Purpose of the Yehuda and Tamar Story/2

Purpose of the Yehuda and Tamar Story

Exegetical Approaches

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Introduction to the Egyptian Exile

The chapter portrays Yehuda as intermarrying and assimilating into Canaanite culture, highlighting the need for the brothers to descend to Egypt so as to stem the tide of acculturation.

Sources:M. Ben Yashar¹

"וַיֵּרֶד יְהוּדָה מֵאֵת אֶחָיו" – Bereshit Rabbah 85:2About Bereshit Rabbahsuggests that this phrase be understood metaphorically to refer to a downgrading of Yehuda's standing due to his problematic intermarriage. Even according to a more literal reading, though, the verse might suggest that Yehuda's actions were problematic. Yehuda went down from his brothers, apparently intentionally separating from his family, to instead live and mingle with the local Canaanite population.

Marriage to "בַּת אִישׁ כְּנַעֲנִי" – According to Ibn EzraBereshit First Commentary 38:1-2Bereshit First Commentary 46:10About R. Avraham ibn Ezra,² Maasei Hashem, ShadalBereshit 38:2About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto and MalbimBereshit 38:2About R. Meir Leibush Weiser, the term "כְּנַעֲנִי" literally refers to a person of Canaanite ethnicity.  Unlike his ancestors, Yehuda apparently had no qualms about marrying a local Canaanite woman.

Er and Onan's deaths – According to Ibn EzraBereshit First Commentary 38:1-2Bereshit First Commentary 46:10About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, Yehuda was punished for his intermarriage with the deaths of his sons.³

Ethnicity of Tamar – This position suggests that Tamar, too, was Canaanite in origin.⁴  There is no evidence in the text that Yehuda searched for a wife from outside, making it likely that she was a local woman.

"שְׁבִי אַלְמָנָה בֵית אָבִיךְ עַד יִגְדַּל שֵׁלָה בְנִי" – RashiBereshit 38:1Bereshit 38:11Bereshit 38:11Bereshit 38:23About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki maintains that Yehuda never meant to carry through with his promise. When he tells Tamar to wait for Shelah to mature, this is a lame excuse only meant to prevent her protestations.

Significance of children's names – The names of Yehuda's sons might have symbolic significance. R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 38:7About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor points out that ער spelled backwards reads "רע", suggesting that he had turned evil, perhaps due to his parents' influence. HaKetav veHaKabbalah suggests that Shelah is related to the verb "שלה" meaning to mislead and is indicative of Yehuda's later misleading of Tamar with regards to Shelah's levirate marriage.

Prohibition of relations with daughter-in-law – This position might maintain that in Canaan, a father-in-law, and not just a brother, can perform levirate marriage.⁵ Yehuda, who had assimilated into the surrounding society, might thus have found nothing wrong with the custom, even if it had not been practiced in his father's house. As such, this approach would likely understand the words "וְלֹא יָסַף עוֹד לְדַעְתָּהּ" to mean that Yehuda did not cease from consorting with Tamar after discovering that he was the father of her children. Though later Jewish law prohibits such a relationship, Yehuda was following Canaanite, rather than Israelite, practice.

Future descendants – One might question how it is possible that the David monarchy and Mashiach stemmed from the abominations of Canaan. This approach might respond that a parent's actions need not spell rejection of their offspring, and that in choosing David, Hashem looked to his deeds and not those of his ancestors. Every individual has the capability of overcoming their past.⁶

Avot and Mitzvot

Purpose and placement of the story – M. Ben Yashar suggests that the story is placed in the middle of the Yosef narratives in order to show the reader Hashem's providence. Yosef was sent to Egypt, putting the process of exile and enslavement into motion, as this exile was necessary to prevent repetition of Yehuda's intermarriage.⁷ Yehuda's actions demonstrated that the brothers were not immune to assimilation and intermarriage, and that staying in Canaan before the nation was solidified could prove disastrous. For elaboration on this approach to the need for the exile, see Purposes of the Egyptian Bondage.

Portrait of a Leader

Chapter 38 delves into the life of Yehuda since he is one of the two contenders for leadership among Yaakov's children. The last third of Bereshit paints a portrait of each of Yehuda and Yosef, giving the reader insight into the lives and character of each future leader.

Sources:RambanBereshit 38:2Bereshit 38:7-11Bereshit 38:26About R. Moshe b. Nachman

"וַיֵּרֶד יְהוּדָה מֵאֵת אֶחָיו" – RadakBereshit 38:1-2About R. David Kimchi⁸ suggests that this is a mundane statement of fact, with no implicit critique of Yehuda.  The verse simply shares that Yehuda moved geographically from highland to lowland.

Marriage to "בַּת אִישׁ כְּנַעֲנִי" – Many commentators⁹ maintain that Yehuda did not marry a Canaanite woman and assert that the term "כְּנַעֲנִי" refers not to the ethnicity of Yehuda's father-in-law, but to his profession as a merchant.¹⁰ However, in Divrei HaYamim I 2:3, Bat Shua herself is referred to as "הַכְּנַעֲנִית" which makes this read somewhat difficult. Ramban
attempts to respond that she was so called after her famous father.

Tamar's ethnicity – According to this approach, Tamar, too, was a non-Canaanite. R. Shemuel b. Nachmani in Bali Sotah asserts that she was a convert, while Ramban suggests that perhaps she was the daughter of one of the sojourners in the land.¹¹

Er and Onan's deaths – Ramban suggests that the deaths of Yehuda's sons provide no evidence of Yehuda's wrong-doing, but, only, as the text implies, of Er and Onan's own crimes.

"שְׁבִי אַלְמָנָה בֵית אָבִיךְ עַד יִגְדַּל שֵׁלָה בְנִי" – Commentators defend Yehuda's action in two ways:

• According to RambanBereshit 38:2Bereshit 38:7-11Bereshit 38:26About R. Moshe b. Nachman,¹² Yehuda's words to Tamar were sincere; he really did intend for Shelah to wed Tamar. However, recognizing that his elder sons must have died due to sinful behavior, and assuming that this was a product of their young age, Yehuda simply desired that Shelah mature before marrying.¹³
• RalbagBereshit Beur HaMilot 38:2Bereshit Beur HaMilot 38:26Bereshit Beur HaParashah 38:1About R. Levi b. Gershom,¹⁴ instead, suggests that Yehuda was justified in fearing that his third son might die if he married Tamar (as she had proven herself a "killer") and thus he acted properly in protecting his child. One might, nonetheless, question why then he simply did not release Tamar from the levirate marriage.

Prohibition of relations with daughter-in-law – This approach might legitimize Tamar and Yehuda's union in a number of ways:

• The RidBereshit 38:8, 26About R. Yeshayah of Trani suggests that Tamar did not really have daughter-in-law (or even married) status at all since both Er and Onan had never consummated the marriage.¹⁵  
• Ramban¹⁶ suggests that perhaps before Matan Torah it was permitted for a man to have relations with his daughter-in- law once the son was no longer alive. He also suggests¹⁷ that perhaps before Matan Torah levirate marriage was fulfilled through a father in addition to a brother.  As such, Yehuda was not only not transgressing  a prohibition but was involved in a good deed.¹⁸
• One might go even further and suggest that the prohibition of sleeping with one's daughter was not in effect at all before Matan Torah.

"וְלֹא יָסַף עוֹד לְדַעְתָּהּ" – Those who legitimize Yehuda and Tamar's union by suggesting that before Matan Torah the law was different, might suggest that after the initial act, Yehuda ceased to consort with Tamar.  Despite the lack of prohibition, Yehuda likely recognized the problematic nature of such a relationship and under normal circumstances would not have engaged in such an act; he did so here only unintentionally. According to the Rid, in contrast, it is possible that Yehuda continued the relationship since Tamar never had married status.

"צָדְקָה מִמֶּנִּי" – Even though thi approach assumes that Yehuda had proper reasons for delaying Tamar's marriage to Shelah, he nonetheless takes the blame on himself (כִּי עַל כֵּן לֹא נְתַתִּיהָ לְשֵׁלָה בְנִי), recognizing that Tamar's actions were positively motivated.

Purpose and placement of the story – This position might suggest that, despite initial appearances, the last third of Sefer Bereshit is not really about Yosef alone, but about the two leadership contenders among Yaakov's children – both Yosef and Yehuda.  As such, it shares the life stories of each, giving insight into each future leader.¹⁹

A Tale of Atonement

The events of the chapter both constitute atonement for Yehuda's role in the sale, and detail his journey of repentance and change

Sources:opinions in Bereshit Rabbah84:1985:185:285:385:9About Bereshit Rabbah

"וַיֵּרֶד יְהוּדָה מֵאֵת אֶחָיו"

• Rashi (following TanchumaVayigash 9About the Tanchuma) suggests that the phrase refers to a metaphoric lowering of Yehuda's status after the sale.  When the brothers saw their father's grief, they regretted their actions, and blamed Yehuda for being the ringleader behind the deed.
• R"Y Bekhor Shor and Tzeror HaMor similarly connect the opening to the aftermath of the sale, but suggests that Yehuda  lowered himself; he could not bear the anguish he had caused his father and decided move out of the house.

Allusions to Yosef narratives – Chapter 38 contains several allusion to the Yosef narrative, which serve to highlight that the events of the chapter might be a measure for measure punishment for Yehuda's role in the sale:

• "וַיֵּרֶד יְהוּדָה" – R.Elazar in Bereshit Rabbah84:1985:185:285:385:9About Bereshit Rabbah suggests that the phrase "וַיֵּרֶד יְהוּדָה" alludes to the opening of chapter 39: "וְיוֹסֵ֖ף הוּרַ֣ד מִצְרָ֑יְמָה".  Yehuda's descent is a direct consequence of Yosef's descent.
• גְּדִי עִזִּים – Resh Lakish in Bereshit Rabbah84:1985:185:285:385:9About Bereshit Rabbah points out that just as Yehuda deceived his father through a baby goat, so too he was deceived by Tamar through a baby goat.
• "הַכֶּר נָא" – R. Yochanan in Bereshit Rabbah84:1985:185:285:385:9About Bereshit Rabbah connects Tamar's words "הַכֶּר נָא לְמִי הַחֹתֶמֶת וְהַפְּתִילִים וְהַמַּטֶּה הָאֵלֶּה" with the brothers' identical formulation to their father, "הַכֶּר נָא הַכְּתֹנֶת בִּנְךָ הִוא אִם לֹא", again suggesting that one deception served as an apt punishment for the other.

Er and Onan's deaths – R. Shemuel b. Nachmani in Bavli SotahSotah 10aSotah 13bAbout Bavli Sotah²⁰ suggests that the deaths of Yehuda's wife and sons are a direct consequence of the sale. Yehuda ignored the anguish he caused his father in letting him think his child dead, so Hashem let him experience that very same anguish.

Marriage to "בַּת אִישׁ כְּנַעֲנִי" – This position does not focus on the im/propriety of Yehuda's marriage.

"שְׁבִי אַלְמָנָה בֵית אָבִיךְ עַד יִגְדַּל שֵׁלָה בְנִי" – Yehuda's insensitivity to Tamar's plight might betray how, at this point of the story, he has not yet changed and is still an individual who thinks only of himself and not the welfare of others. Just as he let his father mourn a living son, so too, he chains Tamar in eternal widowhood despite a potential husband.  He removed Yosef from his father just as kept Shelah from Tamar.

"צָדְקָה מִמֶּנִּי" – These words mark the turning point in Yehuda's behavior. When Tamar boldly states: "לְאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אֵלֶּה לּוֹ אָנֹכִי הָרָה וַתֹּאמֶר הַכֶּר נָא לְמִי הַחֹתֶמֶת וְהַפְּתִילִים וְהַמַּטֶּה הָאֵלֶּה" Yehuda could easily have pretended that he had no connection to the pledges, and let Tamar bear the fatal consequences of her ruse.²¹ Yet, perhaps as he hears his own words "הַכֶּר נָא" emerge from Tamar's mouth, he begins to reflect on his actions, deciding finally to take responsibility, and to save a life rather than take it.

Yehuda in subsequent chapters – Yehuda's transformation is evident in the later stories as well, as he takes responsibility for Binyamin, altruistically offering himself in Binyamin's stead. Interestingly the root "ערב" appears only in two stories in Torah - the pledge of our chapter and Yehuda's pledge to his father regarding Binyamin's safety (Bereshit 43:9, 44:32).

"וְלֹא יָסַף עוֹד לְדַעְתָּהּ" – This position might suggest, as above, that before Matan Torah, the responsibility to perform a levirate marriage fell on a father in cases where a brother was not a candidate.  If so, it was Yehuda's obligation to wed Tamar and the verse might be suggesting that as soon as he recognized his error he did so and never ceased the relationship.²²

Chronology of the story

Purpose and placement of the story – Chapter 38 is closely intertwined with the surrounding narrative, explaining how Yehuda, the brother most responsible for Yosef's sale, morphs into the individual who later prevents Binyamin's similar plight.

¹ See his article, "פרשת יהודה ותמר".

² See the second possibility brought here and his commentary to Bereshit 46:10.

³ R" E Samet, "סיפור יהודה ותמר, סיפור בתוך סיפור‏?‏",‎ עיונים בפרשת השבוע סידרה שנייה, (Jerusalem, 2004): 161-181, argues that the text does not attribute their deaths to Yehuda's sins but to their own. However, M. Ben Yashar (in the article cited above)  points out that the verse does not say "ויעש ער את הרע בעיני ה‏'‏" but rather "וַיְהִי עֵר בְּכוֹר יְהוּדָה רַע בְּעֵינֵי י"י". It is his very existence, the product of an illicit union, that was bad in Hashem's eyes.

⁴ See: R"E Samet (in the article cited above) who suggests that If Yehuda himself married a Canaanite, he would certainly have had no issue with his sons marrying one of the local women.

⁵ This is attested to elsewhere in the Ancient Near East. See for example the Hittite Laws # 193: "If a man has a wife and then the man dies, his brother shall take his wife, then his father shall take her. If in turn also his father dies, one of his brother's sons shall take the wife whom he had. There shall be no punishment." (Ancient Near Eastern Texts, ed. J. Pritchard (Princeton, 1969): 196.)

⁶ Cf. Radak who suggests that Hashem intentionally had David descend from Yehuda and Tamar on one side and Ruth and Boaz on the other so that the Kingdom of Yehuda would not become haughty.

⁷ Cf. MalbimBereshit 38:1About R. Meir Leibush Weiser (drawing off Bereshit Rabbah85:1About Bereshit Rabbah) who similarly connects our story to the upcoming exile but in vastly different way.  He suggests that as the narrative begins to describe the events that led to Israel's first exile, which was paradigmatic of future oppressions and exiles, Hashem shares how he prepared for the birth of the Mashiach, creating his dynastic line.

⁸ See his first suggestion.

⁹ See Resh Lakish in  Bavli PesachimPesachim 50aAbout the Bavli, Targum Pseudo-JonathanBereshit 38:1-2Bereshit 38:2About Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, RashiBereshit 38:1About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, RashbamBereshit 38:2About R. Shemuel b. Meir, RadakBereshit 38:1-2About R. David Kimchi, RambanBereshit 38:2Bereshit 38:7-11Bereshit 38:26About R. Moshe b. Nachman and others.

¹⁰ As evidence of this usage of the word "כְּנַעֲנִי" , one might point to Yeshayahu 23:8 and Mishlei 31:24.

¹¹ See also R. Meir in TanchumaVayeshev 17About the Tanchuma and Targum Pseudo-JonathanBereshit 38:1-2About Targum Pseudo-Jonathan who maintain that she was the daughter of Shem, whom they identify with Malkizedek, priest of Shalem. This identification is motivated by the fact that Yehuda condemns Tamar to death by burning which is not the regular penalty for adultery. According to Vayikra 21:9, though, it is the punishment for a daughter of a priest who prostitutes. From a simple sense of the verses, however, this is a difficult identification, if only because it is quite unlikely that Shem would still be alive at the time of our story.

¹² See also SefornoBereshit 38:11Bereshit 38:26About R. Ovadyah Seforno. Cf. R. Avraham b. HaRambamBereshit 38:11About R. Avraham Maimonides who agrees that Yehuda had every intention of fulfilling his promise. In contrast to Ramban, however, R. Avraham b. HaRambam assumes that Yehuda thought his children had died due to the frailty of youth.

¹³ As time passed, Tamar assumed that Yehuda was reneging on his promise, because, from her perspective, Shelah was already grown up.  From Yehuda's perspective, however, his son was till a youth, not yet ready to marry.  It was thus Tamar's impatience, rather than any wrongdoing on the part of Yehuda, that led Tamar to act as she did.

¹⁴ See also R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 38:11About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor.

¹⁵ See also Bavli Sotah 10a.

¹⁶ See his comments on Bavli Yevamot 108a.

¹⁷ See his commentsBereshit 38:7-11Bereshit 38:26About R. Moshe b. Nachman here on verse 8 and 26. See also R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBereshit 38:1Bereshit 38:7Bereshit 38:11Bereshit 38:13Bereshit 38:26Bereshit 38:26About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, RadakBereshit 38:1-2Bereshit 38:7Bereshit 38:26About R. David Kimchi, R. Avraham b. HaRambamBereshit 38:11Bereshit 38:13About R. Avraham Maimonides in the name of his grandfather, and RalbagBereshit Beur HaMilot 38:2Bereshit Beur HaMilot 38:26Bereshit Beur HaParashah 38:1About R. Levi b. Gershom.

¹⁸ These commentaors suggest that the

¹⁹ Cf. Ibn Ezra and Ralbag who suggest that the story is juxtaposed to that of Yosef and Eshet Potiphar to contrast the two leaders, and how one failed in the realm of sexual impropriety while the other did not.

²⁰ See also Bereshit Rabbah 85:384:1985:185:285:385:9About Bereshit Rabbah.

²¹ In fact, an admission would be extremely embarrassing for Yehuda.

²² M. Ben Yashar raises an alternative possibility that when Yehuda recognized that Tamar only acted as she did because he had not given her Shelah, he acts to correct the problem. He no longer consorts with Tamar, but instead has Shelah finally wed Tamar.  Divrei HaYamim I 4:21, might further testify to the fact that he did actually perform the act of yibbum, as the verse records the name of Shelah's firstborn – Er, presumably so named after his brother.