1. Mosebog 38 – BPH & NIV

Bibelen på hverdagsdansk

1. Mosebog 38:1-30

Juda og Tamar

1Omkring den tid rejste Juda hjemmefra og flyttede til Adullam, hvor han boede hos en mand ved navn Hira. 2Der mødte han en kana’anæisk pige—en datter af Shua—og giftede sig med hende. 3Snart blev hun gravid og fødte en søn, som hun kaldte Er. 4Senere blev hun igen gravid og fødte en søn, som hun kaldte Onan. 5Derefter fødte hun endnu en søn, som hun kaldte Shela. På det tidspunkt boede de i Kezib.

6Da Er var blevet voksen, fandt Juda en kone til ham. Hun hed Tamar. 7Men Er var en ond mand, og derfor lod Herren ham dø. 8Da sagde Juda til Ers bror Onan: „Gift dig med Tamar, og opfyld din forpligtelse til din afdøde bror, så han kan få en arving.”

9Men Onan vidste, at hans første barn med Tamar ikke ville blive regnet for hans eget. Så hver gang han gik i seng med hende, sørgede han for at spilde sin sæd på jorden. På den måde nægtede han at skaffe sin afdøde bror en arving. 10Det blev Herren vred over, og derfor lod han også Onan dø.

11Da sagde Juda til sin svigerdatter Tamar: „Rejs hjem til dine forældre og lev som enke, indtil min søn Shela bliver gammel nok til at gifte sig med dig.” Juda var nemlig bange for, at hans yngste søn også skulle dø ligesom de to andre, hvis han blev gift med hende. Så rejste Tamar hjem til sine forældre.

12Nogen tid efter døde Judas kone. Da sørgetiden var overstået, tog Juda og hans ven, adullamitten Hira, af sted til Timna for at overvåge fåreklipningen. 13Da Tamar hørte, at hendes svigerfar var på vej til fåreklipningen i Timna, 14lagde hun sit enketøj til side, hyllede sig i et slør, så det skjulte hendes ansigt og satte sig ved vejen, der førte ind til landsbyen Enajim på vej til Timna. Hun var nemlig godt klar over, at hun aldrig ville blive gift med Shela, som i mellemtiden var blevet voksen.

15Da Juda kom forbi og fik øje på hende, troede han, at hun var prostitueret, fordi hendes slør dækkede hele ansigtet. 16Han gik hen til hende og spurgte, om han måtte ligge med hende, uden at vide, at hun var hans svigerdatter.

„Hvor meget vil du give mig for det?” spurgte hun.

17„Jeg kan sende dig et gedekid,” svarede han.

„Hvad giver du mig i pant, så jeg kan være sikker på, at du sender det?” spurgte hun.

18„Hvad vil du have?” spurgte han tilbage.

„Giv mig dit segl og snoren, som det hænger i, og så den vandrestav, du har i hånden,” svarede hun. Så gav han hende tingene, og hun lå med ham og blev gravid. 19Bagefter gik hun hjem, tog sløret af og skiftede til sit enketøj.

20Juda bad nu sin ven, adullamitten Hira, om at bringe gedekiddet til hende og samtidig hente de ting tilbage, som han havde givet i pant, men Hira kunne ikke finde hende. 21Til sidst spurgte han nogle mænd i byen: „Hvor bor den prostituerede, som sad ved vejen uden for byen?”

„Der har aldrig været en prostitueret på det sted,” svarede de. 22Så vendte Hira tilbage til Juda og fortalte, at han ikke kunne finde pigen, og at mændene havde sagt, der ikke var nogen prostitueret der.

23„Så lad hende beholde sit pant,” sagde Juda. „Vi gjorde i hvert fald, hvad vi kunne. Hvis vi går tilbage igen, bliver vi da helt til grin.”

24Omkring tre måneder senere fik Juda at vide, at hans svigerdatter Tamar var blevet gravid som følge af prostitution.

„Tag hende uden for byen og brænd hende!” sagde Juda.

25Men da de førte hende ud til bålet, sendte hun følgende besked til sin svigerfar: „Det er ejeren af dette segl, denne snor og denne vandrestav, der har gjort mig gravid. Se godt efter! Genkender du pantet?”

26Juda måtte indrømme, at tingene tilhørte ham. Da tilstod han: „Hun har retten på sin side, for jeg opfyldte ikke mit løfte og gav hende ikke til min søn Shela.” Men han lå aldrig med hende igen.

27Da tidspunktet kom, hvor hun skulle føde, viste det sig, at det var tvillinger. 28Under presseveerne kom der en hånd frem, og jordemoderen bandt en rød snor om hånden for at markere, hvem der var kommet først. 29Men barnet trak hånden tilbage, og det var den anden, som blev født først. „Som han dog bryder igennem,” udbrød jordemoderen, og derfor gav man ham navnet Peretz.38,29 Det betyder: „gennembrud”. 30Bagefter blev drengen med den røde snor om håndleddet født. Han kom til at hedde Zerach.

New International Version

Genesis 38:1-30

Judah and Tamar

1At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. 2There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and made love to her; 3she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. 4She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. 5She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.

6Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death.

8Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” 9But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. 10What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.

11Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household.

12After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.

13When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep,” 14she took off her widow’s clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

15When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”

“And what will you give me to sleep with you?” she asked.

17“I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?” she asked.

18He said, “What pledge should I give you?”

“Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. 19After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow’s clothes again.

20Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her. 21He asked the men who lived there, “Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?”

“There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here,” they said.

22So he went back to Judah and said, “I didn’t find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, ‘There hasn’t been any shrine prostitute here.’ ”

23Then Judah said, “Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn’t find her.”

24About three months later Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant.”

Judah said, “Bring her out and have her burned to death!”

25As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. “I am pregnant by the man who owns these,” she said. And she added, “See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are.”

26Judah recognized them and said, “She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn’t give her to my son Shelah.” And he did not sleep with her again.

27When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 28As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, “This one came out first.” 29But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, “So this is how you have broken out!” And he was named Perez.38:29 Perez means breaking out. 30Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out. And he was named Zerah.38:30 Zerah can mean scarlet or brightness.