--- title: "Genesis 38 - Study King James Bible with cokes commentary on the holy bible" description: "Read Genesis 38 with cokes commentary on the holy bible commentary. 1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw t" image: "/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg" url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis/38" --- [ Read](/kjv/genesis/38)[ Commentary](/study/genesis/38)[ Interlinear](/interlinear/genesis/38) Audio 1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name *was* Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name *was* Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her. 3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er. 4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan. 5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him. 6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name *was* Tamar. 7 And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. 8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. 9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled *it* on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.* 11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren *did*. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house. 12 ¶ And in process of time the daughter of Shuah Judah’s wife died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to Timnath, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.* 13 And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep. 14 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.* 15 When Judah saw her, he thought her *to be* an harlot; because she had covered her face. 16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; (for he knew not that she *was* his daughter in law.) And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me? 17 And he said, I will send *thee* a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give *me* a pledge, till thou send *it*?* 18 And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she said, Thy signet, and thy bracelets, and thy staff that *is* in thine hand. And he gave *it* her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. 19 And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20 And Judah sent the kid by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive *his* pledge from the woman’s hand: but he found her not. 21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, Where *is* the harlot, that *was* openly by the way side? And they said, There was no harlot in this *place*.* 22 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*. 23 And Judah said, Let her take *it* to her, lest we be shamed: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.* 24 ¶ And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she *is* with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. 25 When she *was* brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying, By the man, whose these *are, am* I with child: and she said, Discern, I pray thee, whose *are* these, the signet, and bracelets, and staff. 26 And Judah acknowledged *them*, and said, She hath been more righteous than I; because that I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again no more. 27 ¶ And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins *were* in her womb. 28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that *the one* put out *his* hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. 29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? *this* breach *be* upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.** 30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah. [Genesis 37](/study/genesis/37) [Genesis 39](/study/genesis/39) ## Commentary To verse 1 ***[Genesis 38:1](/kjv/genesis/38/1)*****.*****And it came,*****&c.—** Moses relates this transaction because it concerned the principal end which his history had in view; namely, to transmit the genealogy of Christ, who descended from Abraham by Judah; see [Matthew 1:3](/kjv/matthew/1/3). Le Clerc observes: "Though these words seem to connect the following events with the former chapter, yet some of them, particularly Judah's marriage, which leads to the rest, must have happened long before Joseph was sold into AEgypt; and both Judah and his children too must have married young, else the chronology will not agree; for Joseph was born six years before Jacob came into Canaan," ch. [Genesis 30:25](/kjv/genesis/30/25).[Genesis 31:41](/kjv/genesis/31/41); [Genesis 31:41](/kjv/genesis/31/41). When he was sold into AEgypt, he was seventeen years old, ch. [Genesis 37:2](/kjv/genesis/37/2); [Genesis 37:28](/kjv/genesis/37/28). He was thirty, when he interpreted Pharaoh's dream, ch. [Genesis 41:46](/kjv/genesis/41/46). And nine years after, when there had been seven years plenty, and two years famine, did Jacob, with his family, go down into AEgypt, ch. [Genesis 41:53-54](/kjv/genesis/41/53-54).[Genesis 45:6](/kjv/genesis/45/6); [Genesis 45:6](/kjv/genesis/45/6); [Genesis 45:11](/kjv/genesis/45/11). And at their going down thither, Pharez, the son of Judah, (whose birth is set down in the end of this chapter,) had two sons, Hezron and Hamul, ch. [Genesis 46:8-12](/kjv/genesis/46/8-12). Seeing then, that from the selling of Joseph, until Israel's going down into AEgypt, there cannot be above three-and-twenty years, how is it possible that Judah should take a wife, have by her three sons, one after another, that Shelah, the youngest of the three, should be marriageable when Judah begat Pharez of Tamar, [Genesis 38:14](/kjv/genesis/38/14); [Genesis 38:24](/kjv/genesis/38/24). and Pharez be grown up, married, and have two sons, all within so short a space as three-and-twenty years? This chapter must therefore be placed out of the order of time; and the events here recorded must have happened soon after Jacob came from Mesopotamia into Canaan, though Moses, for some special reasons, relates them in this place. We may add, that the words *then, in those days, at that time,*often refer in Scripture to a considerable space of time, Deu 10:8. [2 Kings 20:1](/kjv/2-kings/20/1).[Matthew 3:13](/kjv/matthew/3/13); [Matthew 3:13](/kjv/matthew/3/13); [Matthew 25:1](/kjv/matthew/25/1). See ch. [Genesis 46:12](/kjv/genesis/46/12). ***A certain Adullamite*****—** An inhabitant of the city Adullam, which lay to the west of Hebron, and will be found frequently spoken of in the history of David. Shuah (whose daughter Judah met with at the house of the Adullamite) was a Canaanite; consequently this connection was highly blameable in Judah. ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com","name":"Real Bible Believers","description":"RBB","publisher":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/search?q={search_term_string}","query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis/38#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/_app/immutable/assets/missing.C7wGMEZ6.jpg","width":672,"height":448,"caption":"Real Bible Believers"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis/38#webpage","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis/38","name":"Genesis 38 - Study King James Bible with cokes commentary on the holy bible","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis/38#primaryimage"},"author":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509"},"description":"Read Genesis 38 with cokes commentary on the holy bible commentary. 1 And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw t","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis/38#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis/38"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis/38#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/","name":"Home"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study","name":"Study Bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible","name":"cokes commentary on the holy bible"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis","name":"Genesis"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":5,"item":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis/38","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/study/cokes-commentary-on-the-holy-bible/genesis/38","name":"38"}}]},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#/schema/person/e966585dde703268e7f6ae890ea98509","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","contentUrl":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/android-chrome-512x512.png","width":512,"height":512},"logo":{"@id":"https://realbiblebelievers.com/#personlogo"},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/RBiblebeliever","https://www.facebook.com/RBibleBelievers"]}]} ```