Matthew records Jesus’ royal genealogy and names five women, which is quite odd. All other genealogies in the Bible record only males. In ancient Israel many marriages were arranged by the parents, and the levirate marriage, a curious tradition, was also practiced. A levirate marriage occurs when a married man dies leaving no heirs. His brother was to marry his widow, and the first child of the second union became the heir of the dead brother. An example of how the tradition was practiced can be seen where the Sadducees came to test Jesus with a myth about seven brothers. The myth was intended to disprove the resurrection (Matthew 22:23-28). However, as this pertains to Matthew’s women, Tamar was involved in the levirate tradition to bring resurrection to Judah’s dying branch (Matthew 1:3).
Judah had three sons: Er, Onan and Shelah. He arranged a marriage between his eldest son, Er, and Tamar (Genesis 38:6), but Er was an evil man, and the Lord slew him before he produced an heir. So, Judah told Onan to go in unto his brother’s widow to produce an heir for his brother. Onan took Tamar as his wife, but cast his seed on the ground, refusing to produce an heir for his dead brother. Therefore, the Lord also slew Onan (verse-10). Judah then told Tamar to return to her father’s house and remain a widow there, until Shelah was of age, and he would give him to her for a husband.
What’s going on? Ancient societies considered woman important for the production of heirs for their clan. The clan’s survival and retention of family wealth depended on the woman’s fertility. Otherwise, if one branch of the family became extinct, the wealth went to the nearest relative. This was also the reason many males practiced polygamy. Retaining family wealth was very important, and having more than one wife helped insure that hope. Women were often treated like pawns in ancient patriarchal societies. Women first fell under the jurisdiction of their fathers, if he died, they were under the rule of their brother. If she married, she was under her husband’s jurisdiction. So, when Onan died, Judah sent Tamar back to her father’s house, because, without a husband, she fell under his jurisdiction. If a woman had no living male relatives, she was often forced to beg or become a prostitute in order to survive.
Tamar’s condition had already become precarious, because her first two husbands died, and now she found herself back in her father’s house, as a widow. In her present condition, she could be no longer offered in marriage by her father. Her only hope lay in the hands of Judah, who eventually made it clear he had no intention of giving Tamar to Shelah for a wife (cp. Genesis 38:26).
Tamar was forced into one of two courses. Either she remained a widow in her father’s house until she died, or she could take matters in her own hands. Doing the latter placed her in Matthew’s genealogy. When she realized Judah was near her father’s house, she pretended to be a prostitute and situated herself in the path Judah would take to return home. Not recognizing her because of her disguise (Genesis 38:14-16), Judah negotiated with her for sexual services and left his pledge with her, vis-à-vis his signet ring, bracelets and staff, until payment could be made (Genesis 38:16-18).
Long-story-short, immediately after the encounter, Tamar returned to her father’s house and resumed her widow’s persona. She was, of course, pregnant, and when it was told to Judah, he demanded that she be executed for adultery. However, when she produced Judah’s pledge, he realized she was pregnant with his son, so he confessed his deception and claimed she was more righteous than was (Genesis 38:19-26).
From our cultural point of view, Tamar seems to be a loose woman who tricked Judah into giving her what she wanted, but this is not the case at all. Tamar assessed her present and future prospects very well, but her actions weren’t selfish. It wasn’t a matter of simply having a baby of her own to take care of. It was a matter of being part of a clan and ensuring that the clan didn’t become extinct. Judah’s shortsightedness showed he had no faith in God to bless him with an heir. He thought Tamar was cursed, and, if he gave her to his only remaining son, Shelah, he, too, would die, leaving no heirs to carry on the family name.
Once again, we find the patriarchal system of things failing. Tamar, a woman, worked to keep the family line from dying out, in counter distinction to Judah, her father-in-law, who worked against producing heirs. He refused to give her to Shelah for a wife, and, later, if successful in executing Tamar, he would have destroyed his only known heir that would continue the family line, which was at that time in Tamar’s womb.
Tamar’s courageous example is given, showing considerable risk to her own life. She was caught between two laws: the patriarchal law that gave the males in her family full control over her reproductive activity, and the levirate tradition that Judah denied her. Having no other legal recourse, Tamar, boldly, took matters into her own hands, in order to fulfill her responsibility to the clan and produce the much sought-after heir, albeit in a very unconventional manner. Thus, Tamar proved to be more righteous than the patriarchs, who sought to control her reproductive activity.
Smoodock's Blog 