

15 And Judah saw her, and thought her to be a harlot, because she had covered her face.

16 And he went·​·aside to her to the way, and said, Give, I pray, that I may come to thee; for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What wilt thou Give me, that thou mayest come to me?

17 And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, If thou wilt give a surety, until thou send it?

18 And he said, What surety shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy kerchief*, and thy rod that is in thy hand. And he gave them to her, and came to her; and she conceived to him.

19 And she arose, and went, and removed her veil from upon her, and clothed· herself ·with the garments of her widowhood.

20 And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his companion the Adullamite, to take the surety from the woman’s hand; and he found her not.

21 And he asked the men of the place, saying, Where is the prostitute that was at the founts on the way? And they said, There was not a prostitute there.

22 And he returned to Judah and said, I have not found her; and also the men of the place said, There was not a prostitute there.

23 And Judah said, Let her take it to herself, lest perhaps we be despised; behold I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.

24 And it was, about three months after, and it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter-in-law has committed·​·harlotry; and also, behold, she has conceived by harlotries. And Judah said, Bring· her ·out, and she shall be burnt·​·up.

25 She was brought·​·out, and she sent to her father-in-law, saying, To the man whose these are, to him I have conceived; and she said, Recognize, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet and the kerchief and the rod.

26 And Judah recognized them, and said, She is· more ·just than I; because as I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he added not to know her any·​·more.

27 And it was, in the time of her giving·​·birth, and behold twins were in her belly.

28 And it was, when she gave·​·birth, and one put out a hand; and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread twice-dyed upon his hand, saying, This came·​·out first.

29 And it was, as he brought·​·back his hand, that behold, his brother came·​·out; and she said, How hast thou broken·​·off from upon thee a breaking·​·off*? And he called his name Perez*.

30 And afterwards came·​·out his brother, that had the scarlet thread twice-dyed upon his hand; and he called his name Zerah*.

   


Thanks to the Kempton Project for the permission to use this New Church translation of the Word.

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Arcana Coelestia # 4911

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4911. 'And Judah acknowledged them' means that because these were theirs they affirmed that they were. This is clear from the meaning of 'acknowledging' as affirming, in this case because he acknowledged from the pledges that the child she was carrying was his own. Described here is that nation's predisposition, which is such that although it rejects any internal truth of the Church as a falsity, that nation nevertheless accepts and affirms such truth on receiving an intimation that this does belong to it. People who are governed, as this nation is, by loves that are filthy - that is, by avarice and by self-love accompanying this - are unable to raise their minds to a level where truth is seen from a viewpoint other than themselves. Therefore when a truth is attributed to them they affirm it. For example, if they are told that the Word is inwardly Divine and contains the arcana of heaven and also the kind of arcana that only angels comprehend, they affirm this truth because they regard the Word to be their own since it came to them, exists with them, and in the letter has to do with them. But if the actual arcana - spiritual truths - are disclosed to them they reject them.

[2] If they are told that every one of the ritual observances of their Church are inwardly holy, they affirm this truth because they regard those observances to be their own. But if they are told that such holiness dwells within, yet is separate from those observances, they refuse to accept this. If they are told that the Jewish Church was celestial and the Israelitish Church spiritual, and if they are given an explanation of what the celestial is, and what the spiritual is, they affirm that also. But if they were told that these two Churches are called celestial and spiritual from the fact that all the particular aspects of them were representative of celestial and spiritual things, and that representatives have regard to the reality represented, not to the one who represents it, they refuse to accept it. If they are told that Moses' rod had power from Jehovah, and so had Divine power within it, they affirm this and call it the truth. But if they are told that this power did not lie in the rod, only in the Divine command, they refuse to accept it and call it a falsity.

[3] If they are told that the bronze serpent lifted up by Moses healed those who were bitten by the serpents and that this object was for that reason miraculous, they affirm it. But if they are told that no healing or miraculous power lay within it but these came from the Lord whom that object represented, they refuse to accept this and call it a falsity. (Compare what has been narrated and stated about that serpent in Numbers 21:7-9; 2 Kings 18:4; John 3:14-15.) They react in the same way to everything else they are told. These are the kinds of things that are meant by 'Judah acknowledged them' and which on the part of the nation meant by him were joined to that internal aspect of the Church represented by 'Tamar'. Also, such being the nature of those things, Judah did not go in to her as a near kinsman going in to a dead husband's wife but as a fornicator going in to a prostitute.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.