May God Almighty bless you,
And make you fruitful and multiply
you,
That you may be an assembly of
peoples;
And give you the blessing of Abraham,
To you and your descendants with you,
That you may inherit the land
In which you are a stranger,
Which God gave to Abraham.'
So Isaac sent Jacob away, and he went to Padan Aram, to Laban the son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, the mother of Jacob and Esau. Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Padan Aram to take himself a wife from there, and that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, 'You shall not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,' and that Jacob had obeyed his father and his mother and had gone to Padan Aram. Also Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan did not please his father Isaac."
Note: Esau did not care about the pure line of his father Isaac and his grandfather Abraham so it was defiled by his mixed marriages.vs. 7
vs. 8-10
vs. 11
vs. 14-23
vs. 24-26
"But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and Lord killed him."
Judah told Onan to "Go in to your brother's wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother." Onan "...emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother." which "...displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also."
Judah told Tamar to "Remain a widow in your father's house till my son Shelah is grown." For he said, "Lest he also die as his brothers did." And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house."
But in the process of time Shelah was grown, and Judah did not give her to him as wife
"So she took off her widow's garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah..." When Judah saw her on his way to shear his sheep he thought she was a harlot and turned to her for comfort after his wife's death. He gave her his signet and cord, and his staff as a pledge until he could send a goat from the flock. Tamar went away and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood. Judah sent a young goat, but she was not to be found so he let her keep his signet and cord, and staff lest they be shamed.
When Judah was told Tamar played the harlot and was with child by harlotry, and he was going to have her burned, she sent his pledge back to him saying "By the man to whom these belong, I am with child." And she said, "Please determine whose these are - the signet and cord, and staff." Judah acknowledged them and said "She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son."
Note: Judah was wrong to marry a Canaanite to begin with so he took
a wife from Israel for his son. But God killed Er for his wickedness, and Onan
for using Tamar as a harlot. Judah not knowing these things withheld his third
son from her. Tamar had done nothing wrong here. It's also important that she
sent his signet and cord, and staff by way of a witness which Judah openly
acknowledged. She was blessed with twins, and the second one was in the lineage
of Christ. See (The Second Son)
