Then Tamar got up and departed. And she removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments again.
Parallel translations
- WEB She arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
- KJV And she arose, and went away, and laid by her vail from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood.
- NKJV So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.
- NASB Then she got up and departed, and removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments.
- NLT Afterward she went back home, took off her veil, and put on her widow’s clothing as usual.
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 leaves, removes the veil, and resumes her widow's clothing.
Overview
Tamar quietly returns to her former status, her purpose accomplished and her identity still hidden. The deliberate change of garments mirrors her earlier disguise and frames the deception. She now waits, holding the pledge that will one day expose the truth.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Gen 38:14she removed her widow’s garments, covered her face with a veil to disguise herself, and sat at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that although Shelah had grown up, she had not been given to him as a wife.
- 2 Sam 14:2So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.
- 2 Sam 14:5“What troubles you?” the king asked her. “Indeed,” she said, “I am a widow, for my husband is dead.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 38:19 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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