Genesis 38:22
in Genesis 38So Hirah returned to Judah and said, “I could not find her, and furthermore, the men of that place said, ‘No shrine prostitute has been here.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he returned to Judah, and said, I have not found her; and also the men of the place said, There hath been no prostitute here.
KJV
And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
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This verse in Genesis 38
Commentary
3 notes on this verseThis 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.
This site's exposition
So Hirah returned to Judah
Hirah comes from Adullam, a town in the lowland of Judah listed at Joshua 15:35. David later hid in the cave of Adullam at 1 Samuel 22:1. His report gives Judah a witness that he tried to pay.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her,....
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיָּ֙שָׁב֙ | vaiyashov | and he returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| מְצָאתִ֑יהָ | metzatiha | I found her | H4672 → | 455 times |
| וְגַ֨ם | vegam | and also | H1571 → | 769 times |
| אַנְשֵׁ֤י | ʾanshei | [the] men of | H582 → | 566 times |
| הַמָּקוֹם֙ | hamakom | the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| אָֽמְר֔וּ | ʾameru | they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָיְתָ֥ה | hayetah | she was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בָזֶ֖ה | vazeh | in this [place] | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| קְדֵשָֽׁה׃ | kedeshah | a cult prostitute | H6948 → | 5 times |
וַיָּ֙שָׁב֙and he returned
vaiyashovH7725 →1056 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
מְצָאתִ֑יהָI found her
metzatihaH4672 →455 times
וְגַ֨םand also
vegamH1571 →769 times
אַנְשֵׁ֤י[the] men of
ʾansheiH582 →566 times
הַמָּקוֹם֙the place
hamakomH4725 →401 times
אָֽמְר֔וּthey said
ʾameruH559 →5305 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
הָיְתָ֥הshe was
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
בָזֶ֖הin this [place]
vazehH2088 →1180 times
קְדֵשָֽׁה׃a cult prostitute
kedeshahH6948 →5 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
Where this verse is studied
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; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament.