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The Testament of Judah Concerning Fortitude, and Love of Money, and Fornication

Unknown

Section 10

About this work

Author: Unknown

10. After these things, my son

‹ Section 9 Section 11 ›

Er

took

to

wife

Tamar

,

from

Mesopotamia

,

a

daughter

of

Aram

.

Now

Er

was

wicked

,

and

he

doubted

concerning

Tamar

,

because

she

was

not

of

the

land

of

Canaan

.

And

on

the

third

day

an

angel

of

the

Lord

smote

him

in

the

night

,

and

he

had

not

known

her

,

according

to

the

evil

craftiness

of

his

mother

,

for

he

did

not

wish

to

have

children

from

her

.

In

the

days

of

the

wedding

-

feast

I

espoused

Onan

to

her

;

and

he

also

in

wickedness

knew

her

not

,

though

he

lived

with

her

a

year

.

And

when

I

threatened

him

,

he

lay

with

her

,

…

according

to

the

command

of

his

mother

,

and

he

also

died

in

his

wickedness

.

And

I

wished

to

give

Shelah

also

to

her

,

but

my

wife

Bathshua

suffered

it

not

;

for

she

bore

a

spite

against

Tamar

,

because

she

was

not

of

the

daughters

of

Canaan

,

as

she

herself

was

.

Notes

12
This seems to arise from the wish to disconnect Israel as far as possible from non-Shemite associations. Cf. the Targum of Onkelos on Gen. xxxviii. 6. “Judah took a wife for Er, his first-born, a daughter of the great Shem, whose name was Tamar.”
13
διέφθειρε δὲ τὸ σπέρμα ἐπὶ τὴν γὴν