The Pulpit Commentary — Genesis — Section 496

the narrative rrqnires the bitth of Hezron "Riches " "Cry for Help .. (Gcsenins). This end Hnmul to have tnken place in Canaan was not the name of Judah's wife (LXX. ), liut (Kalisch), it is simply llil:P°:'sibl? to bold of her father-(vide ver. 12)-and he took that all this occurred withm httle more her,-i. e. married her (-vide eh. vi. 2; xxiv. than o. score of years. Hence (2) the date of 67)-and went in unto her. J uclnh's marriage bas been placed before the Ver. 3.-And she conceived, and bare a sale of J osepb (Augustine, Aben Ezra, Rosen- ■on; and he called his name Er-" W:ttch- mi\ller Drechsler, Baumgarten, Gerlach, er" (Gesenius). What is commonly regarded Ainsw~rth, Candlish, Murphy, Inglis) ; but as an idiosyncrasy of the Elohist, viz., the even on this assumption the task is arduous naming of a child by its father, here occurs to make the birth of Hezron and Hamul in a so-called J ehovistic section. occur before the emigration of their great- Ver, 4.-And she conceived again, and grandfather to Egypt. For as Judah was bare a son ; and she called his name Onan not more than four years older than Joseph - " Strength " (Gesenius). The naming ot' (cf. eh. xx:ix. 35 with xx:x. 25), his age at the a child by its mother a peculiarity of the so- time of J oseph's sale could not have been called J ehovist ; but vide eh. xvi. 15. more than twenty-one. Bu~ placing J~da~'s Ver. 5.-And she yet again conceived marriage o.t the earliest poss~ble date,. viz., m (lit., and she added again), and bare a son; his fifteenth year, only substitutes an mterval and called his name Shelah: - ff Prayer" of twenty- eight years instead of one of (Gesenius), "Peace" (Furst) -and he (i. e. twenty-two, in which Judah's son Er must Judah) was-sc. absent (Gerlach) ; or, trans- be born, grow up to manho~d, (~ay at fifteen) lating in1personally, it was, i. e. the event marry, die, and leav~ his widow Ta~ar, happened (Murphy)-at Chezib,-probably who after marrying with Onan and wa1t1ng the same as Achzib (Josh. xv. 44; Alicah i. for Shelah (which would consume o.t least 14, 15) o.nd Chezeba (1 Chron. iv. 22), which another year), must beco~e the mother. of in the partitioning of the land fell to the twin sons by her father-m-ln,v (for which sons of Shelah, and was here mentioned that another year would be required), and mllllt Shelah 's descendants might kno,v the birth- see the elder of the two married at teu years place of their ancestor (Keil) ; or the fact of of age, if his sons a!e to be born ?,PO!l the Judah's absence at the birth of his third son soil of Canaan. On either hypothesis, there- may be recorded as the reason of the name, fore it seems indispensable to hold that "Peace," "Rest," "Prosperity," which the Jud~h's gr1mdsons. we.re born. in Egypt; ~nd child received (Gerlach) - when she be.re in this case there 1B little gamed by putting him-literally, in her bearing of him. Judah's marriage earlier thn.n Joseph's sale, Ver. 6.-And J'udah took a wife (cf. eh. i. e. in J udah's twenty-first year. That xxi. 21 ; xxiv. 4) for Er his tlrstbom,-" by J'udah went down-from Hebron (eh. xxxvii. the early marriage of his s~ns J udo.h seems. to 14) or the mountains (Keil), towards the have intended to prevent 1D thorn a germ m- south (Aben Ezra, Roscnmiillcr)-from his ating corruption" (Lange)-whose name mu bretbren,-setting up a sepora.te nnd inde- Tamar-" Palm tree" (Gesenius). Though pendent esto.blishment apart from them; the name was Shemitic, it does not follow 1 ' not only immediately o.fter Joseph was th11t the person wns. Cf. Mclchisedeck 111Hl sold but also on account of it," "in a fit of Abimelech. Yet she is not expressly co.llecl imp~nitent o.nger" (Kurtz), in a spirit of a Canaanite, though it is moro than probable remorse (Lange)-and turned in to a certain she was. Lange conjectures that she may Adullamite,-liternlly, and puched (sc. his have been of Philistine descont, and thinks tent eh. n:vi. 15) itp to, as far as, or close the nal1'ative intends to convey the impres- by ~ mnn, an Aditllamite, i. e. belonging to sion that she was a woman of extraordinary Ad11ll11m a to,vn in the Hebron valley character. (Josh. x~. 35) ; in the time of the conquest thu seat of 11 Canao.nitish king (Josh. xii. Ver. 7.-And Er, J'udah's firstborn, was 15), nfterwnrds celebro.t~d for its con~_ection wioked in the sight af the Lord. Tho con- with the history of David (1 Sam. xxu .. l, 2; nection between Er' s no.me (ii!) 11nd Er' s 2 Sam. xxiii. 13), subsequently ment,1oned character (!11) is noticeable. The specbl in Scripture (2 Chron. XL 7; Noh,. x1. _30; form which his wickedness assumed is not Micah 1. 16), but never successfully identified stated ; but the accompnnying phrase s·1g- (vide • Land and the Book,' pp. 606, ~07; gests that, os in the case of the Sodomites Robinson, ii. 175)-whose name wos Hirah (eh. xiiL 13 ; xix. 6), it was some uunatnral - " Nobility" (Gesenius). nbomiuation. And the Lord slew him- Ver. 2.-And Judah saw there th11 daugh- litorally, caused him to die; not necessarily ter of a oertain (literally, of a man, a) by direct visitation ; perhaps simply by al- Canaanite,-not of a merchant (Oukclos),but lowing hi111 to reap the fruits of his youthfol of an inhllbitant •if the lane\ of Canaan- indulgence in premature 1md chiluless death, whoso name wo3 Shnah; - ff Wealth," which yet was so rnpicl ancl so cvich'ntly  41:2 TllE B001.r OF GENESIS. ten. XXXVIII. 1-80