God desired the Israelites to maintain their identity as a distinct people.
Tamar grandmother of Jesus in the Old Testament, Israel’s connection with their God is closely tied to land ownership. God called Abraham to leave Haran and go to Canaan after his father’s death. According to God’s promise in Genesis 12:1-2 and 15:18-21, Abraham’s descendants would eventually possess all of Canaan.
Consequently, according to Leviticus 26, Israel was to serve as a model for other pagans, demonstrating what the one true God required of His people. He took this action because, according to Genesis 12:1-3, 17:4, and 22:18, He had promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations and that those nations would be blessed through him.
Thus, to separate the Israelites from a civilisation steeped in foreign gods and to strengthen their identity as a distinct people, God permitted them to be enslaved in Egypt for four hundred years. He provided them with the Mosaic law to instruct them to avoid foreign gods.
The ultimate purpose of all God’s actions concerning Israel was to prepare the way for Jesus Christ’s arrival on Earth to redeem mankind. This event required the involvement of female figures chosen explicitly for their remarkable and worthy faith characters. We now know her as Tamar grandmother of Jesus.
Aside from Mary, the mother of God, the four women of faith chosen in the Bible and included in Jesus’ family are consistently foreigners who have unwavering trust in the Almighty Yahweh of Israel. We will chronologically highlight these women of great faith in God: Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba.
The patriarch Judah is expected to uphold the Messiah’s lineage.
Jacob prophesied that Judah would rule over the entire family due to the transgressions of Judah’s three elder brothers (Genesis 49:3-12). This historical moment marks the beginning of God’s relationship with the nation of Israel, His chosen people. We must recognise the immense value of Tamar, another exceptional woman in God’s eyes.
According to Genesis 38:1-3, Judah, one of Jacob’s sons, separated from the rest of his family, married a Canaanite woman, and had multiple sons. Er is the oldest and is now old enough to get married; she, by divine power, became Tamar grandmother of Jesus.
Judah finds Tamar, a wife for his son, who is a Canaanite. This is another example of Judah disobeying the commandment in Genesis 28:1, which forbids marrying Canaanites who worship idols. Er’s life will regrettably end soon. The only information provided by the Bible is that God kills him as retribution for his transgressions (Genesis 38:7).
Under custom, Tamar is given to Er’s brother, Onan, so she can have children to support herself, and Er can have descendants. According to Genesis 38:7-10, Judah followed this tradition, but that marriage also involved tragedy and sin.
As previously mentioned, Judah approaches his second son, Onan, after the Lord kills his wicked son Er (Genesis 38:6-7). He instructs Onan to marry Tamar, Er’s widow. Caring for Tamar as a wife is Onan’s specific responsibility; he emphasises the importance of getting her pregnant so that his deceased brother can have children through him.
Tamar grandmother of Jesus, a widow, is obligated to marry her brother-in-law.
Deuteronomy 25:5-6 describes how this “levirate marriage” would also become the norm in Israel. However, a man today can choose not to take his brother’s widow in this manner, according to the Law. But God’s will for her was to become Tamar grandmother of Jesus.
The idea did not sit well with Onan, as the children would be legally and culturally considered his brother’s heirs, not his own. As a result, Onan makes a conscious decision not to impregnate Tamar, using her solely for sex. Onan committed a transgression purposefully, and God will kill Onan, too, for that (Genesis 38:10).
Now, the Lord has also killed Onan, making Tamar a widow once more. Although Tamar didn’t cause either situation, she is currently childless, single, and has little chance of finding a husband.
According to the same custom that governed Tamar’s marriage to Onan, Shelah, Judah’s next-to-youngest son, would marry Tamar and bear her offspring. Although Shelah’s age is not stated in the Bible, he is still young enough for Judah’s explanation to make sense.
However, the argument that Shelah is too young is a stopgap. Judah seemed to hold Tamar accountable for the deaths of his two eldest sons. He might blame her for his sons’ poor choices or regard her as bad luck. Not knowing God wanted her to be Tamar grandmother of Jesus.
Taking charge of her outside of Judah’s household, he advises her to return home to her father while he waits for Shelah to mature. Genesis 38:14 clarifies that Judah never planned to consummate Tamar and Shelah’s marriage.
Tamar grandmother of Jesus, demonstrates bravery and courage by taking assertive action.
Following his grief, Judah visits his sheepshearers in Timnah with his friend Hirah. Judah’s journey will present an opportunity for Tamar. Genesis 38:14 states that Judah has abandoned her since and has no intention of keeping his word.
Therefore, she resorts to a dangerous and desperate plan. Tamar devises a scheme to persuade her father-in-law to care for her and accept her into his household upon discovering that Judah is travelling to Timnah (Genesis 38:14-15).
Tamar knows that Judah is moving closer to Timnah. She covers her face with a veil and removes her widow’s mourning garments. She positions herself beside the road that leads to Enaim, aware that Judah will pass by there. Her strategy is to pretend to be a prostitute (Genesis 38:15) and target Judah through her attire, demeanour, and location.
Similarly, God chose Judah after his two older sons failed to fulfil the line of the Messiah. She waits for Judah to pass by on the road, dressed as a prostitute and covered with a veil (Genesis 38:13). Her strategy proves successful as the Lord uses Judah instead of his sons for His divine purpose and also to be Tamar grandmother of Jesus.
When he looks at her, Judah believes she is a prostitute. He never recognises her as his daughter-in-law due to the veil. He will employ her in the next couple of verses. Tamar is going to take advantage of this encounter.
God’s plan for Judah and Tamar, grandmother of Jesus, we know the events recorded in Genesis 38 likely occurred before Joseph reunited with his father, Jacob, and brothers in Egypt. The text shifts its focus to Joseph starting from Genesis 39:1.
She cleverly tricks Judah into impregnating her, defying societal norms.
The Bible is silent on the specifics of Tamar’s initial scheme. At the very least, she intended to use this meeting as leverage to ensure that Judah kept his word. It’s a risky venture, as she has a significant chance of losing her life if this is discovered.
She has a much stronger advantage than she may have realised. While negotiating her rate, Judah mentions that he is short on cash for her services. Tamar requests that Judah surrender his staff, signet, and cord as a guarantee.
These objects would have been special and one of a kind. She will return the goods as soon as he sends the cash. Judah grants her access to them and gets his way. Tamar becomes pregnant, which proves to be a huge benefit (Genesis 38:17-18) to the glory of God Almighty.
It is revealed that Tamar is pregnant after three months. Judah brutally sentences her to death, fully aware that she is nominally engaged to his youngest son, Shelah. Tamar presents evidence of the person who impregnated her—Judah’s staff and signet—in a startling revelation.
The Bible makes it clear that Judah never had sex with Tamar grandmother of Jesus, again, nor did he marry her. Judah effectively assumes the role of a levirate spouse, which he refrained from doing for Tamar (Genesis 38:24-26). Judah’s twin boys, Zerah and Perez, are born to Tamar (Genesis 38:27-30).
