Bible Strands
Genesis 38:29
But when he pulled his hand back and his brother came out, she said, “You have broken out first!” So he was named Perez.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The midwife speaks to the newborn twins at the exact moment one twin withdraws his hand and the other emerges first.
The words — כְּ/מֵשִׁ֣יב (ke/me.Shiv) translates literally as "when [he was] withdrawing," and מַה\־ (mah-) functions as an exclamative "how!" or "look!" in her declaration.
The thread — The birth of these twins and the naming of Perez appear in Genesis 46:12, Numbers 26:20, and 1 Chronicles 2:4 as part of Judah’s recorded lineage.
Why it lands — The text records a midwife’s immediate renaming of a child based on the order of birth, requiring the reader to track how physical birth order intersects with divine naming and lineage records.
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 it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? this breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez.
Cross-references
- Genesis 46:12 The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
- 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.
- 1 Chronicles 2:4 Tamar, Judah’s daughter-in-law, bore to him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all.
- Matthew 1:3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.
- 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.”
- Nehemiah 11:6 The descendants of Perez who settled in Jerusalem totaled 468 men of valor.
- 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.
- 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;
- Luke 3:33 the son of Amminadab, the son of Admin, the son of Arni, the son of Hezron, the son of Perez, the son of Judah,