Bible Strands
Genesis 38:6
Now Judah acquired a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Judah arranging a marriage for his eldest son Er immediately after the birth of Judah’s third son, Shelah.
The words — וַיִּקַּח (va.yi.kach) means "and he took," marking Judah’s initiative in securing a wife. אִשָּׁה לְעֵר (i.shah le.'Er) literally identifies the woman as "a wife for Er."
The thread — The practice of arranging a wife for a son recurs in Genesis 24:3 and Matthew 1:3, where Judah’s lineage through Tamar is formally noted.
Why it lands — The passage states a familial arrangement without commentary, establishing Tamar’s place in Judah’s household before the narrative records Er’s death in Genesis 38:7.
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 Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
Cross-references
- Genesis 21:21 And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
- Genesis 24:3 and I will have you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I am dwelling,
- Matthew 1:3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.