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To understand this chapter you must be aware of the custom concerning wife support and the importance they put upon descendants. It seems the sole purpose for women was to have children, for it was through their children that they lived after death. The wives' duty was to have children, preferably sons, and the husband's duty was to see to it that they had children. With the death of a husband without children, the duty is passed on to his brothers, beginning with the oldest, to see to it that their dead brother had children by his wife. We see this played out in this chapter.
Judah, Jacob's forth son, goes over to the city of Adullan and marries a Canaanite woman. She bore him three sons, Er, Onan and Shelah. When Er was grown, Jacob takes for him a wife called Tamar. But Er was wicked in the eyes of the Lord so the Lord killed him. Now here is where the custom comes into the picture.
By custom, the second brother, Onan, then the oldest, would take his brother's wife and have children so that Er would have descendants. Onan agreed, but in his heart he contrived to keep from having children because they would not be legally his. This displeased God and He killed Onan. Now, the plot thickens.
The duty now falls on the third son Shelah, but he was not yet old enough, besides Judah did not want to lose his third and last son. So he tells Tamar to go home to her father's house and wait until Shelah grows up. Time passes and two events occur. Judah's wife dies and Tamar realizes that by now Shelah has grown up and that Judah has no intention of letting him marry her. So she disguises herself as a harlot and seduces Judah. The price for her services was a lamb but Judah, not having a lamb with him, gives her his identification seal, a jewel worn around the neck on a string, and also his walking stick.
The next day Judah sends the lamb to her by a friend, only to find out that she has gone. Judah decides not to bother to look for her in order to regain his possessions for fear of being laughed at. Three months later, Judah learns that Tamar had played the harlot and was pregnant. He condemns her to be burned at the stake but when she produces his seal and walking stick, he acknowledges her to be more righteous than himself. In due time, she delivers twin boys, Perez and Zerah.
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