15
Judahיְהוּדָהsaw herוַיִּרְאֶהָand thought herוַיַּחְשְׁבֶהָto be a prostitute,לְזוֹנָהforכִּיshe had coveredכִסְּתָהher face.פָּנֶיהָ
Genesis 38:15
Study it in the app“Judah saw her and thought her to be a prostitute, for she had covered her face.”
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 38:15, word by word
- Judahיְהוּדָהyehuda
Judah
Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah; also the tribe that came from him and its land, and later the southern kingdom; King David came from it. The name sounds like "give thanks". Borne also by other Israelites.
Where else “yehuda” appears- saw herיִּרְאֶyire
see
To see with one's eyes.
Where else “yire” appears- and thought herיַּחְשְׁבֶyachshve
think
To turn something over in the mind until forming an opinion.
Where else “yachshve” appears- to be a prostituteזוֹנָהzona
prostitute oneself
To give one's body to others outside marriage, often for pay; the woman who does so.
Where else “zona” appears- she had coveredכִסְּתָהchista
cover
To put something over a thing so that it can no longer be seen.
Where else “chista” appears- her faceפָּנֶיpane
face
The front of the head, of someone or of God.
Where else “pane” appears
The context
14She removed her widow’s garments from her, covered herself with a veil, wrapped herself, and sat at the entrance of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife.
15 · This verse (above)
16He turned to her by the road and said, “Come, please, let me go in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She said, “What will you give me that you may go in to me?”
To study Genesis 38 in a group
1. What it says
What did Tamar do, and what did Judah say when he learned of it (vv. 14-26)?
2. What it means
What does it mean that Judah admits, “She is more righteous than I” (v. 26)?
3. How I live it
How can you honestly admit your own mistake when it is shown to you?