Widow of Judah's sons; mother of Perez, ancestor of the Davidic and Messianic line
Tamar, daughter-in-law of Judah
TAY-mar
A Canaanite woman twice widowed and denied the levirate marriage she was legally owed, who took justice into her own hands by disguising herself and conceiving twins by her father-in-law Judah — securing her place, remarkably, in Matthew's genealogy of Jesus. Not to be confused with King David's daughter Tamar (2 Samuel 13), a different woman living generations later.
Life and work
Tamar's origins are not given in the text, but she was married by Judah to his firstborn son Er, who died for unspecified wickedness before the marriage produced children (Genesis 38:6-7). Following the Ancient Near Eastern custom of levirate marriage, Judah gave Tamar to his second son Onan to father an heir on his dead brother's behalf, but Onan deliberately avoided completing the act and was likewise struck down (Genesis 38:8-10).
Judah, fearing his third son Shelah would also die if given to Tamar, sent her back to her father's house as a widow with an empty promise to send for her once Shelah was grown — a promise he had no intention of keeping, leaving Tamar in a legally and socially precarious limbo, unable to remarry outside the family yet denied the marriage owed her within it (Genesis 38:11).
When Tamar realized Shelah had grown to manhood without being given to her, she took matters into her own hands: removing her widow's garments, veiling herself, and sitting at the entrance to Enaim, she presented herself to the recently widowed Judah as a prostitute. Not recognizing her, Judah slept with her, leaving his seal, cord, and staff as a pledge for payment he never delivered (Genesis 38:12-19).
Three months later, when Judah learned Tamar was pregnant and assumed she had turned to prostitution, he ordered she be burned to death — until she produced his own seal, cord, and staff as proof of the child's paternity. Judah publicly acknowledged, 'She is more righteous than I, since I did not give her to my son Shelah,' and did not touch her again (Genesis 38:24-26). Tamar bore twins, Perez and Zerah, in a birth marked by a notable reversal of expected birth order (Genesis 38:27-30).
- Occupation
- Not stated
- Places
- Judah's household in the Adullam region of Canaan
Extra-biblical evidence
No extra-biblical source names or attests this Tamar. As with Judah, comparative Ancient Near Eastern legal codes (the Middle Assyrian Laws and Hittite Laws) independently confirm levirate marriage as a real, enforceable custom of the era, giving historical grounding to the legal bind Tamar was in — though these texts make no reference to her specifically.
Scripture references
- Genesis 38:6-11 — Widowed twice and denied marriage to Judah's third son
- Genesis 38:13-26 — Disguises herself and conceives by Judah, then is vindicated
- Genesis 38:27-30 — Gives birth to twins Perez and Zerah
- Matthew 1:3 — Named directly in Jesus's genealogy as the mother of Perez by Judah
Further reading
Capstone Bible is a free interactive study app — a map of every place in this library, a zoomable timeline of biblical and church history, the Bible text with every name in it linked to its article, reading plans and personal notes.
Open Capstone Bible