Bible Strands
1 Chronicles 2:4
Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, bore to him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Chronicler records Judah’s lineage immediately after noting the death of his firstborn son Er and directly before listing the descendants of Perez.
The words — The text uses כַּלָּתוֹ (ka.la.tô), literally “his daughter-in-law,” to define Tamar’s legal position, and יָלְדָה (yal.dah), “she bore,” to state the birth of Perez and Zerah.
The thread — This genealogical connection is repeated in Matthew 1:3, which traces the royal line through Judah and Perez, and corresponds to the narrative markers in Genesis 38:11 and Genesis 38:13 concerning Tamar’s status and Judah’s travel to Timnah.
Why it lands — The verse functions as a factual bridge, naming Tamar as the mother of Judah’s recognized heirs and requiring the reader to trace the Chronicler’s deliberate integration of earlier family events into a structured genealogy.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Tamar his daughter in law bare him Pharez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.
Cross-references
- Matthew 1:3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
- Genesis 38:13 When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
- Genesis 38:11 Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s house until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s house.
- Numbers 26:13 the Zerahite clan from Zerah, and the Shaulite clan from Shaul.
- Numbers 26:20 These were the descendants of Judah by their clans: The Shelanite clan from Shelah, the Perezite clan from Perez, and the Zerahite clan from Zerah.
- Ruth 4:12 And may your house become like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring the LORD will give you by this young woman.”
- Ruth 4:18 Now these are the generations of Perez: Perez was the father of Hezron,
- 1 Chronicles 9:4 Uthai son of Ammihud, the son of Omri, the son of Imri, the son of Bani, a descendant of Perez son of Judah.
- 1 Chronicles 9:6 From the Zerahites: Jeuel and 690 relatives.
- Nehemiah 11:4 while some of the descendants of Judah and Benjamin settled in Jerusalem.) From the descendants of Judah: Athaiah son of Uzziah, the son of Zechariah, the son of Amariah, the son of Shephatiah, the son of Mahalalel, a descendant of Perez;