The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, and Shelah. These three were born to him by Bath-shua the Canaanite. Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, who put him to death. Tamar, Judah's daughter-in-law, bore to him Perez and Zerah. Judah had five sons in all. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul. The sons of Zerah: Zimri, Ethan, Heman, Calcol, and Dara—five in all. The son of Carmi: Achar, who brought trouble upon Israel by violating the ban on devoted things. The son of Ethan: Azariah. The sons who were born to Hezron: Jerahmeel, Ram, and Caleb. Ram was the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab was the father of Nahshon, a leader of the descendants of Judah. Nahshon was the father of Salmon, and Salmon was the father of Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed, and Obed was the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of Eliab his firstborn; Abinadab was born second, Shimea third, Nethanel fourth, Raddai fifth, Ozem sixth, and David seventh. Their sisters were Zeruiah and Abigail. And the three sons of Zeruiah were Abishai, Joab, and Asahel. Abigail was the mother of Amasa, whose father was Jether the Ishmaelite.
About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite. There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua, and he took her as a wife and slept with her. So she conceived and gave birth to a son, and Judah named him Er. Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Onan. Then she gave birth to another son and named him Shelah; it was at Chezib that she gave birth to him. Now Judah acquired a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death.
Significance
The Chronicler's Judahite genealogy (1 Chr 2:3-17) draws from Genesis 38's narrative of Judah's sons Er, Onan, and Shelah by the Canaanite daughter of Shua (bat-Shua). The Chronicler preserves the notice that Er was "evil in the sight of the LORD, and He put him to death" (ra' be-einei YHWH), reminding the audience that the royal line passed through moral failure and divine judgment. Despite this troubled origin, the line continues through Perez (born of Judah and Tamar) to reach David, demonstrating God's sovereign preservation of the messianic lineage through unlikely circumstances.
Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Allusion
Connection Method(s)
Longitudinal Theme
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