Afterward she went back home, took off her veil, and put on her widow’s clothing as usual.
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.
- BSB Then Tamar got up and departed. And she removed her veil and put on her widow’s garments again.
- 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.
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 took off of her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she wasn’t given to him as a wife.
- 2 Sam 14:2Joab sent to Tekoa, and brought a wise woman from there, and said to her, “Please act like a mourner, and put on mourning clothing, please, and don’t anoint yourself with oil, but be as a woman who has mourned a long time for the dead.
- 2 Sam 14:5The king said to her, “What ails you?” She answered, “Truly I am a widow, and my husband is dead.
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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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