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And Tamar was told, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”
Genesis 38:13 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Tamar was told, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”
  • KJV And it was told Tamar, saying, Behold thy father in law goeth up to Timnath to shear his sheep.
  • BSB When Tamar was told, “Your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep,”
  • NKJV And it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”
  • NLT Someone told Tamar, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Tamar learns that Judah is traveling to Timnah for the shearing.

Overview

News of Judah's route gives Tamar the information she needs to act. Recognizing that Shelah has been wrongfully withheld from her, she begins to plan. The verse heightens the tension as Tamar prepares to claim by stratagem the justice denied her.

Cross-references & the web

No cross-references recorded for this verse.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Genesis videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Genesis 38:13YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GenesisMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

From the first promise that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent (3:15), through Abraham's blessing to all nations and Judah's coming ruler, Genesis sows every seed that flowers in Christ — the true offspring, the better Adam, the ram caught for Isaac.

How Genesis 38:13 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.