Reference: Tamar (2)
Fausets
("a palm".) (See THAMAR.)
1. (See JUDAH.) Her importance in the narrative (Ge 38:6-30) lies in her being the instrument (though in an incestuous way) of saving from extinction the family and tribe from which Messiah was to spring. Er and Onan were dead; and Judah's wife Bathshun. Shelab alone remained; and Judah's parental fears for him, lest if joined to Tamar he too like his brothers should die, were preventing Judah from giving him as the tribe law required (De 25:5; Mt 22:24) to Tamar. She took the desperate measure of helping herself by incest. Pharez and Zarah were her sons by Judah; and a fruitful race followed, God not sanctioning but overruling evil to His own good purpose (Ro 3:5-8; Ru 4:12,22; Mt 1:3).
2. Daughter of David and Maacah; the handsome Absalom's beautiful sister; forced by Amnon at his bad friend Jonadab's abominable suggestion (2 Samuel 13; 1Ch 3:9). (See ABSALOM; AMNON; JONADAB.) Beauty is a snare unless grace accompany and guard it (Pr 31:30). Tamar excelled in baking palatable cakes (lebibah, "heartcakes," with spices as "cordials".) Amnon availed himself of this to effect his design, as if he wished to see the exquisite grace with which she baked before his eyes.
She remonstrated at his force, dwelling twice on such baseness being wrought "in Israel," where a higher law existed than in pagandom. Yet such was the low opinion she, in common with the rest of David's children, formed of the king's foolish fondness for his offspring that she believed it would outweigh his regard for the law of God against incest (Le 18:9,11). Amnon was his oldest, son, from whom he would not withhold even a half sister! Each prince, it appears, had his own establishment, and princesses were not above baking; the king's daughters in their virginity were distinguished by "garments of divers colours."
3. Absalom's sole surviving child, beautiful as her aunt and father; married Uriel of Gibeah, and bore Maachah, wife of Rehoboam king of Judah (1Ki 15:2; 2Ch 11:20-22; 13:2), and mother of Abijah (2Sa 14:7).
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And Judah took a wife for his first son Er, and her name was Tamar. Now Er, Judah's first son, did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death. read more. Then Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife and do what it is right for a husband's brother to do; make her your wife and get offspring for your brother. But Onan, seeing that the offspring would not be his, went in to his brother's wife, but let his seed go on to the earth, so that he might not get offspring for his brother. And what he did was evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death, like his brother. Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, Go back to your father's house and keep yourself as a widow till my son Shelah becomes a man: for he had in his mind the thought that death might come to him as it had come to his brothers. So Tamar went back to her father's house. And after a time, Bath-shua, Judah's wife, came to her end; and after Judah was comforted for her loss, he went to Timnah, where they were cutting the wool of his sheep, and his friend Hirah of Adullam went with him. And when Tamar had news that her father-in-law was going up to Timnah to the wool-cutting, She took off her widow's clothing, and covering herself with her veil, she took her seat near Enaim on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was now a man, but she had not been made his wife. When Judah saw her he took her to be a loose woman of the town, because her face was covered. And turning to her by the roadside, he said to her, Let me come in to you; for he had no idea that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said, What will you give me as my price? And he said, I will give you a young goat from the flock. And she said, What will you give me as a sign till you send it? And he said, What would you have? And she said, Your ring and its cord and the stick in your hand. So he gave them to her and went in to her, and she became with child by him. Then she got up and went away and took off her veil and put on her widow's clothing. Then Judah sent his friend Hirah with the young goat, to get back the things which he had given as a sign to the woman: but she was not there. And he put questions to the men of the place, saying, Where is the loose woman who was in Enaim by the wayside? And they said, There was no such woman there. So he went back to Judah, and said, I have not seen her, and the men of the place say that there is no such woman there. And Judah said, Let her keep the things, so that we may not be shamed; I sent the young goat, but you did not see the woman. Now about three months after this, word came to Judah that Tamar, his daughter-in-law, had been acting like a loose woman and was with child. And Judah said, Take her out and let her be burned. And while she was being taken out, she sent word to her father-in-law, saying, The man whose property these things are, is the father of my child: say then, whose are this ring and this cord and this stick? Then Judah said openly that they were his, and said, She is more upright than I am, for I did not give her to Shelah my son. And he had no more connection with her. And when the time came for her to give birth, it was clear that there were two children in her body. And while she was in the act of giving birth, one of them put out his hand; and the woman who was with her put a red thread round his hand, saying, This one came out first. But then he took his hand back again, and his brother came first to birth: and the woman said, What an opening you have made for yourself! So he was named Perez. And then his brother came out, with the red thread round his hand, and he was named Zerah.
You may not take your sister, the daughter of your father or of your mother, wherever her birth took place, among you or in another country.
Or your father's wife's daughter, the child of your father, for she is your sister.
If brothers are living together and one of them, at his death, has no son, the wife of the dead man is not to be married outside the family to another man: let her husband's brother go in to her and make her his wife, doing as it is right for a brother-in-law to do.
May your family be like the family of Perez, the son whom Tamar gave to Judah, from the offspring which the Lord may give you by this young woman.
And Obed became the father of Jesse, and Jesse became the father of David.
And now all the family is turned against me, your servant, saying, Give up him who was the cause of his brother's death, so that we may put him to death in payment for the life of his brother, whose life he took; and we will put an end to the one who will get the heritage: so they will put out my last burning coal, and my husband will have no name or offspring on the face of the earth.
For three years he was king in Jerusalem: and his mother's name was Maacah, the daughter of Abishalom.
All these were the sons of David, in addition to the sons of his servant-wives; and Tamar was their sister.
Fair looks are a deceit, and a beautiful form is of no value; but a woman who has the fear of the Lord is to be praised.
And the sons of Judah were Perez and Zerah by Tamar; and the son of Perez was Hezron; and the son of Hezron was Ram;
Master, Moses said, If a man, at the time of his death, has no children, let his brother take his wife, and get a family for his brother;
But if the righteousness of God is supported by our wrongdoing what is to be said? is it wrong for God to be angry (as men may say)? In no way: because if it is so, how is God able to be the judge of all the world? read more. But if, because I am untrue, God being seen to be true gets more glory, why am I to be judged as a sinner? Let us not do evil so that good may come (a statement which we are falsely said by some to have made), because such behaviour will have its right punishment.