2. Judah met a Canaanite girl there and married her. The girl’s father was named Shua.
3. The Canaanite girl gave birth to a son and named him Er.
4. Later, she gave birth to another son and named him Onan.
5. Then she had another son named Shelah. Judah lived in Kezib when his third son was born.
6. Judah chose a woman named Tamar to be the wife of his first son Er.
7. But Er did many bad things. The Lord was not happy with him, so the Lord killed him.
8. Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “Go and sleep with your dead brother’s wife. Become like a husband to her. If children are born, they will belong to your brother Er.”
9. Onan knew that the children from this union would not belong to him. He had sexual relations with Tamar, but he did not allow himself to stay inside her.
10. This made the Lord angry. So he killed Onan also.
11. Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Go back to your father’s house. Stay there and don’t marry until my young son Shelah grows up.” Judah was afraid that Shelah would also be killed like his brothers. So Tamar went back to her father’s home.
12. Later, Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. After Judah’s time of sadness, he went to Timnah with his friend Hirah from Adullam. Judah went to Timnah to have the wool cut from his sheep.
13. Tamar learned that Judah, her father-in-law, was going to Timnah to cut the wool from his sheep.