17 and he saith, 'I—I send a kid of the goats from the flock.' And she saith, 'Dost thou give a pledge till thou send 'it'?' 18 and he saith, 'What 'is' the pledge that I give to thee?' and she saith, 'Thy seal, and thy ribbon, and thy staff which 'is' in thy hand;' and he giveth to her, and goeth in unto her, and she conceiveth to him; 19 and she riseth, and goeth, and turneth aside her vail from off her, and putteth on the garments of her widowhood. 20 And Judah sendeth the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the hand of the woman, and he hath not found her.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Genesis 38:17-20
Chapter Contents
The profligate conduct of Judah and his family.
This chapter gives an account of Judah and his family, and such an account it is, that it seems a wonder that of all Jacob's sons, our Lord should spring out of Judah, John 8:41. What awful examples the Lord proclaims in his punishments, of his utter displeasure at sin! Let us seek grace from God to avoid every appearance of sin. And let that state of humbleness to which Jesus submitted, when he came to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, in appointing such characters as those here recorded, to be his ancestors, endear the Redeemer to our hearts.