Genesis 38:14
in Genesis 38she removed her widow’s garments, covered her face with a veil to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that although Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And she put off from her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given unto him to wife.
KJV
And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
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This verse in Genesis 38
Commentary
10 notes on this verse(Verse 14) And he sat at the gate of Enaim, which is on the road to Thamna. The Hebrew phrase Enaim (), is translated as 'in the eyes.' Therefore, it is not a place name, but rather a description. He sat at a crossroads or a junction where a traveler must carefully look to choose the right path.
This site's exposition
his sheepshearers at Timnah
on Genesis 38:12-14
Judah's wife dies, and he goes up to his sheepshearers at Timnah. Jamieson calls the sheepshearing the most festive season of the farming year. Tamar puts off her widow's garments, covers her face with a veil, and sits at the entrance to Enaim on his road. Shelah had grown up and she was still a widow.
This site's exposition
sat at the entrance to Enaim
Petah Enaim means the opening of the two springs, and the place is often identified with Enam in the lowland of Judah at Joshua 15:34. Her reason is Shelah, grown and still withheld from her. The widow's garments were the sign of the waiting Judah had imposed at verse 11.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
When Shelah had become a young man and Judah did not wish to bring her back to his house, Tamar thought, "How can I make the Hebrews realize that it is not marriage for which I am hungering, but rather that I am yearning for …
Because Tamar was afraid lest Judah find out and kill her in vengeance for his two sons of whose deaths she was accused, she, like Eliezer, asked for a sign saying, "Let your knowledge not condemn me for this act of desire, for you know …
So, buoyed up with these promises Tamar sat in her father's house, the text says, waiting for her father-in-law's promise to take effect. When she saw that Judah was not prepared to honor his promise, for a while she accepted it mildly, forbearing to have relations with another man, being content with her widowhood and waiting for a suitable opportunity. She was anxious, you see, to have children by her father-in-law. When she saw her mother-in-law die and Judah make for Timnah to shear the flocks, she wished to obtain by stealth intercourse with her father-in-law and desired to have children by him, not out of incontinence—perish the thought—but to avoid appearing to be some nameless person. As a matter of fact, what happened was by divine design, and the result was that her scheme took effect.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Some excuse this by suggesting that she believed the promise made to Abraham and his seed, particularly that of the Messiah, and that she was therefore desirous to have a child by one of that family, that she might have the honour, or at least stand fair for the honour of being the mother of the Messiah.
And, if this was indeed her desire, it had its success; she is one of the four women particularly named in the genealogy of Christ, Matt. i. Her sinful practice was pardoned, and her good intention was accepted, which magnifies the grace of God, but can by no means be admitted to justify or encourage the like.
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Nor was his sin capable, in the least, of such a charitable excuse as some make for Tamar, that though the action was bad the intention possibly might be good.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
And she put her widow's garments off from her,....
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Ve-tekhas is a transitive verb. It means and covered herself. 28 An intransitive verb is not followed by the object.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
24 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתָּסַר֩ | vatasar | and she removed | H5493 → | 299 times |
| בִּגְדֵ֨י | bigdei | [the] clothes of | H899 → | 217 times |
| אַלְמְנוּתָ֜הּ | ʾalmenutah | widowhood her | H491 → | |
| מֵֽעָלֶ֗יהָ | mealeiha | from on <the> her | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| וַתְּכַ֤ס | vatekhas | and she covered | H3680 → | 152 times |
| בַּצָּעִיף֙ | batzaif | with the veil | H6809 → | 3 times |
| וַתִּתְעַלָּ֔ף | vatitalaf | and she wrapped herself up | H5968 → | |
| וַתֵּ֙שֶׁב֙ | vateshev | and she sat | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| בְּפֶ֣תַח | befetach | at [the] entrance of | H6607 → | 164 times |
| עֵינַ֔יִם | ʾeinayim | Enaim | H5879 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֖ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | [is] on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| דֶּ֣רֶךְ | derekh | [the] road of | H1870 → | 707 times |
| תִּמְנָ֑תָה | timnatah | Timnah towards | H8553 → | 12 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| רָאֲתָה֙ | raatah | she had seen | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| גָדַ֣ל | gadal | he had grown up | H1431 → | 117 times |
| שֵׁלָ֔ה | shelah | Shelah | H7956 → | 8 times |
| וְהִ֕וא | vehiv' | and she | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִתְּנָ֥ה | nitenah | she had been given | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֖וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| לְאִשָּֽׁה׃ | leishah | to a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
וַתָּסַר֩and she removed
vatasarH5493 →299 times
בִּגְדֵ֨י[the] clothes of
bigdeiH899 →217 times
אַלְמְנוּתָ֜הּwidowhood her
ʾalmenutahH491 →
מֵֽעָלֶ֗יהָfrom on <the> her
mealeihaH5921 →5755 times
וַתְּכַ֤סand she covered
vatekhasH3680 →152 times
בַּצָּעִיף֙with the veil
batzaifH6809 →3 times
וַתִּתְעַלָּ֔ףand she wrapped herself up
vatitalafH5968 →
וַתֵּ֙שֶׁב֙and she sat
vateshevH3427 →1079 times
בְּפֶ֣תַחat [the] entrance of
befetachH6607 →164 times
עֵינַ֔יִםEnaim
ʾeinayimH5879 →
אֲשֶׁ֖רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עַל־[is] on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
דֶּ֣רֶךְ[the] road of
derekhH1870 →707 times
תִּמְנָ֑תָהTimnah towards
timnatahH8553 →12 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
רָאֲתָה֙she had seen
raatahH7200 →1300 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
גָדַ֣לhe had grown up
gadalH1431 →117 times
שֵׁלָ֔הShelah
shelahH7956 →8 times
וְהִ֕ואand she
vehiv'H1931 →1879 times
לֹֽא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נִתְּנָ֥הshe had been given
nitenahH5414 →2011 times
ל֖וֹto <the> him
lo
לְאִשָּֽׁה׃to a wife
leishahH802 →781 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 38:26Judah recognized the items and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not have relations with her again.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 24:17
and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me with good, though I have rewarded you with evil.
- 1 Samuel 24:17
Through
Proverbs 7:12Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.
it leads to
- Proverbs 23:28
Like a robber she lies in wait and multiplies the faithless among men.
- Proverbs 9:14
She sits at the door of her house, on a seat in the heights of the city,
- Proverbs 23:28
Through
Genesis 24:65and asked the servant, “Who is that man in the field coming to meet us?” “It is my master,” the servant answered. So she took her veil and covered herself.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 2:9
Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with respectable apparel, with modesty, and with self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes,
- 1 Timothy 2:9
Through
Jeremiah 3:2“Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been violated? You sat beside the highways waiting for your lovers, like a nomad in the…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 16:24–25
you built yourself a mound and made yourself a lofty shrine in every public square.
- Jeremiah 2:20
“For long ago you broke your yoke and tore off your chains, saying, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.
- Jeremiah 2:7
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land, and made My inheritance detestable.
- Ezekiel 8:4–6
And there I saw the glory of the God of Israel, like the vision I had seen in the plain.
- Ezekiel 16:24–25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 34:2; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON GENESIS 34:3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON GENESIS 62.3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.