My Blog Stop!: Women of the Bible: Tamar

16 September 2023

Women of the Bible: Tamar - The Noble Harlot

In the History of the Jews, Tamar was a dutiful widow who played the harlot. The genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew mentions five women. One of them is Tamar.

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(Image credit: Gelder, Aert de - Tamar and Judah; Public Domain)

Tamar (alternately spelled Thamar) was the wife of Er, the firstborn of Judah, who was the fourth son of Jacob. Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham. Jacob fathered twelve sons who became the twelve tribes that comprise the nation of Israel. Er died, and according to the Law of Moses regarding marriage, a man was required to marry the widow of his brother if the brother died with no male heir. (Note 1) This was to be done to preserve the name and estate of the deceased. Therefore, Onan, Er's brother, married Tamar. But Onan also died.

Judah, the father-in-law, had a third son, Shelah. At the time of Onan's death, Shelah was too young to marry. Being fully aware of the law and its requirements, Judah promised Tamar that when Shelah was old enough, he would give her to him in marriage. But when the time came, Judah did not honor his word and obey the law. In desperation to conceive a son who would preserve her late husband's name and estate, Tamar disguised herself as a harlot (a prostitute) and offered her services to Judah. She became pregnant with twin sons. Months later, when Judah was informed of Tamar's pregnancy, he demanded that she be brought out publicly and put to death; the penalty for whoredom. IT WAS THE LAW!!!

When Tamar proved that Judah, her father-in-law, was the father of her unborn child, Judah publicly acknowledged his own guilt. Because he had not allowed Shelah to marry Tamar, he was the outlaw. Tamar was fully vindicated. She had obeyed the law and was judged as not having committed any act deserving of punishment, particularly punishment by death. Tamar was acknowledged as being righteous because she was determined to preserve her late husband's family line. The names of the twin sons were Perez (or Phares) and Zerah (or Zara), recorded in the Gospel of Matthew as follows: And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar (Matt 1: 3)

Tamar understood her duty, and she also knew her rights and the rights of the dead. The scriptures do not indicate that she conspired or consulted with anyone for advice. She determined what needed to be done in order to right a wrong and had the courage to follow through.

Note 1: Among the Hebrews, marriage with a brother's widow was forbidden as a general rule (Lev. xviii. 16, xx. 21), but was regarded as obligatory (Deut. xxv. 56) when there was no male issue, and when the two brothers had been dwelling in the same family.

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