Parasha: Emor – Say, speak
Torah: V’Yikra 21:1 – 24:23
9 And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profanes her father: she shall be burned with fire.
This Commandment was written in the Torah hundreds of years after the incident recorded in B’reishit 38.
Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. (Ge 38:6 )
The ancestry of Tamar isn’t given in the Torah. This raises several questions about what family line she followed. My guess is that she followed the same line as Avraham.
Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house. (Ge 38:11 )
We know that Tamar’s father could not have been a “priest”. It might be that because Tamar was married to two of Yehudas’ sons that he now held the position of “father” over her. It may have been permissible for Yehudah to have relations with her through the process of Yeboon, but I don’t know this to be true. In any case, Tamar becomes pregnant with Yehuda’s children without Yehudah knowing what is going on.
24 And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.” So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” 25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these are — the signet and cord, and staff.” 26 So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again. (Ge 38:24-26 )
The fact that Yehudah could order the burning of Tamar raises several questions. However, I think that these verses might be used to show that there was some oral form of Torah being used by humanity beginning with Adam, Noach and now Yehudah.
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