seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Genesis 38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.
11 Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.
11 Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.
Now Tamar lost her husband. Much like Onan, Er had been wicked to the core. Now she's lost a second husband who apparently didn't want to be with her. On top of that, unless something had really changed, these brothers probably didn't get along. They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. In this dysfunctional family, brotherly love was not common.
On top of the lack of brotherly love, there was also that custom concerning birthright. It seems that although Er was dead, his birthright didn't go to his brother. If Onan and Tamar had a male child, then that male child would have inherited the majority of Judah's estate. Onan, as second son, didn't gain anything. Tamar, a mere woman, was stuck in the middle.
Tamar, a lowly woman in the eyes of the custom back then, didn't inherit her husband's birthright. On top of that, it was unlikely that she would ever marry again. She was stuck, childless, in Judah's family. Most likely she had a destitute widow's life ahead of her.
The commentaries were as helpful as Onan this morning.
