Genesis 38:14 BSB — MannaFest

Genesis 38:14

she 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

Parallel translations (2) ▾

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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Commentary

3 voices

Jerome

Hebrew Questions on Genesis (420)

(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.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

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.

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

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.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

24 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וַתָּסַר֩	va.ta.Sar	and she removed	H5493 →
בִּגְדֵ֨י	big.Dei	[the] clothes of	H899 →
אַלְמְנוּתָ֜הּ	'al.me.nu.Tah	widowhood her	H491 →
מֵֽעָלֶ֗יהָ	me.'a.Lei.ha	from on <the> her	H5921 →
וַתְּכַ֤ס	va.te.Khas	and she covered	H3680 →
בַּצָּעִיף֙	ba.tza.'If	with the veil	H6809 →
וַתִּתְעַלָּ֔ף	va.tit.'a.Laf	and she wrapped herself up	H5968 →
וַתֵּ֙שֶׁב֙	va.Te.shev	and she sat	H3427 →
בְּפֶ֣תַח	be.Fe.tach	at [the] entrance of	H6607 →
עֵינַ֔יִם	'ei.Na.yim	Enaim	H5879 →
אֲשֶׁ֖ר	'a.Sher	which	H834 →
עַל־	'al-	[is] on	H5921 →
דֶּ֣רֶךְ	De.rekh	[the] road of	H1870 →
תִּמְנָ֑תָה	tim.Na.tah	Timnah towards	H8553 →
כִּ֤י	ki	for	H3588 →
רָאֲתָה֙	ra.'a.Tah	she had seen	H7200 →
כִּֽי־	ki-	that	H3588 →
גָדַ֣ל	ga.Dal	he had grown up	H1431 →
שֵׁלָ֔ה	she.Lah	Shelah	H7956 →
וְהִ֕וא	ve.Hiv'	and she	H1931 →
לֹֽא־	lo'-	not	H3808 →
נִתְּנָ֥ה	ni.te.Nah	she had been given	H5414 →
ל֖וֹ	lo	to <the> him
לְאִשָּֽׁה׃	le.'i.Shah	to a wife	H802 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Genesis 38:26
Judah 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.
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.
Through
Proverbs 7:12
Now in the street, now in the squares, she lurks at every corner.
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,
Through
Genesis 24:65
and 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.
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,
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…
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.

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About Genesis

The Creation of Light — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Genesis: the study guide →Read chapter 38 →The featured study →

Continue: Genesis 38 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Genesis

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Genesis