Genesis 38:23
in Genesis 38“Let her keep the items,” Judah replied. “Otherwise we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you could not find her.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be put to shame: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
KJV
And Judah said, Let her take it to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.
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This verse in Genesis 38
Commentary
6 notes on this verseLest he should be laughed at as a fool for trusting a whore with his signet and his bracelets. He expresses no concern about the sin, only about the shame. There are many who are more solicitous to preserve their reputation with men, than to secure the savour of God, lest we be shamed goes farther with them than lest we be damned.
This site's exposition
the shrine prostitute who was beside the road
on Genesis 38:21-23
Hirah asks for the woman with a different word from the one the writer used. He asks after a qedeshah, a woman consecrated to a shrine, where verse 15 called her a zonah, a common prostitute. The men of Enaim answer that no shrine prostitute has been there. Judah drops the search to keep from being laughed at.
This site's exposition
Otherwise we will become a laughingstock
Judah is careful to show he kept his word to a stranger by the road. His promise of Shelah to Tamar at verse 11 stayed unkept. He leaves his seal in the one pair of hands that can name him.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these are, am I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. 26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And Judah said, let her take it to her,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Lest we be shamed - Not of the act, for this he does not appear to have thought criminal; but lest he should fall under the raillery of his companions and neighbors, for having been tricked out of his signet, bracelets, and staff, by a prostitute.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוּדָה֙ | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| תִּֽקַּֽח־ | tikach- | let her take [them] | H3947 → | 966 times |
| לָ֔הּ | lah | for <the> herself | ||
| פֶּ֖ן | pen | lest | H6435 → | 133 times |
| נִהְיֶ֣ה | nihyeh | we should become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָב֑וּז | lavuz | <into> contempt | H937 → | |
| הִנֵּ֤ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| שָׁלַ֙חְתִּי֙ | shalachti | I sent | H7971 → | 845 times |
| הַגְּדִ֣י | hagedi | the kid | H1423 → | 16 times |
| הַזֶּ֔ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| וְאַתָּ֖ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מְצָאתָֽהּ׃ | metzatah | you found her | H4672 → | 455 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוּדָה֙Judah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
תִּֽקַּֽח־let her take [them]
tikach-H3947 →966 times
לָ֔הּfor <the> herself
lah
פֶּ֖ןlest
penH6435 →133 times
נִהְיֶ֣הwe should become
nihyehH1961 →3559 times
לָב֑וּז<into> contempt
lavuzH937 →
הִנֵּ֤הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
שָׁלַ֙חְתִּי֙I sent
shalachtiH7971 →845 times
הַגְּדִ֣יthe kid
hagediH1423 →16 times
הַזֶּ֔ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
וְאַתָּ֖הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
מְצָאתָֽהּ׃you found her
metzatahH4672 →455 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
Revelation 16:15“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”
it leads to
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2–3
For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
- Matthew 24:42–43
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.
- Revelation 3:18
I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white garments so that you may be clothed and your shameful nakedness not exposed, and salve to…
- 2 Peter 3:10
But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid…
- Revelation 3:3–4
Remember, then, what you have received and heard. Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will…
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2–3
Through
2 Corinthians 4:2Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 2:17
For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:3–5
For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery.
- 2 Corinthians 2:17
Through
Ephesians 5:12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:3
But among you, as is proper among the saints, there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed.
- Ephesians 5:3
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.