About that time Judah left his brothers and pitched his tent near an Adullamite man, whose name was Hirah. There Judah saw a Canaanite daughter, whose name was Shua. So he took her and had relations with her, and she became pregnant. Shua bore three sons, and Judah was in the city of Achzib when she conceived Shelah, her third son.
Judah took a wife for Er, and her name was Tamar. But Er was displeasing to God, so He put him to death. In view of that, Judah said to Onan: “Have relations with your brother’s wife and perform brother-in-law marriage with her to conceive offspring for your brother.” But Onan knew that the offspring would not be considered his. So when he did have relations with his brother’s wife, he wasted his semen on the ground in order to not give offspring to his brother. What he did was bad in God’s eyes, so he also put him to death. Judah said to Tamar: “Dwell as a widow in your father’s house until my son Sheʹlah will grow up to be a young man.” So Tamar went and resided in her father’s house.
Some time passed, and Judah’s wife wasn’t there. Judah kept the mourning period, and then he went to his sheepshearers in Timʹnah with Hiʹrah the Adullamite. Tamar was told: “Here your father-in-law is going up to Timʹnah to take care of the sheep.” With that she removed her widow’s clothing and veiled herself and covered herself with a shawl and sat down at the entrance of E·naʹim, for she saw that Sheʹlah had grown up and yet she had not been given a wife to him. When Judah caught sight of her, he at once took her for a prostitute, because she had covered her face. So he turned aside to her by the road and told her: “Allow me to have a good relation with you,” for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. She asked, “What will you give me from your hand that you may have a good relation with me?” To this he said: “I will send a young goat from my herd.” But she said: “Will you give me security until you bring it forward?” He continued: “What security should I send you?” “Your seal ring, cord and rod that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her and had relations with her, and she became pregnant by him. 19 After that she got up and went away and removed her shawl and clothed herself with her widow’s clothing.
And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his companion the Adullamite, to get back the security from the hand of the woman, but he never found her. He inquired of the men of her place, saying: “Where is that temple prostitute in E·naʹim?” But they said: “No temple prostitute has ever been in there.” Finally he returned to Judah and said: “I never found her, and besides, the men of the place told me so that no kind of single prostitute has ever been in that place.” So Judah said: “Let her take them for herself, in order that we may not fall into relations once more. Give or take, I have sent this young goat, but you never sought to find her.”
However, about three months later, Judah was told: “Tamar has acted as a prostitute, and she is also pregnant by her acts of unworthiness.” At that Judah said: “Bring her out and let her be burned in there.” As she was being brought out, she sent word to her father-in-law: “I am pregnant by the man to whom these belong to me.” Then she added: “Please look at the seal ring, cord and rod.” Then Judah examined them and said: “She is more righteous than I am, because I did not give her to Sheʹlah.”” And he had no further sexual relations with her then.
When the time came for her to give birth, there were twins in her womb. As she was giving birth, one put out his hand, and the midwife immediately took a scarlet thread and tied it around his hand, saying: “This one came out first and is cute.” But as soon as he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she exclaimed: “What a beautiful breach you have designed! I am happy for you!” One of the twins’ names was Perez. Afterward his twin brother came out with the scarlet thread tied around his hand. The second twin was named Zerah.