Judah, Tamar and some hanky-panky
 
 
Judah provides another exposition of the meaning of the word REDEMPTION. Judah’s son married a Canaanite lady called Tamar, but he died before he could produce an heir. Just as a matter of passing interest, it is interesting the consider the importance of a Canaanite marrying into Abrahams genealogy. One of the troubling aspects of the bible is God’s insistence on genocide against several tribes including the Amorites (think modern day Bedouins - Abraham was one of them), the Hittites (think modern day Indo-Europeans - Sarah was one of them) and the Canaanites (who married into Abraham’s line of descendants through Tamar) So some members of the tribes that God seemed to want wiped out were actually the recipients of the promises that became the heritage of the Jews. Let’s get back to the story of Judah and his heirs. Judah told Onan, his second son, to produce a ‘de-facto’ heir for his first born son, by impregnating his widow. Had he done so, he would have redeemed the life of his deceased brother by producing a child and heir that would carry on his father’s name and blood line. Onan reneged on this duty. He engaged in coitus interuptus. God struck him dead. Judah had two dead sons and a daughter in law who wanted to produce a grand son for him. He sent her back to her parents’ home. Tamar, the daughter-in-law widow tricked Judah, her father in law into having sex with her and producing a child. She dressed up as a whore and presented herself to Judah, demanding payment for sex. He gave her his ring, his staff (walking stick? – shepherd’s crook?) and the chord he wore around his waist as a deposit. When he sent a servant to make full payment and regain his deposit, there was no sign of a brothel, fertility cult sanctuary or working girl anywhere to be found. When Tamar became pregnant, Judah called for an explanation as to his daughter-in-law and her activities. She returned his deposit and exposed his own activities. Twins were the result of this encounter, and once again the actual status of the first-born was complicated. One of the babies poked an arm out of the mother’s birth canal, and the midwife tied a scarlet thread around it. It then retreated and the other twin became the first-born. In his letter to the Roman church, Paul, the Jewish writer of a letter to the Roman Church has suggested that Abraham is the “father” of all those who have “faith”... So then, Abraham is the father of all who believe That is a big call. He never read the bible, never attended a church and he never performed any religious rituals. But God told his son that Abraham was righteous. So much for the idea of original sin – that all men are unacceptable to God from the moment of conception. So much for the need to belong to any church claiming to market the product referred to as “redemption”. If you are righteous, as Abraham was righteous, you really don’t need to darken the doors of any institutional church abraham_please_explain.html
Jacob’s son Judah he found a bride For his wayward son who then up and died Said he’d fix her up with a brother in law Sent her away and thought about her more She fooled old Judah dressed up as a whore They slept together and two sons she bore This Canaanite’s righteous, old Judah swore And he raised his sons with his daughter in law 

Judah passes on inherited promises: redemption