Genesis 38:6
in Genesis 38Now Judah acquired a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Judah took a wife for Er his first-born, and her name was Tamar.
KJV
And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
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This verse in Genesis 38
Commentary
2 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Judah acquired a wife for Er
on Genesis 38:6-7
Judah acquires Tamar for his firstborn, and Genesis never says where she came from or whose daughter she was. Er is wicked in the sight of the LORD, who puts him to death, and Clarke notes that the Hebrew letters of Er reversed spell the word for wicked. The text leaves the wickedness unnamed.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn,....
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֧ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| יְהוּדָ֛ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| אִשָּׁ֖ה | ʾishah | a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
| לְעֵ֣ר | leer | for Er | H6147 → | 10 times |
| בְּכוֹר֑וֹ | bekhoro | firstborn his | H1060 → | 122 times |
| וּשְׁמָ֖הּ | ushemah | and name her | H8034 → | 864 times |
| תָּמָֽר׃ | tamar | [was] Tamar | H8559 → | 25 times |
וַיִּקַּ֧חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
יְהוּדָ֛הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
אִשָּׁ֖הa wife
ʾishahH802 →781 times
לְעֵ֣רfor Er
leerH6147 →10 times
בְּכוֹר֑וֹfirstborn his
bekhoroH1060 →122 times
וּשְׁמָ֖הּand name her
ushemahH8034 →864 times
תָּמָֽר׃[was] Tamar
tamarH8559 →25 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 24:3and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites…
it leads to
- Genesis 26:34–35
When Esau was forty years old, he took as his wives Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Corinthians 6:14–17
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
- Deuteronomy 7:3–4
Do not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,
- Genesis 28:8
And seeing that his father Isaac disapproved of the Canaanite women,
- Nehemiah 13:25
I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not…
- Genesis 26:34–35
Through
Matthew 1:3Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
it leads to
- Genesis 38:29–30
But when he pulled his hand back and his brother came out, she said, “You have broken out first!” So he was named Perez.
- Genesis 38:24–27
About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”
- Genesis 46:12
The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
- Genesis 38:29–30
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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).