ſoour of its place, as being the foundation of all the following Events, which are here placed together, becauſe they followed the ſelling of Joſeph. Judah, and Er, and Onan, and afterwards Pharez, are ſuppoſed each to Marry,and have a Child art fourteen years old, which though unufual, wants not Examples both in Sacred and Profane Writers. And they that will quarrel with the Scripture, and queſtion its Authority for ſome ſuch uncuſtomary Occurences which it relates, ſhew more of Impiety than Witdom in it, and ſhall do well to conſider, that God mighr ſo order things by his Providence, and record ſuch things in his Word, upon the ſame. account on which he hath put ſeveral other difficult Paſſages in Scripture, partly to try and exerci(e Men's Faith, Humility, and Modeſty ; and partly to puniſh the evil Minds of ungodly Men,and for their Sinsto lay an occaſion of Stumbling and Cavilling it the Scriptures before them that greedily ſeek and gladly catch art all fuch occaſions. Or, 2 More ſtrickly, for the rime following the ſale of Joſeph, which ſeems the more probable way, and ſo the ſtory lies thus ; Judah was now about twenty years old when he married,and the three firſt years he hath three Sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah : The two firſt Marry, each when they were about Seventeen years old. Three years after both their Deaths,and when Shelah had been mar- riageable a year or two, and was not given to Tamar, Judah lies with Tamar and begets upon her Pharez. But as for Eſrom and Hamul,they are ſaid to go into Bgypt with Jacob, as alſo Benjamin 's ten Sons are | ſaid ro go with him thither, ro wit, in- their Father's Loins, becauſe they were begotten by their Father in Egypr,whileſt J=cob lived there, of which more in its proper place. & Probably in diſcontent, upon occaſion of Quarrels ariſen among them about the ſelling of Joſeph, whereof Judah was a great Promoter, if not the firſt Mover. c Of the Ciry of Adulam. Of which ſee of: 12. 15: and rg. 35.
2 And Judah ſaw there a daughter of a certain Ca- naanite 4, whoſe name was * Shuah e: and he took her, and went in unto her.
' @ Whom he married, againſt the Counſel and Example of his Parents. But when Judah had committed ſo great a Crime as the ſelling of his Brother, and God had forſaken him, no wonder he adds one Sin to another« e The name, not of the Daughter, bur
of her Father, verſe 12.
2 And ſhe conceived, and bare a fon, and he called his name Er. | | |
4 * And ſhe conceived again, and bare a ſon, and ſhe called his name Onan. RES
5 And ſhe yet again conceived, and bare a ſon, and
\ Tains,Cour- fFiers and Officers. + Heb: thief of the | flaughter- men,or Ex- _ Ecutioners.
-* Or,chief : Marſhal.
©; Chron: 2: 3:
'* Num: 26: 19.
PROS” 2 S - - n= Le
_ * W's F : ek, \ Bob 1» A Ll | called his trarffe Shelah ; and he was at Chezibf, when ſhe bare him.
f A place near 44ullam, called alſo Achzib, Joſ: 19: 29. Mic: 1: 14:
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firſt-born, whole name 2yas Tamar.
7 And * Er, Judahs firſt-born was wicked in the * ſight of the LORD g, and the LORD flew him 4.
g (7. e.) Notoriouſly wicked. Compare Gen 10: g. and 13: 13, h In ſome extraordinary and remarkable manner, as verſe 10.
8 And Judah ſaid unto Onan, Go in unto thy bro- chers wife, and marry her #, and raiſe up ſecd to thy brother k.
# This, as alſo divers other things, was now inſtituted and ob- ſerved amongſt God's People, and afterwards was expreſſed in a written Law, Deut: 25: 5, 6. See alſo Num: 36: 6,7. Ruth 1. 17. Marth: 22: 24. k Beget a Child which may have thy Brothers Name and Inheritance, and may be reputed as his Child. So it was with the firſt Child, bur the reſt were reputed his own.
9 And Onan knew that the ſeed ſhould not be his 3 and it came to paſs when he went in unto his brothers wife, that he ſpilled ic on the ground, leſt chat he ſhould give ſced unto his Brother 1.
? Two things are here noted, 1. The ſin it ſelf, which is here particularly diſcribed by the Holy Ghoſt, that Men might be in- {trutted concerning the nature, and the great evil of this Sin of Self-pollution, which is ſuch that ir brought upon the ARor of it the exteroardinary Vengeance of God, and which is condemned not only by Scripture, but even by the Light of Nature, and the Judgment of Heathens, who have expreſly cenſured it as a great Sin, and as a kind'of Murther. Of which ſee my Latin Smopſes. Whereby we may ſufficiently underſtand how wicked and abominable a Prattice this is amongſt Chriſtians, and in the Light of the Goſpel, which lays greater and ftrifter Obligations upon us to Purity, and ſeverely forbids all Pollution both of Fleſh and Spirit. 2. The cauſe of this Wickedneſs ; which ſeems to have been cither hatred of his Brother ; or envy at his Brother's Name and Honour, ſpringing from the pride of his own Heart.
Io And the thing which he did, + diſpleaſed the LORD m», wherefore he ſlew him alſo ».
m An Expreſſion noting a more than ordinary Offence againſt V® of the God, as 2 Sam: 11: 27. # This juſt, bur dreadful, ſeverity of God Lord. is noted both for the terror of ſuch like Tranſgreflors, and to pro- voke love and thankfulneſs to God in thoſe whom he uſeth more indulgently.
1T Then faid Jndah to Tamar his daughter-in-law, Remain a widow at thy fathers houſe o, cill Shelah my ſon be grown þ: ( for he ſaid q, Left peradventure he die aiſo as his brethren did r ) and Tamar went ard dwelt in her fathers houſe. | h
o Whether he ſent her from his Houſe, that Shelah might not be inſnared by her Preſence and Converſation. p So he diſmiſſed her with a pretence of kindneſs, and a tacit promiſe of Marriage to her, which he never intended to keep, as the following words imply.
q Or rather, but he ſaid ; for the Hebrcw chi oft ſignifies but,as Genz
45- 8. Pſalm 37: 20. Eccl: 2:10: and: 2. So here is an oppoſition be
tween what he ſaid to Tamar, and what he ſaid to himſelf, or in his
own heart, as that word ſaid is oft uſed: He intimated to her, that _
he would give Shelah to her, but he meant otherwiſe, and ſaid in himſelf, I will not do it. » Imputing the Death of his two Sons either to her fault, or to her unluckineſs, rather than to his own, or his Son's miſcarriages.
12 © And # in proceſs of time / the daughter of Shuah Judahs wife died : and Judah was comforted,and went up unto his ſheep-ſhearers t to Timnath «, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite.