He said, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She said, “Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?”
Parallel translations
- KJV And he said, I will send thee a kid from the flock. And she said, Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?
- BSB “I will send you a young goat from my flock,” Judah answered. But she replied, “Only if you leave me something as a pledge until you send it.”
- NKJV And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.” So she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?”
- NASB He said, therefore, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” She then said, “Will you give a pledge until you send it?”
- NLT “I’ll send you a young goat from my flock,” Judah promised. “But what will you give me to guarantee that you will send the goat?” she asked.
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
Judah promises a young goat as payment, and Tamar shrewdly asks for a pledge until it comes.
Overview
Tamar's demand for a deposit ensures she holds tangible evidence rather than relying on a future payment. Her foresight will prove decisive when her life is later endangered. The exchange shows her acting with cunning to obtain the justice and standing she is owed.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- Ezek 16:33People give gifts to all prostitutes; but you give your gifts to all your lovers, and bribe them, that they may come to you on every side for your prostitution.
- Gen 38:20Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand, but he didn’t find her.
- Prov 20:16Take the garment of one who puts up collateral for a stranger; and hold him in pledge for a wayward woman.
- Luke 16:8“His lord commended the dishonest manager because he had done wisely, for the children of this world are, in their own generation, wiser than the children of the light.
- Gen 38:24–25About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute. Moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution.” Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
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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 38:17 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
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