¶ The mariage of Iuda, Et, Onon, Sela. Iuda lay with his doughter Thamar. The byrth of Tharez, and zarah.
CAPI. XXXVIII.
IT fortuned at that tyme, that Iudas [unspec A] wente downe from his brethren, and gat hym to a man called Hira of Odollam, & there he sawe the doughter of a man called * 1.1 Sua a Canaanite. And he toke her & went in to her. And she conceyued and bare a son, and called his name Er. And she conceyued agayne, and bare a sonne and called hym Onan. And she conceyued agayne, and bare yet a sonne, whom she called Se••a. And he was at Chesyb when she bare hym.
And Iudas gaue Et his eldest son a wyfe, whose name was Thamar. And Er, Iudas eldest sonne was wycked in the syght of the lorde, & the Lorde slew hym. And Iudas sayd vnto Onan. Go in to thy brothers wyfe and marye her, that thou mayst styrre vp seed dn∣to thy brother. And when Onan perceyued [unspec 25] that the seed shulde not be his, therfore when he went in to his brothers wyfe, he spylled it on the grounde, and gaue not seed vnto his brother. And the thynge whiche he dyd, dys∣pleased the lorde, wherfore he slewe hym also. Then sayd Iudas to Thamar his doughter in lawe. Remayne a wydowe at thy fathers house, tyll Sela my sonne be growne. For he sayd. Leest peraduenture he dye also, as his brethren dyd. And Thamar wente & dwelte in her fathers house.
And in processe of tyme, the doughter of Sua Iudas wyfe dyed. Then Iudas when [unspec C] he had lefte mournyng, went vnto his shepe sherers to Thymnath, he and his frende Hi∣ra of Odollam. And one tolde Thamar say∣enge. Beholde, thy father in law goeth vp to Thymnath, to * 1.2 shere his shepe. And she put her wydowes garmentes of from her and co∣uered her with a cloke, and dysgysed her selfe And sat her downe in a comon place, whiche is by the hye wayes syde to Tymnath, for bycause the sawe that Sela was growne, & she was not gyuen vnto hym to wyfe.
When Iuda sawe her, he thought it had ben an hore, bycause she had couered her face [unspec D] And he turned to her vnto the way, and sayd, come I praye the, let me lye with the, for he knewe not that it was his doughter in lawe. And she answered. What wylte thou gyue me, for to lye with me? Then sayd he, I wyll sende the a kyd from the flocke. She sayde. Then gyue me a pledge tyll thou sende it. He sayd, what pledge shall I gyue the? She answered. Thy sygnet, thy bracelet, and thy staffe that is in thy hande. And he gaue it her and lay by her, & she was with chyld by hym. [unspec E] And she gat her vp and went & put her man∣tell from her, and put on her wydowes ray∣ment. And Iudas sent the kyd by his frende of Odollam, for to receyue his pledge agayn from the wyues hand, but he founde her not. Then asked he the men of the same place say eng. Where is the hore that sat openly by the waye syde? They answered. There was no hore here. He came therfore to Iuda agayne and sayd vnto hym. I can not fynde her, and also the men of the place sayd, that there was no hore there. And Iuda sayde, let her take it to her, leest we be shamed. Beholde I sent the kyd and thou hast not founde her.
And it came to passe that after thre mo∣nethes, [unspec F] one tolde Iuda sayeng. Thamar thy doughter in lawe hath played the hore, and with playenge the hore is become great with chylde. And Iuda sayd, bryng her forth, that she may be brente. And when they brought her forth, she sente to her father in lawe, say∣enge. By the man vnto whom these thynges perteyne, am I with chylde. And sayde also. Loke whose are this seale, bracelet, and this staffe. And Iuda knewe them, and sayd. She hath ben more ryghteous then I, bycause I gaue her not to Sela my sonne. And he laye with her no more.
It fortuned when tyme was come that she shulde be delyuered. Beholde there was two twynnes in her wombe. And it fortuned, that when she traueled, the one put out his hande [unspec G] and the mydwyfe toke and bounde a redde threde about it sayeng, this is come out fyrst And it chaunsed, that he plucked his hande backe agayne. And beholde his brother came