Judah (sources)
Survey of sources on Judah
Earliest Jewish Traditions
Genesis 29:35
MT - And she conceived again, and bore a son; and she said: 'This time will I praise the LORD.' Therefore she called his name Judah; and she left off bearing.
LXX - And having conceived yet again, she bore a son, and said, Now yet again this time will I give thanks to the Lord; therefore she called his name, Juda; and ceased bearing.
Tg Pseudo-Jonathan - And she conceived again, and bare a son, and said, This time will I give praise before the Lord; for from this my son kings shall come forth, and from him shall spring Davids the king, who shall offer praise before the Lord; therefore she called his name Jehudah. And she ceased to bear.
Tg Onkelos - And she conceived again and bare a son; and she said, This time will I give praise before the Lord: therefore she called his name Jehudah.[5] And she ceased (stood) from bearing.
Genesis 35:23
MT - the sons of Leah: Reuben, Jacob's first-born, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun;
LXX - The sons of Lea, the first-born of Jacob; Ruben, Symeon, Levi, Judas, Issachar, Zabulon.
Genesis 37:26-27
MT - And Judah said unto his brethren: 'What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? 27 Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh.' And his brethren hearkened unto him.
LXX - 26 And Judas said to his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother, and conceal his blood? 27 Come, let us sell him to these Ismaelites, but let not our hands be upon him, because he is our brother and our flesh; and his brethren hearkened.
Genesis 38
MT - And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua; and he took her, and went in unto her. 3 And she conceived, and bore a son; and he called his name Er. 4 And she conceived again, and bore a son; and she called his name Onan. 5 And she yet again bore a son, and called his name Shelah; and he was at Chezib, when she bore him. 6 And Judah took a wife for Er his first-born, and her name was Tamar. 7 And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. 8 And Judah said unto Onan: 'Go in unto thy brother's wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her, and raise up seed to thy brother.' 9 And Onan knew that the seed would not be his; and it came to pass when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of the LORD; and He slew him also. 11 Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter-in-law: 'Remain a widow in thy father's house, till Shelah my son be grown up'; for he said: 'Lest he also die, like his brethren.' And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house. 12 And in process of time Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died; and Judah was comforted, and went up unto his sheep-shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite. 13 And it was told Tamar, saying: 'Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnah to shear his sheep.' 14 And she put off from her the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the entrance of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given unto him to wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; for she had covered her face. 16 And he turned unto her by the way, and said: 'Come, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee'; for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law. And she said: 'What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?' 17 And he said: 'I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock.' And she said: 'Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it?' 18 And he said: 'What pledge shall I give thee?' And she said: 'Thy signet and thy cord, and thy staff that is in thy hand.' And he gave them to her, and came in unto her, and she conceived by him. 19 And she arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20 And Judah sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman's hand; but he found her not. 21 Then he asked the men of her place, saying: 'Where is the harlot, that was at Enaim by the wayside?' And they said: 'There hath been no harlot here.' 22 And he returned to Judah, and said: 'I have not found her; and also the men of the place said: There hath been no harlot here.' 23 And Judah said: 'Let her take it, lest we be put to shame; behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her.' 24 And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying: 'Tamar thy daughter-in-law hath played the harlot; and moreover, behold, she is with child by harlotry.' And Judah said: 'Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.' 25 When she was brought forth, she sent to her father-in-law, saying: 'By the man, whose these are, am I with child'; and she said: 'Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and the cords, and the staff.' 26 And Judah acknowledged them, and said: 'She is more righteous than I; forasmuch as I gave her not to Shelah my son.' And he knew her again no more. 27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that one put out a hand; and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying: 'This came out first.' 29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold his brother came out; and she said: 'Wherefore hast thou made a breach for thyself?' Therefore his name was called Perez. 30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand; and his name was called Zerah.
LXX - 38:1 And it came to pass at that time that Judas went down from his brethren, and came as far as to a certain man of Odollam, whose name was Iras. 2 And Judas saw there the daughter of a Chananitish man, whose name was Sava; and he took her, and went in to her. 3 And she conceived and bore a son, and called his name, Er. 4 And she conceived and bore a son again; and called his name, Aunan. 5 And she again bore a son; and called his name, Selom: and she was in Chasbi when she bore them. 6 And Judas took a wife for Er his first-born, whose name was Thamar. 7 And Er, the first-born of Judas, was wicked before the Lord; and God killed him. 8 And Judas said to Aunan, Go in to thy brother’s wife, and marry her as her brother-in-law, and raise up seed to thy brother. 9 And Aunan, knowing that the seed should not be his—it came to pass when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he spilled it upon the ground, so that he should not give seed to his brother’s wife. 10 And his doing this appeared evil before God; and he slew him also. 11 And Judas said to Thamar, his daughter-in-law, Sit thou a widow in the house of thy father-in-law, until Selom my son be grown; for he said, lest he also die as his brethren; and Thamar departed, and sat in the house of her father. 12 And the days were fulfilled, and Sava the wife of Judas died; and Judas, being comforted, went to them that sheared his sheep, himself and Iras his Shepherd the Odollamite, to Thamna. 13 And it was told Thamar his daughter-in-law, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law goeth up to Thamna, to shear his sheep. 14 And having taken off the garments of her widowhood from her, she put on a veil, and ornamented her face, and sat by the gates of Ænan, which is in the way to Thamna, for she saw that Selom was grown; but he gave her not to him for a wife. 15 And when Judas saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; for she covered her face, and he knew her not. 16 And he went out of his way to her, and said to her, Let me come in to thee; for he knew not that she was his daughter-in-law; and she said, What wilt thou give me if thou shouldest come in to me? 17 And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from my flock; and she said, Well, if thou wilt give me an earnest, until thou send it. 18 And he said, What is the earnest that I shall give thee? and she said, Thy ring, and thy bracelet, and the staff in thy hand; and he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. 19 And she arose and departed, and took her veil from off her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20 And Judas sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his shepherd the Odollamite, to receive the pledge from the woman; and he found her not. 21 And he asked the men of the place, Where is the harlot who was in Ænan by the way-side? and they said, There was no harlot here. 22 And he returned to Judas, and said, I have not found her; and the men of the place say, There is no harlot here. 23 And Judas said, Let her have them, but let us not be ridiculed; I sent this kid, but thou hast not found her. 24 And it came to pass after three months, that it was told Judas, saying, Thamar thy daughter-in-law has grievously played the harlot, and behold she is with child by whoredom; and Judas said, Bring her out, and let her be burnt. 25 And as they were bringing her, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, I am with child by the man whose these things are; and she said, See whose is this ring and bracelet and staff. 26 And Judas knew them, and said, Thamar is cleared rather than I, forasmuch as I gave her not to Selom my son: and he knew her not again. 27 And it came to pass when she was in labour, that she also had twins in her womb. 28 And it came to pass as she was bringing forth, one thrust forth his hand, and the midwife having taken hold of it, bound upon hid hand a scarlet thread, saying, This one shall come out first. 29 And when he drew back his hand, then immediately came forth his brother; and she said, Why has the barrier been cut through because of thee? and she called his name, Phares. 30 And after this came forth his brother, on whose hand was the scarlet thread; and she called his name, Zara.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan - It was at that time that Jehuda bad gone down from his property, and separated himself from his brethren, and had inclined to a man an Adullemite whose name was Hira, that Jelluda saw there the daughter of a merchant man whose name was Shuva, and he proselyted her, and entered with her. And she conceived and bare a son, and called his name Er[3], because he was to die without a child. And she conceived again, and bare a son, and called his name Onan[4], because his father would have to mourn for him. And she added, and bare a son, and called his name Shela, because her husband had forgotten her[5] and was in cessation when she bare him. [JERUSALEM.And it was that she ceased.] And Jehuda took a wife for Er his firstborn, a daughter of Shem the great, whose name was Tamar. But Er the firstborn of Jehuda was evil before the Lord because he had not given his seed unto his wife, and the anger of the Lord prevailed against him, and the Lord slew him. And Jehuda said unto Onan, Enter thou to thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed unto the name of thy brother. And Onan knew that they would not call the children after his name, and it was, when he entered to the wife of his brother, that he corrupted his work upon the earth, that he might not raise up children to his brother's name. And what he did was evil before the Lord and he cut off his days also. And Jehuda said to Tamar his daughterinlaw, Remain a widow in thy father's house, till Shela my son be grown up. For he said, Lest he also die as his brethren Tamar went and remained in her father's house. And days multiplied and the daughter of Shuva, Jehuda's wife, had died, and Jehuda was comforted. And Jehuda went up to the shearing of his flock, he and Hira his friend the Adullemite, to Timnath. And it was told to Tamar, saying, Behold, thy fatherinlaw cometh up to Timnath to shear his flock. And she put the dress of her widowhood from her, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the dividing of the road where all eyes see, upon the way of Timnath. For she knew that Shela was grown up, yet she had not been given to him to be his wife. And Jehuda saw her; but she seemed in his face as an harlot,[6] because she had provoked him to anger in his house, and Jehuda did not love her.[JERUSALEM. For she had enwrapped her face.] And he inclined to her in the way and said, Let me now go in with thee: for he knew not that she was his daughterinlaw. And she said What wilt thou give me to go in with me? And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, If thou wilt give me a pledge until thou shalt have sent. And he said, What pledge shall I give thee? And she answered, Thy seal, and thy mantle, and thy staff which is in thy hand. And he gave (them) to her, and went in with her; and she conceived by him. And she arose and went, and put her veil from her, and put on the dress of her widowhood And Hehuda sent the kid of the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullemite, to bring back the pledge from the hand of the woman; but he found her not. And he asked the men of the place, saying, Where is the harlot who was in the sight of the eyes by the way ? And they said, There is no harlot here. And he returned to Jehuda and said, I could not find her: and the men of the place also said that no harlot was there. And Jehuda said, Lest she should have taken the pledge, lest we become a laughing stock, behold, I have sent this goat, and thou canst not find her. And it was at the time of three months, that she was known to be with child: and it was told to Jehuda, saying Tamar thy daughterinlaw hath committed fornication and, behold, she is with child by fornication. And Jehuda said, Is she not the daughter of a priest. Let her be brought forth and burned. Tamar was brought forth to be burned, and she searched for the three pledges, but found them not. Uplifiting her eyes to the heavens above, she thus said, Mercy I implore from Thee, 0 Lord: answer Thou me in this hour of need, and enlighten mine eyes to findthe three witnesses; and I will dedicate unto Thee from my loins three saints who shall sanctify Thy name, and descend to the furnace of fire in the plain of Dura. In that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, signed to Michael, who enlightened her eyes, that she found (the witnesses) and took and cast them before the, feet of the judges, and said, The man to whom these pledges belong is he by whom I am with child. Yet though I may be burned I do not make him manifest: nevertheless the Lord of the world will cause him in his heart to acknowledged them, and will deliver me from this great judgment. Now when Jehuda saw them, he recognised them, and said in his heart, It is better for me to be ashamed in this world that passeth away, than be ashamed in the faces of my righteous fathers in the world to come. It is better that I burn in this world by a fire that is extinguished, than burn in the world to come with fire devouring fire. For measure is set against measure.[7] This is according to that which I said to Jakob my father, Know now the robe of thy son; so am I now constrained to hear at the place of judgment, Whose are this seal and mantle and staff ? And Jehuda, acknowledged and said, Tamar is innocent; she is with child by me. And the Bath kol fell from heaven, and said, From before Me was this thing done, and let both be delivered from judgment. And Jehuda said, Because I gave her not to Shela my son, hath this happened to me. But he added not to know her again. [JERUSALEM. 19. Her veil. 25. Tamar was brought forth to be burned with fire; and she sought the three witnesses but found them not. She lifted up her eyes on high and said For mercy I pray before the Lord. Thou art He, 0 Lord God, who answerest the afflicted in the hour of their affliction ; answer me in this the hour of my affliction, and I will dedicate to thee three saints in the valley of Dura, Hananva, Mishael, and Azarya. [In that hour the Word of the Lord heard the voice of her supplication and said to Mikael Descend, and let her eyes have light....When she saw them, she took them, and cast them before the feet of the judges, saying By the man to whom these belong I am with child. But though I may be burned I declare him not, but confide in the Ruler of all the world the Lord who is witness between me and him, that He will give to the heart of the man to whom these belong, to acknowledge whose are these his ring, and mantle, and staff. [And Jehuda recognised the three witnesses, and arose upon his feet and said, I pray you, my brethren, and ye men of the house of my fathers, to hear me. With the measure that a man measureth shall it be measured to him; whether good measure or evil; and blessed is every man who confesseth his works. Because I took the coat of Joseph my brother and dipped it into the blood of a goat, and brought it before the feet of my father and said to him, Know now whether this be thy son's coat or not, the measure is according to the measure, and the rule to the rule. Better is it for me blush in this world than to blush in the world to come; better to burn with a fire that goes out, than to burn in the fire devouring fire. Let Tamar my daughterinlaw be spared. She hath not conceived a child by fornication, but because I did not give to her Shela my son. [The Bath kol came forth from heaven, and said, Both of you are acquitted in the judgment. The thing was from the Lord. And he added not to know her.] But it was in the time of her giving birth, that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it was in being born that the child stretched forth his hand; and the midwife took it, and bound it with a scarlet thread, saying, This came the first. And after the child had withdrawn his hand, behold, his brother came forth, and she said, With what great power hast thou prevailed, and for thee will it be to prevail; for thou wilt possess the kingdom. And she called his name Pharets. And afterward came forth his brother, upon whose hand was bound the scarlet thread, and she called his name Zarach.
Targum Onkelos - And it was at that time that Jehuda went down from his brethren, and turned aside to an Adulamite man whose name was Hira. And Jehuda saw there the daughter of a merchant man whose name was Shuva, and he took her and went in with her; and she conceived and bare a son, and he called his name Her; and she conceived again, and bare a son, and called his name Onan. And she added again, and bare a son, and called his name Shelah; and he was in Kezib when she bare him. And Jehuda took a wife for Her his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. And Her the firstborn of Jehuda was evil before the Lord, and the Lord caused him to die. And Jehuda said to Onan, Go in with the wife of thy brother, and associate with her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that after his name the seed would not be called; and it was that when he went in with the wife of his brother, he corrupted his way upon the earth that he might not raise up seed unto his brother; and what he did was evil before the Lord, and he caused him also to die. And Jehuda said to Tamar his daughterinlaw, Remain a widow in thy father's house until Shelah my son be grown up. For he said, Lest he also die like his brothers: and Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house. And after many days the daughter of Shuva, Jehuda's wife, died: and Jehuda was comforted; and he went up to the shearers of his sheep, he and Hira the Adulamite his friend unto Timnath. And it was shown to Tamar, saying, Behold, thy fatherinlaw cometh to Timnath to shear his sheep. And she laid aside the dress of her widowhood, and covered herself with a mantle (or a large veil), and adorned herself,[9] and sat in the dividing of Aynin[10] which is in the way to Timnath. For she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him for a wife. And Jehuda saw her, and thought that she was an outcast, because she had covered her face. And he declined to her by the way, and said, Give me now to go in unto thee; for he did not know that she was his daughterinlaw. And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come to me? And he said, I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And she said, If thou wilt give me a pledge until thou send. And he said, What is the pledge that I shall give thee? And she said, Thy sealring, and thy scarf,[11] and thy staff that is in thy hand. And he gave to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. And she arose, and went, and put off the veil from her, and dressed herself in the dress of her widowhood. And Jehuda sent the kid of the goats, by the hand of his friend the Adulamite, to receive the pledge from the hand of the woman; but he could not find her. And he inquired of the men of the place, saying, Where is the harlot who was in Aynin upon the way? And they said to him, There is no harlot here. And he returned to Jehuda, and said, I could not find her; the men of the place also said there is no harlot there. And Jehuda said, Let her take it to her, lest we be in contempt: behold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. And it was three months, and it was showed to Jehuda, saying, Tamar thy daughterinlaw hath committed fornication, and, behold, she is with child by fornication. And Jehuda said, Bring her out, and let her be burned. And she was brought out. And she sent to her fatherinlaw, saying, By the man to whom these belong I am with child. And she said, Acknowledge now, whose are these, the seal, the scarf, and the staff? And Jehuda acknowledged and said, She is justified in having conceived from me, because I have not given her Shelah my son. And he added not again to know her. And it was the time of her giving birth, and, behold, twins were in her womb. And it was in giving birth that one of them put forth a hand; and the midwife took and tied scarlet upon his hand, saying, This came the first. And it was when he had drawn back his hand that his brother came forth: and she said, How much greater strength is with thee, that thou hast prevailed! And she called his name Pharets. And afterwards came forth his brother who had the crimson on his hand, and she called his name Zarah.
Genesis 43:3-5; 8-10
MT - And Judah spoke unto him, saying: 'The man did earnestly forewarn us, saying: Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you. 4 If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee food; 5 but if thou wilt not send him, we will not go down, for the man said unto us: Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.' 8 And Judah said unto Israel his father: 'Send the lad with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also our little ones. 9 I will be surety for him; of my hand shalt thou require him; if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame for ever. 10 For except we had lingered, surely we had now returned a second time.'
LXX - 3 And Judas spoke to him, saying, The man, the lord of the country, positively testified to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, unless your younger brother be with you; 4 If, then, thou send our brother with us, we will go down, and buy thee food; 5 but if thou send not our brother with us, we will not go: for the man spoke to us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, unless your younger brother be with you. 8 And Judas said to his father Israel, Send the boy with me, and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, both we and thou, and our store. 9 And I engage for him; at my hand do thou require him; if I bring him not to thee, and place him before thee, I shall be guilty toward thee for ever. 10 For if we had not tarried, we should now have returned twice.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan - And Jehuda spake to him, saying, The man attesting attested to us saying, You shall not see the sight of my face unless your youngest brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy corn for thee; but if thou wilt not send (him), we will not go down; for the man told us, You shall not see the sight of my face unless your brother be with you; And Jehuda said to Israel his father, Send the youth with me, that we may arise and go; and that we may live and not die, both we, and you, and our little ones. I will be surety for him: of my hand shalt thou require him. If I bring him not to thee again, and set him before thee, the guilt be upon me before thee all days. [JERUSALEM. I will be afar off from the salutation of my father all days.] For unless we had thus delayed, we should already have returned these two times.
Targum Onkelos - And Jehuda spake to him, saying, The man attesting attested to us, saying, You shall not see my face unless your brother be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee corn; but if thou wilt not send, we will not go down: for the man told us, You shall not see my face unless your brother be with you. And Jehuda said to Israel his father, Send the youth with me, and let us arise and go, that we may live and not die, we, and thou, and our little ones. I will be the pledge for him; of my hand shalt thou require him; if I do not bring him back to thee, and set him before thee, let mine be the sin with thee all the days. For except we had delayed in this, we might now have returned twice.
Genesis 44: 14-34
MT - And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's house, and he was yet there; and they fell before him on the ground 15 And Joseph said unto them: 'What deed is this that ye have done? know ye not that such a man as I will indeed divine?' 16 And Judah said: 'What shall we say unto my lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity of thy servants; behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, and he also in whose hand the cup is found.' 17 And he said: 'Far be it from me that I should do so; the man in whose hand the goblet is found, he shall be my bondman; but as for you, get you up in peace unto your father.' 18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said: 'Oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy servant; for thou art even as Pharaoh. 19 My lord asked his servants, saying: Have ye a father, or a brother? 20 And we said unto my lord: We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him. 21 And thou saidst unto thy servants: Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. 22 And we said unto my lord: The lad cannot leave his father; for if he should leave his father, his father would die. 23 And thou saidst unto thy servants: Except your youngest brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. 24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 25 And our father said: Go again, buy us a little food. 26 And we said: We cannot go down; if our youngest brother be with us, then will we go down; for we may not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be with us. 27 And thy servant my father said unto us: Ye know that my wife bore me two sons; 28 and the one went out from me, and I said: Surely he is torn in pieces; and I have not seen him since; 29 and if ye take this one also from me, and harm befall him, ye will bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. 30 Now therefore when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad is not with us; seeing that his soul is bound up with the lad's soul; 31 it will come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is not with us, that he will die; and thy servants will bring down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sorrow to the grave. 32 For thy servant became surety for the lad unto my father, saying: If I bring him not unto thee, then shall I bear the blame to my father for ever. 33 Now therefore, let thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead of the lad a bondman to my lord; and let the lad go up with his brethren. 34 For how shall I go up to my father, if the lad be not with me? lest I look upon the evil that shall come on my father.'
LXX - 14 And Judas and his brethren came in to Joseph, while he was yet there, and fell on the ground before him. 15 And Joseph said to them, What is this thing that ye have done? know ye not that a man such as I can surely divine? 16 And Judas said, What shall we answer to our lord, or what shall we say, or wherein should we be justified? whereas God has discovered the unrighteousness of thy servants; behold, we are slaves to our lord, both we and he with whom the cup has been found. 17 And Joseph said, Far be it from me to do this thing; the man with whom the cup has been found, he shall be my servant; but do ye go up with safety to your father. 18 And Judas drew near him, and said, I pray, Sir, let thy servant speak a word before thee, and be not angry with thy servant, for thou art next to Pharao. 19 Sir, thou askedst thy servants, saying, Have ye a father or a brother? 20 And we said to my lord, We have a father, an old man, and he has a son of his old age, a young one, and his brother is dead, and he alone has been left behind to his mother, and his father loves him. 21 And thou saidst to they servants, Bring him down to me, and I will take care of him. 22 And we said to my lord, The child will not be able to leave his father; but if he should leave his father, he will die. 23 But thou saidst to they servants, Except your younger brother come down with you, ye shall not see my face again. 24 And it came to pass, when we went up to thy servant our father, we reported to him the words of our lord. 25 And our father said, Go again, and buy us a little food. 26 And we said, We shall not be able to go down; but if our younger brother go down with us, we will go down; for we shall not be able to see the man’s face, our younger brother not being with us. 27 And thy servant our father said to us, Ye know that my wife bore me two sons; 28 and one is departed from me; and ye said that he was devoured of wild beasts, and I have not seen him until now. 29 If then ye take this one also from my presence, and an affliction happen to him by the way, then shall ye bring down my old age with sorrow to the grave. 30 Now then, if I should go in to they servant, and our father, and the boy should not be with us, (and his life depends on this lad’s life) 31 —it shall even come to pass, when he sees the boy is not with us, that he will die, and thy servants will bring down the old age of thy servant, and our father, with sorrow to the grave. 32 For thy servant has received the boy in charge from his father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, and place him before thee, I shall be guilty towards my father for ever. 33 Now then I will remain a servant with thee instead of the lad, a domestic of my lord; but let the lad go up with his brethren. 34 For how shall I go up to my father, the lad not being with us? lest I behold the evils which will befall my father. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan - And Jehuda came near to him and said, In implor&endash;ing my lord, let thy servant, I implore, speak a word in the hearing of my lord, and let not thy anger grow strong against thy servant; for at the hour that we came to thee thou didst say to us, I fear before the Lord; and now thy judgments are rendered like (the judgments) of a prince of Pharoh. My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father or a brother? [JERUSALEM. And Jehuda came near him, and said, In beseeching thee, my lord, let thy servant now speak a word in the hearing of my lord, and let not thy anger be strong against thy servant; for at the first time we came down to thee into Mizraim didst thou not tell us, I fear before the Lord? And now thy judgments are returned like the judgments of Pharoh thy lord, by whom thou adjurest. Yet I am honourable as thou art, and my father is honourable as Pharoh thy lord is, by whom thou dost adjure. Can I not swear by the life of the head of my father, and not lie? For if I draw my sword from within its sheath, I would not return it till I had filled all the land of Mizraim with the slain; to its sheath I would not return it, till I had made all Mizraim desolate of inhabitants, beginning with thyself, and ending with Pharoh thy lord, were it not against the will of my father. Or, hath it not been heard by thee, or not told thee, what my two brothers Shimeon and Levi did, who went up against the town of Shekem, while they were dwelling in security, and killed every male by the edge of the sword, because they bad corrupted Dinah our sister, who hath not been numbered in the tribes, nor hath portion or inheritance with us in the dividing of the land? By how much more then (shall it be done) for Benjamin our brother, who is numbered with us among the tribes, and who hath portion and inheritance with us in the dividing of the land ? And in force is more unyielding than theirs, because I have become the sponsor for the youth at the hands of my father, saying, If I bring him not to thee, and set him before thee, I will be guilty with thee and be removed from thy salutation all the days. Hast thou not beard, or hath it not been told thee, that in the land of Kenaan we are kings and princes, as thou art ? [19. When Joseph, the beloved and honourable, saw that the strength of Jehuda his brother bad risen up, and that the thoughts of his heart came forth, and that they rent their garments, in that hour beckoned Joseph to Menasheh his firstborn, and stamped with his shoe; and all Joseph's palace trembled. In that hour Jehuda said, If it bad not been on the side of the house of my father, it would not have been done so. Then began Jehuda to be milder in his words, and he said, My lord asked his servants, saying, Have you a father, or a brother ?] And we told my lord, We have an aged father, and a son of his old age, a little one, whose brother is dead, and he only remains of his mother; and his father on that account loveth him. And thou saidst to thy servants, Bring him down to me, and I will set mine eyes on him for good. [Jerusalem Mine eyes shall be gracious upon him.] But we told my lord, The youth cannot leave his father: for if he leave his father, he will die. Yet thou saidst to thy servants, If you bring not your youngest brother down, you shall not again see my face. And it was when we went up to thy servant our father, we related to him my lord's words. And our father said to us, Return, and buy us a little corn. But we told him, We cannot go down if our youngest brother be not with us when we go down, for we shall not be able to see the man's face, unless our youngest brother be with us. And thy servant our father said to us, You know that my wife bare me two sons. One went forth from me, and I said, Surely he is dead, and I have not beheld him since; and you will now take this other from before me; and if death happen to him, you will bring down mine age with mourning to the house of the grave. Therefore thy servant became surety for the youth with my father, saying, If I restore him not to thee, let me be guilty before my father all the days. And now let thy servant remain, I beseech thee, as the slave of my lord, instead of the young man; and let the young man go up with his brothers. For how can I go up to my father, and the young man be not with us lest I behold the evil that will strike my father through!
Genesis 46:12, 28
12 And the sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul... 28 And he sent Judah before him unto Joseph, to show the way before him unto Goshen; and they came into the land of Goshen.
LXX - 12 And the sons of Judas; Er, and Aunan, and Selom, and Phares, and Zara: and Er and Aunan died in the land of Chanaan. 28 And he sent Judas before him to Joseph, to meet him to the city of Heroes, into the land of Ramesses.
Pseudo-Jonathan - And he sent Jehuda before him to Joseph to indicate the way before him, to subdue the pillars of the earth, and to provide him a house of dwelling in Goshena. And they came to the land of Goshen. [JERUSALEM. To prepare him a place of habitation in Goshena.]
Genesis 49:8-12 (Jacob’s Blessing)
MT - Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father's sons shall bow down before thee. 9 Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, thou art gone up. He stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? 10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from betwee his feet, as long as men come to Shiloh; and unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be. 11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washeth his garments in wine, and his vesture in the blood of grapes; 12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
LXX - 8 Juda, thy brethren have praised thee, and thy hands shall be on the back of thine enemies; thy father’s sons shall do thee reverence. 9 Juda is a lion’s whelp: from the tender plant, my son, thou art gone up, having couched thou liest as a lion, and as a whelp; who shall stir him up? 10 A ruler shall not fail from Juda, nor a prince from his loins, until there come the things stored up for him; and he is the expectation of nations. 11 Binding his foal to the vine, and the foal of his ass to the branch of it, he shall wash his robe in wine, and his garment in the blood of the grape. 12 His eyes shall be more cheering than wine, and his teeth whiter than milk.
Tg Pseudo-Jonathan - Jehuda, thou didst make confession in the matter of Tamar: therefore shall thy brethren confess[4] thee, and shall be called Jehudain from thy name. Thy hand shall avenge thee of thy adversaries, in throwing arrows upon them when they turn their backs before thee; and the sons of thy fathers shall come before thee with salutations. I will liken thee, my son Jehuda, to a whelp, the young of a lion; for from the killing of Joseph my son thou didst uplift thy soul, and from the judgment of Tamar thou wast free. He dwelleth quietly and in strength, as a lion; and as an old lion when he reposeth, who may stir him up? Kings shall not cease, nor rulers, from the house of Jehuda, nor sapherim teaching the law from his seed, till the time that the King the Meshiha, shall come, the youngest of his sons; and on account of him shall the peoples flow together How beauteous is the King, the Meshiha who will arise from the house of Jehuda! He hath girded his loins, and descended, and arrayed the battle against his adversaries, Slaying kings with their rulers; neither is there any king or ruler who shall stand before him. The mountains become red with the blood of their slain; his garments, dipped in blood, are like the outpressed juice of grapes. How beautiful are the eyes of the king Meshiha, as the pure wine! He cannot look upon what is unclean, nor on the shedding of the blood of the innocent; and his teeth, purer than milk, cannot eat that which is stolen or torn; and therefore his mountains are red with wine, and his hills white with corn, and with the cotes of flocks.
Tg Onkelos - Jehuda, thou art praise and not shame; thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall prevail against thine adversaries, thine enemies shall be dispersed; they will be turned backward before thee, and the sons of thy father will come before thee with salutations. The dominion shall be (thine) in the beginning, and in the end the kingdom shall be increased from the house of Jehuda, because from the judgment of death, my son, hast thou withdrawn.[12] He shall repose, and abide in strength as a lion, and as a lioness, there shall be no king that may cut him off. He who exerciseth dominion shall not pass away from the house of Jehuda, nor the saphra from his children's children for ever, until the Meshiha come, whose is the kingdom, and unto whom shall be the obedience of the nations (or, whom the peoples shall obey). Israel shall pass round about in his cities; the people shall build his temple, they will be righteous round about him, and be doers of the law through his doctrine. Of goodly purple will be his raiment, and his vesture of crimson wool with colours.[13] His mountains shall be red with his vineyards, and his hills be dropping with wine; his valleys shall be white with corn, and with flocks of sheep.
Exodus 1:1-4
MT - Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt with Jacob; every man came with his household: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah;3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher. LXX - :1 These are the names of the sons of Israel that came into Egypt together with Jacob their father; they came in each with their whole family. 2 Ruben, Simeon, Levi, Judas, 3 Issachar, Zabulon, Benjamin, 4 Dan and Nephthalim, Gad and Aser.
Post-Exilic Texts
Chronicles 2:1-4
MT - These are the sons of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun; 2 Dan, Joseph, and Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. 3 The sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah; which three were born unto him of Bath-shua the Canaanitess. And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and He slew him. 4 And Tamar his daughter-in-law bore him Perez and Zerah. All the sons of Judah were five.
LXX - 2:1 These are the names of the sons of Israel; 2 Ruben, Symeon, Levi, Juda, Issachar, Zabulon, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Nephthali, Gad, Aser. 3 The sons of Juda; Er, Aunan, Selom. These three were born to him of the daughter of Sava the Chananitish woman: and Er, the first-born of Juda, was wicked before the Lord, and he slew him. 4 And Thamar his daughter-in-law bore to him Phares, and Zara: all the sons of Juda were five.
Jubilees
Jub. 28:15 -- And again Jacob went in unto her, and she conceived, and bare him a fourth son, and he called his name Judah, on the fifteenth of the third month, in the first year of the fourth week.
Jub. 31:18-20 -- And to Judah he said: 'May the Lord give thee strength and power to tread down all that hate thee; A prince shalt thou be, thou and one of thy sons, over the sons of Jacob; May thy name and the name of thy sons go forth and traverse every land and region. Then shall the Gentiles fear before thy face, And all the nations shall quake [And all the peoples shall quake]. 19 In thee shall be the help of Jacob, And in thee be found the salvation of Israel. 20 And when thou sittest on the throne of honour of thy righteousness There shall be great peace for all the seed of the sons of the beloved; Blessed be he that blesseth thee, And all that hate thee and afflict thee and curse thee Shall be rooted out and destroyed from the earth and be accursed.'
Jub. 38:1, 5 -- And after that Judah spake to Jacob, his father, and said unto him: 'Bend thy bow, father, and send forth thy arrows and cast down the adversary and slay the enemy; and mayst thou have the power, for we shall not slay thy brother, for he is such as thou, and he is like thee: let us give him 2 (this) honour.' Then Jacob bent his bow and sent forth the arrow and struck Esau, his brother on his right breast and slew him. ...[5] And Judah went forth in front, and Naphtali and Gad with him and fifty servants with him on the south side of the tower, and they slew all they found before them, and not one individual of them escaped.
Jub. 41:1-28 -- And in the forty-fifth jubilee, in the second week, (and) in the second year, Judah took for his first-born Er, a wife from the daughters of Aram, named .Tamar. 2 But he hated, and did not lie with her, because his mother was of the daughters of Canaan, and he wished to take him a wife of the kinsfolk of his mother, but Judah, his father, would not permit him. 3 And this Er, the first-born of Judah, was wicked, and the Lord slew him. 4 And Judah said unto Onan, his brother: 'Go in unto thy brother's wife and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her, and raise up seed unto thy brother.' And 5 Onan knew that the seed would not be his, (but) his brother's only, and he went into the house of his brother's wife, and spilt the seed on the ground, and he was wicked in the eyes of the Lord, and He slewhim. 6 And Judah said unto Tamar, his daughter-in-law: 'Remain in thy father's house as a widow till Shelah my son be grown up, and I shall give thee to him to wife.' 7 And he grew up; but Bedsuel, the wife of Judah, did not permit her son Shelah to marry. And Bedsuel, the wife of Judah, died in the fifth year of this week. 8 And in the sixth year Judah went up to shear his sheep at Timnah. And they told Tamar: 'Behold thy father-in-law goeth up to Timnah to shear his sheep.' 9 And she put off her widow's clothes, and put on a veil, and adorned herself, and sat in the gate adjoining the way to Timnah. 10 And as Judah was going along he found her, and thought her to be an harlot, and he said unto her: 'Let me come in unto thee'; and she said unto him: 'Come in,' and he went in. 11 And she said unto him: 'Give me my hire'; and he said unto her: 'I have nothing in my hand save my ring that is on my finger, and my necklace, and my staff which is in my hand.' 12 And she said unto him: 'Give them to me until thou dost send me my hire'; and he said unto her: 'I will send unto thee a kid of the goats'; and he gave them to her, and he went in unto her, and she conceived by him. 13 And Judah went unto his sheep, and she went to her father's house. And Judah sent a kid of the goats by the hand of his shepherd, an Adullamite, and he found her not; and he asked the people of the place, saying: 'Where is the harlot who was here?' And they said unto him; 'There is no harlot here with us.' [14] 15 And he returned and informed him, and said unto him that he had not found her; 'I asked the people of the place, and they said unto me: "There is no harlot here."' And he said: 'Let her keep (them) lest we become a cause of derision.' 16 And when she had completed three months, it was manifest that she was with child, and they told Judah, saying: 'Behold Tamar, thy daughter-in-law, is with child by whoredom.' 17 And Judah went to the house of her father, and said unto her father and her brothers: 'Bring her forth, and let them burn her, for she hath wrought uncleanness in Israel.' 18 And it came to pass when they brought her forth to burn her that she sent to her father-in-law the ring and the necklace, and the staff, saying: 'Discern whose are these, for by him am I with child.' 19 And Judah acknowledged, and said: 'Tamar is more righteous than I am. 20 And therefore let them burn her not.' And for that reason she was not given to Shelah, and he did not again approach her. 21 And after that she bare two sons, Perez and Zerah, in the seventh year of this second week. 22 And thereupon the seven years of fruitfulness were accomplished, of which Joseph spake to Pharaoh. 23 And Judah acknowledged that the deed which he had done was evil, for he had lain with his daughter-in-law, and he esteemed it hateful in his eyes, and he acknowledged that he had transgressed and gone astray, for he had uncovered the skirt of his son, and he began to lament and to supplicate before the Lord because of his transgression. 24 And we told him in a dream that it was forgiven him because he supplicated earnestly, and lamented, and did not again commit it. 25 And he received forgiveness because he turned from his sin and from his ignorance, for he transgressed greatly before our God; and every one that acts thus, every one who lies with his mother-in-law, let them burn him with fire that he may burn therein, for there is uncleanness and pollution upon them; with fire let them burn them. 26 And do thou command the children of Israel that there be no uncleanness amongst them, for every one who lies with his daughter-in-law or with his mother-in-law hath wrought uncleanness; with fire let them burn the man who has lain with her, and likewise the woman, and He will turn away wrath and punishment from Israel. 27 And unto Judah we said that his two sons had not lain with her, and for this reason his seed was established for a second generation, and would not be rooted out. 28 For in singleness of eye he had gone and sought for punishment, namely, according to the judgment of Abraham, which he had commanded his sons, Judah had sought to burn her with fire.
Jub. 42:17-19 -- And Israel saw that if he did not send him with them, they should all perish by reason of the famine. 18 And Reuben said: 'Give him into my hand, and if I do not bring him back to thee, slay my two sons instead of his soul.' 19 And he said unto him: 'He shall not go with thee.' And Judah came near and said: 'Send him with me, and if I do not bring him back to thee, let me bear the blame before thee all the days of my life.'
Jub. 43:10-13 -- And Joseph said unto them: 'I too fear the Lord; as for you, go ye to your homes and let your brother be my servant, for ye have done evil. Know ye not that a man delights in his cup as I with this cup? 11 And yet ye have stolen it from me.' And Judah said: 'O my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord's ear; two brothers did thy servant's mother bear to our father; one went away and was lost, and hath not been found, and he alone is left of his mother, and thy servant our father loves him, and his life also is bound up with the life of this (lad). 12 And it will come to pass, when we go to thy servant our father, and the lad is not with us, that he will die, and we shall bring down our father with sorrow unto death. 13 Now rather let me, thy servant, abide instead of the boy as a bondsman unto my lord, and let the lad go with his brethren, for I became surety for him at the hand of thy servant our father, and if I do not bring him back, thy servant will bear the blame to our father for ever.'
Jub. 44:15 -- Judah and his sons; and these are the names of his sons: Shela, and Perez, and Zerah--four.
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs
THE TESTAMENT OF JUDAH, THE FOURTH SON OF JACOB AND LEAH
1 1, 2 The copy of the words of Judah, what things he spake to his sons before he died. They gathered 3 themselves together, therefore, and came to him, and he said to them: Hearken, my children, to Judah your father. I was the fourth son born to my father Jacob; and Leah my mother named 4 me Judah, saying, I give thanks to the Lord, because He hath given me a fourth son also. I was 5 swift in my youth, and obedient to my father in everything. And I honoured my mother and my 6 mother's sister. And it came to pass, when I became a man, that my father blessed me, saying, Thou shalt be a king, prospering in all things.
2 1, 2 And the Lord showed me favour in all my works both in the field and in the house. I know that 3 I raced a hind, and caught it, and prepared the meat for my father, and he did eat. And the roes I used to master in the chase, and overtake all that was in the plains. A wild mare I overtook, and 4 caught it and tamed it. I slew a lion and plucked a kid out of its mouth. I took a bear by its paw 5 and hurled it down the cliff, and it was crushed. I outran the wild boar, and seizing it as I ran, 6 I tore it in sunder. A leopard in Hebron leaped upon my dog, and I caught it by the tail, and 7 hurled it on the rocks, and it was broken in twain. I found a wild ox feeding in the fields, and seizing it by the horns, and whirling it round and stunning it, I cast it from me and slew it.
3 1 And when the two kings of the Canaanites came sheathed in armour against our flocks, and much people with them, single-handed I rushed upon the king of Hazor, and smote him on the greaves 2 and dragged him down, and so I Slew him. And the other, the king of Tappuah, as he sat upon his 3 horse, [I slew, and so I scattered all his people. Achor the king] a man of giant stature I found, hurling javelins before and behind as he sat on horseback, and I took up a stone of sixty pounds 4 weight, and hurled it and smote his horse, and killed it. And I fought with (this) other for two 5 hours; and I clave his shield in twain, and I chopped off his feet, and killed him. And as I was 6 stripping off his breastplate, behold nine men his companions began to fight with me. And I wound my garment on my hand; and I slung stones at them, and killed four of them, and the rest fled. 7 And Jacob my father slew Beelesath, king of all the kings, a giant in strength, twelve cubits high. 8, 9 And fear fell upon them, and they ceased warring against us. Therefore my father was free from 10 anxiety in the wars when I was with my brethren. For he saw in a vision concerning me that an angel of might followed me everywhere, that I should not be overcome.
4 1 And in the south there came upon us a greater war than that in Shechem; and I joined in battle array with my brethren, and pursued a thousand men, and slew of them two hundred men and 2, 3 four kings. And I went up upon the wall, and I slew four mighty men. And so we captured Hazor, and took all the spoil.
5 1 On the next day we departed to Aretan, a city strong and walled and inaccessible, threatening us 2 with death. But I and Gad approached on the east side of the city, and Reuben and Levi on the 3 west. And they that were upon the wall, thinking that we were alone, were drawn down against 4 us. And so my brothers secretly climbed up the wall on both sides by stakes, and entered the city, 5 while the men knew it not. And we took it with the edge of the sword. And as for those who had taken refuge in the tower, we set fire to the tower and took both it and them. 6 And as we were departing the men of Tappuah set upon our spoil, and delivering it up to our sons we fought with them as far as Tappuah. 7 And we slew them and burnt their city, and took as spoil all that was in it.
6 1, 2 And when I was at the waters of Kozeba, the men of Jobel came against us to battle. And we fought with them and routed them; and their allies from Shiloh we slew, and we did not leave 3 them power to come in against us. And the men of Makir came upon us the fifth day, to seize our spoil; and we attacked them and overcame them in fierce battle: for there was a host of mighty 4 men amongst them, and we slew them before they had gone up the ascent. And when we came to 5 their city their women rolled upon us stones from the brow of the hill on which the city stood, And I and Simeon hid ourselves behind the town, and seized upon the heights, and destroyed this city also.
7 1 And the next day it was told us that the king of the city of Gaash with a mighty host was coming 2 against us. I, therefore, and Dan feigned ourselves to be Amorites, and as allies went into their 3 city. And in the depth of night our brethren came and we opened to them the gates; and we destroyed all the men and their substance, and we took for a prey all that was theirs, and their three 4 walls we cast down. And we drew near to Thamna, where was all the substance of the hostile kings. Then being insulted by them, I was therefore wroth, and rushed against them to the summit; and 6 they kept slinging against me stones and darts. And had not Dan my brother aided me, they would 7 have slain me. We came upon them, therefore, with wrath, and they all fled; and passing by 8 another way, they besought my father, and he made peace with them. And we did to them no hurt, 9 and they became tributary to us, and we restored to them their spoil. And I built Thamna, and my 10 father built Pabael. I was twenty years old when this war befell. And the Canaanites feared me and my brethren.
8 1, 2 And I had much cattle, and I had for chief herdsman Iram the Adullamite. And when I went to him I saw Parsaba, king of Adullam; and he spake unto us, and he made us a feast; 3 and when I was heated he gave me his daughter Bathshua to wife. She bare me Er, and Onan and Shelah; and two of them the Lord smote: for Shelah lived, and his children are ye.
9 1 And eighteen years my father abode in peace with his brother Esau, and his sons with us, after 2 that we came from Mesopotamia, from Laban. And when eighteen years were fulfilled, in the fortieth year of my life, Esau, the brother of my father, came upon us with a mighty and strong 3 people. And Jacob smote Esau with an arrow, and he was taken up wounded on Mount Seir, and 4 as he went he died at Anoniram. And we pursued after the sons of Esau. Now they had a city with walls of iron and gates of brass; and we could not enter into it, and we encamped around, and 5 besieged it. And when they opened not to us in twenty days, I set up a ladder in the sight of all and with my shield upon my head I went up, sustaining the assault of stones, upwards of three 6, 7 talents weight; and I slew four of their mighty men. And Reuben and Gad slew six others. Then they asked from us terms of peace; and having taken counsel with our father, we received them as 8 tributaries. And they gave us five hundred cors of wheat, five hundred baths of oil, five hundred measures of wine, until the famine, when we went down into Egypt.
10 1 And after these things my son Er took to wife Tamar, from Mesopotamia, a daughter of Aram. 2 Now Er was wicked, and he was in need concerning Tamar, because she was not of the land 3 of Canaan. And on the third night an angel of the Lord smote him. And he had not known her according to the evil craftiness of his mother, for he did not wish to have children by her. In the days of the wedding-feast I gave Onan to her in marriage; and he also in wickedness knew her not, 5 though he spent with her a year. And when I threatened him he went in unto her, but he spilled the seed on the ground, according to the command of his mother, and he also died through wickedness. 6 And I wished to give Shelah also to her, but his mother did not permit it; for she wrought evil against Tamar, because she was not of the daughters of Canaan, as she also herself was.
11 1 And I knew that the race of the Canaanites was wicked, but the impulse of youth blinded my 2 mind. And when I saw her pouring out wine, owing to the intoxication of wine I was deceived, and 3 took her although my father had not counselled (it). And while I was away she went and took for 4 Shelah a wife from Canaan. And when I knew what she had done, I cursed her in the anguish of 5 my soul. And she also died through her wickedness together with her sons.
12 1 And after these things, while Tamar was a widow, she heard after two years that I was going up 2 to shear my sheep, and adorned herself in bridal array, and sat in the city Enaim by the gate. For it was a law of the Amorites, that she who was about to marry should sit in fornication seven days 3 by the gate. Therefore being drunk with wine, I did not recognize her; and her beauty deceived 4 me, through the fashion of her adorning. And I turned aside to her, and said: Let me go in unto thee. And she said: What wilt thou give me? And I gave her my staff, and my girdle, and the 5 diadem of my kingdom in pledge. And I went in unto her, and she conceived. And not knowing 6 what I had done, I wished to slay her; but she privily sent my pledges, and put me to shame. And when I called her, I heard also the secret words which I spoke when lying with her in my drunkenness; 7 and I could not slay her, because it was from the Lord. For I said, Lest haply she did it in 8 subtlety, having received the pledge from another woman. But I came not again near her while 9 I lived, because I had done this abomination in all Israel. Moreover, they who were in the city said there was no harlot in the gate, because she came from another place, and sat for a while in the 10, 11 gate. And I thought that no one knew that I had gone in to her. And after this we came into 12 Egypt to Joseph, because of the famine. And I was forty and six years old, and seventy and three years lived I in Egypt.
13 1 And now I command you, my children, hearken to Judah your father, and keep my sayings to 2 perform all the ordinances of the Lord, and to obey the commands of God. And walk not after your lusts, nor in the imaginations of your thoughts in haughtiness of heart; and glory not in the deeds 3 and strength of your youth, for this also is evil in the eyes of the Lord. Since I also gloried that in wars no comely woman's face ever enticed me, and reproved Reuben my brother concerning Bilhah, the wife of my father, the spirits of jealousy and of fornication arrayed themselves against me, until I lay with Bathshua the Canaanite, and Tamar, who was espoused to my sons. For I said to my father-in-law: I will take counsel with my father, and so will I take thy daughter. And he was unwilling, but he showed me a boundless store of gold in his daughter's behalf; for he was 5 a king. And he adorned her with gold and pearls, and caused her to pour out wine for us at the 6 feast with the beauty of women. And the wine turned aside my eyes, and pleasure blinded my 7 heart. And I became enamoured of and I lay with her, and transgressed the commandment of the 8 Lord and the commandment of my fathers, and I took her to wife. And the Lord rewarded me according to the imagination of my heart, inasmuch as I had no joy in her children.
14 1 And now, my children, I say unto you, be not drunk with wine; for wine turneth the mind away 2 from the truth, and inspires the passion of lust, and leadeth the eyes into error. For the spirit of fornication hath wine as a minister to give pleasure to the mind; for these two also take away the 3 mind of man. For if a man drink wine to drunkenness, it disturbeth the mind with filthy thoughts leading to fornication, and heateth the body to carnal union; and if the occasion of the lust be 4 present, he worketh the sin, and is not ashamed. Such is the inebriated man, my children; for he 5 who is drunken reverenceth no man. For, lo, it made me also to err, so that I was not ashamed of the multitude in the city, in that before the eyes of all I turned aside unto Tamar, and I wrought 6 a great sin, and I uncovered the covering of my sons' shame. After I had drunk wine I reverenced 7 not the commandment of God, and I took a woman of Canaan to wife. For much discretion needeth the man who drinketh wine, my children; and herein is discretion in drinking wine a man 8 may drink so long as he preserveth modesty. But if he go beyond this limit the spirit of deceit attacketh his mind, and it maketh the drunkard to talk filthily, and to transgress and not to be ashamed, but even to glory in his shame, and to account himself honourable.
15 1 He that committeth fornication is not aware when he suffers loss, and is not ashamed when put 2 to dishonour. For even though a man be a king and commit fornication, he is stripped of his 3 kingship by becoming the slave of fornication, as I myself also suffered. For I gave my staff, that is, the stay of my tribe; and my girdle, that is, my power; and my diadem, that is, the glory of my 4 kingdom. And indeed I repented of these things; wine and flesh I eat not until my old age, nor 5 did I behold any joy. And the angel of God showed me that for ever do women bear rule over 6 king and beggar alike. And from the king they take away his glory, and from the valiant man his might, and from the beggar even that little which is the stay of his poverty.
16 1 Observe, therefore, my children, the (rights limit in wine; for there are in it four evil spirits--- of 2 lust, of hot desire, of profligacy of filthy lucre. If ye drink wine in gladness, be ye modest in the fear of God. For if in (your) gladness the fear of God departeth, then drunkenness ariseth and 3 shamelessness stealeth in. But if ye would live soberly do not touch wine at all, lest ye sin in words of outrage, and in fightings and slanders, and transgressions of the commandments of God, 4 and ye perish before your time. Moreover, wine revealeth the mysteries of God and men, even as I also revealed the commandments of God and the mysteries of Jacob my father to the Canaanitish 5 woman Bathshua, which God bade me not to reveal. And wine is a cause both of war and confusion.
17 1 And now, I command you, my children, not to love money, nor to gaze upon the beauty of women; because for the sake of money and beauty I was led astray to Bathshua the Canaanite. 2, 3 [For I know that because of these two things shall my race fall into wickedness. For even wise men among my sons shall they mar, and shall cause the kingdom of Judah to be diminished, which 4 the Lord gave me because of my obedience to my father. For I never caused grief to Jacob, my 5 father: for all things whatsoever he commanded I did. And Isaac, the father of my father, blessed 6 me to be king in Israel, and Jacob further blessed me in like manner. And I know that from me shall the kingdom be established.
18 1 And I know what evils ye will do in the last days.] 2 Beware, therefore, my children, of fornication, and the love of money, and hearken to Judah your father. 3 For these things withdraw you from the law of God, And blind the inclination of the soul, And teach arrogance, And suffer not a man to have compassion upon his neighbour 4 They rob his soul of all goodness, And oppress him with toils and troubles, And drive away sleep from him, And devour his flesh. 5 And he hindereth the sacrifices of God; And he remembereth not the blessing of God, He hearkeneth not to a prophet when he speaketh, And resenteth the words of godliness. 6 For he is a slave to two contrary passions, And cannot obey God, Because they have blinded his soul, And he walketh in the day as in the night.
19 1 My children, the love of money leadeth to idolatry; because, when led astray through money, men name as gods those who are not gods, and it causeth him who hath it to fall into madness 2 For the sake of money I lost my children, and had not my repentance, and my humiliation, and 3 the prayers of my father been accepted, I should have died childless. But the God of my fathers 4 had mercy on me, because I did it in ignorance. And the prince of deceit blinded me, and I sinned as a man and as flesh, being corrupted through sins; and I learnt my own weakness while thinking myself invincible.
20 1 Know, therefore, my children, that two spirits wait upon man the spirit of truth and the spirit 2 of deceit. And in the midst is the spirit of understanding of the mind, to which it belongeth to turn whithersoever it will. 3 And the works of truth and the works of deceit are written upon the hearts of men, and each one of them the Lord knoweth. 4 And there is no time at which the works of men can be hid; for on the heart itself have they been 5 written down before the Lord. And the spirit of truth testifieth all things, and accuseth all; and the sinner is burnt up by his own heart, and cannot raise his face to the judge.
21 1 And now, my children, I command you, love Levi, that ye may abide, and exalt not yourselves 2 against him, lest ye be utterly destroyed. For to me the Lord gave the kingdom, and to him the 3 priesthood, and He set the kingdom beneath the priesthood. To me He gave the things upon the 4 earth; to him the things in the heavens. As the heaven is higher than the earth, so is the priesthood of God higher than the earthly kingdom, unless it falls away through sin from the Lord and is 5 dominated by the earthly kingdom. For the angel of the Lord said unto me: The Lord chose him rather than thee, to draw near to Him, and to eat of His table and to offer Him the first-fruits of the choice things of the sons of Israel; but thou shalt be king of Jacob. 6 And thou shalt be amongst them as the sea. For as, on the sea, just and unjust are tossed about, some taken into captivity while some are enriched, so also shall every race of men be in thee: some shall be impoverished, being taken captive, and others grow rich by plundering the possessions of others. 7 For the kings shall be as sea-monsters. They shall swallow men like fishes: The sons and daughters of free men shall they enslave; Houses, lands, flocks, money shall they plunder: 8 And with the flesh of many shall they wrongfully feed the ravens and the cranes; And they shall advance in evil, in covetousness uplifted, 9 And there shall be false prophets like tempests, And they shall persecute all righteous men.
22 1 And the Lord shall bring upon them divisions one against another. And there shall be continual wars in Israel; 2 And among men of another race shall my kingdom be brought to an end, Until the salvation of Israel shall come, Until the appearing of the God of righteousness, That Jacob [and all the Gentiles] may rest in peace. 3 And He shall guard the might of my kingdom for ever; For the Lord sware to me with an oath that He would not destroy the kingdom from my seed for ever.
23 1 Now I have much grief, my children, because of your lewdness and witchcrafts, and idolatries which ye shall practise against the kingdom, following them that have familiar spirits, diviners, and 2 demons of error. Ye shall make your daughters singing girls and harlots, and ye shall mingle in 3 the abominations of the Gentiles. For which things' sake the Lord shall bring upon you famine and pestilence, death and the sword, beleaguering by enemies, and revilings of friends, the slaughter of children, the rape of wives, the plundering of possessions, the burning of the temple of God,] the 4 laying waste of the land, the enslavement of yourselves among the Gentiles. And they shall make some of you eunuchs for their wives. 5 Until the Lord visit you, when with perfect heart ye repent and walk in all His commandments; and He bring you up from captivity among the Gentiles.
24 1 And after these things shall a star arise to you from Jacob in peace, And a man shall arise [from my seed], like the sun of righteousness, walking with the sons of men in meekness and righteousness; And no sin shall be found in him. 2 and the heavens shall be open unto him, To pour out the spirit, (even) the blessing of the Holy Father; 3 And He shall pour out the spirit of grace upon you; And ye shall be unto Him sons in truth, And ye shall walk in His commandments first and last. 4 [This Branch of God Most High, And this Fountain giving life unto all.] 5 Then shall the sceptre of my kingdom shine forth; And from your root shall arise a stem; 6 And from it shall grow a rod of righteousness to the Gentiles, To judge and to save all that call upon the Lord.
26 1 And after these things shall Abraham and Isaac and Jacob arise unto life, and I and my brethren shall be chiefs of the tribes of Israel: Levi first, I the second, Joseph third, Benjamin fourth, 2 Simeon fifth; Issachar sixth, and so all in order. And the Lord blessed Levi, and the Angel of the Presence, me; the powers of glory, Simeon; the heaven, Reuben; the earth, Issachar; the sea, Zebulun; the mountains, Joseph; the tabernacle, Benjamin; the luminaries, Dan; Eden, Naphtali; the sun, Gad; the moon, Asher. 3 And ye shall be the people of the Lord, and have one tongue; And there shall be there no spirit of deceit of Beliar, For he shall be cast into the fire for ever. 4 And they who have died in grief shall arise in joy , And they who were poor for the Lord's sake shall be made rich, And they who are put to death for the Lord's sake shall awake to life. 5 And the harts of Jacob shall run in joyfulness, And the eagles of Israel shall fly in gladness; And all the people shall glorify the Lord for ever.
26 1 Observe, therefore, my children, all the law of the Lord, for there is hope for all them who hold 2 fast unto His ways. And he said to them: Behold, I die before your eyes this day, a hundred and 3 nineteen years old. Let no one bury me in costly apparel, nor tear open my bowels, for this 4 shall they who are kings do; and carry me up to Hebron with you. And Judah, when he had said these things, fell asleep; and his sons did according to all whatsoever he commanded them, and they buried him in Hebron, with his fathers.
The Testament of Reuben
1 Two years after the death of Joseph his 3 brother, when Reuben fell ill, his sons and his sons' sons were gathered together to visit him. And 4 he said to them: My children, behold I am dying, and go the way of my fathers. And seeing there Judah, and Gad, and Asher, his brethren, he said to them: Raise me up, that I may tell to my brethren and to my children what things I have hidden in my heart, for behold now at length 5 I am passing away.
6:7 For to Levi God gave the sovereignty [and to Judah with him and to me also, and to Dan and 8 Joseph, that we should be for rulers]. …And draw ye near to Levi in humbleness of heart, that ye may receive 11 a blessing from his mouth. For he shall bless Israel and Judah, because him hath the Lord chosen to 12 be king over all the nation
The Testament of Simeon
2 For when I went to Shechem to bring ointment for the flocks, and Reuben to Dothan, where were our necessaries and all our stores, Judah my brother sold him to the Ishmaelites. 10 And when Reuben heard these things he was grieved, for he wished to restore him to his father. 11 But on hearing this I was exceedingly wroth against Judah in that he let him go away alive, and 12 for five months I continued wrathful against him.
5 For I have seen it inscribed in the writing of Enoch that your sons shall be corrupted in fornication, 5 and shall do harm to the sons of Levi with the sword. But they shall not be able to withstand Levi; 6 for he shall wage the war of the Lord, and shall conquer all your hosts. And they shall be few in number, divided in Levi and Judah, and there shall be none of you for sovereignty, even as also our father prophesied in his blessings.
7 1 And now, my children, obey Levi and Judah, and be not lifted up against these two tribes, for 2 from them shall arise unto you the salvation of God. For the Lord shall raise up from Levi as it were a High-priest, and from Judah as it were a King [God and man], He shall save all [the Gentiles 3 and] the race of Israel. Therefore I give you these commands that ye also may command your children that they may observe them throughout their generations.
The Testament of Levi
2 11 And by thee and Judah shall the Lord appear among men Saving every race of men. 12 And from the Lord's portion shall be thy life, And He shall be thy field and vineyard, And fruits, gold, and silver. 8 And they (seven men) said to me: Levi, thy 12 seed shall be divided into three offices, for a sign of the glory of the Lord who is to come. And the 13 first portion shall be great; yea, greater than it shall none be. The second shall be in the priesthood. 14 And the third shall be called by a new name, because a king shall arise in Judah, and shall 15 establish a new priesthood, after the fashion of the Gentiles [to all the Gentiles].
9 1, 2 And after two days I and Judah went up with our father Jacob to Isaac our father's father. And my father's father blessed me according to all the words of the visions which I had seen
The Testament of Issachar
5 For our father Jacob blessed me with blessings of the earth and of 7 first-fruits. And Levi and Judah were glorified by the Lord even among the sons of Jacob; for the Lord gave them an inheritance, and to Levi He gave the priesthood, and to Judah the kingdom. 8 And do ye therefore obey them, and walk in the singleness of your father; [for unto Gad hath it been given to destroy the troops that are coming upon Israel].
The Testament of Zebulun
4 1 And after he was sold my brothers sat down 2 to eat and drink. But I, through pity for Joseph, did not eat, but watched the pit, since Judah feared lest Simeon, Dan, and Gad should rush 3 off and slay him.
The Testament of Dan
5 4 I know that in the last days ye shall depart from the Lord, And ye shall provoke Levi unto anger, And fight against Judah; But ye shall not prevail against them, For an angel of the Lord shall guide them both; For by them shall Israel stand.
7 And my sons will draw near to Levi. And sin with them in all things; And the sons of Judah will be covetous, Plundering other men's goods like lions.] 8 Therefore shall ye be led away [with them] into captivity, And there shall ye receive all the plagues of Egypt, And all the evils of the Gentiles. 9 And so when ye return to the Lord ye shall obtain mercy, And He shall bring you into His sanctuary, And He shall give you peace. 10 And there shall arise unto you from the tribe of [Judah and of] Levi the salvation of the Lord; And he shall make war against Beliar
The Testament of Naphtali
5 1 For in the fortieth year of my life, I saw a vision on the Mount of Olives, on the east of Jerusalem, 2 that the sun and the moon were standing still. And behold Isaac, the father of my father, said to us; Run and lay hold of them, each one according to his strength; and to him that seizeth them 3 will the sun and moon belong . And we all of us ran together, and Levi laid hold of the sun, and Judah outstripped the others and seized the moon, and they were both of them lifted up with them. 4 And when Levi became as a sun, lo, a certain young man gave to him twelve branches of palm; 5 and Judah was bright as the moon, and under their feet were twelve rays. [And the two, Levi and 6 Judah, ran, and laid hold of them.] And 10, a bull upon the earth, with two great horns, and an 7 eagle's wings upon its back; and we wished to seize him; but could not. But Joseph came, and 8 seized him, and ascended up with him on high. And I saw, for I was there, and behold a holy writing appeared to us, saying: Assyrians, Medes, Persians, [Chaldeans,] Syrians, shall possess in captivity the twelve tribes of Israel.
6 1 And again, after seven days, I saw our father Jacob standing by the sea of Jamnia, and we were 2 with him. And behold, there came a ship sailing by, without sailors or pilot; and there was written 3 upon the ship, The Ship of Jacob. And our father said to us: Come, let us embark on our ship. 4 And when he had gone on board, there arose a vehement storm, and a mighty tempest of wind; and 5 our father, who was holding the helm, departed from us. And we, being tossed with the tempest, were borne along over the sea; and the ship was filled with water, (and was) pounded by mighty waves, 6 until it was broken up. And Joseph fled away upon a little boat, and we were all divided upon nine 7 planks, and Levi and Judah were together. And we were all scattered unto the ends of the earth. 8, 9 Then Levi, girt about with sackcloth, prayed for us all unto the Lord. And when the storm ceased, the ship reached the land as it were in peace. And, 10, our father came, and we all rejoiced with one accord.
8 1 And lo! my children, I have shown unto you the last times, how everything shall come to pass in 2 Israel. Do ye also, therefore, charge your children that they be united to Levi and to Judah; For through them shall salvation arise unto Israel, And in them shall Jacob be blessed. 3 For through their tribes shall God appear [dwelling among men] on earth, To save the race of Israel, And to gather together the righteous from amongst the Gentiles.
The Testament of Gad
1 And Joseph told our father that the sons of Zilpah and Bilhah were slaying the best of the flock and eating them against the judgement of Reuben and Judah. 7 For he saw that I had delivered a lamb out of the mouth of a bear, and put the bear to death; but 8 had slain the lamb, being grieved concerning it that it could not live, and that we had eaten it. And 9 regarding this matter I was wroth with Joseph until the day that he was sold, And the spirit of hatred was in me, and I wished not either to hear of Joseph with the ears, or see him with the eyes because he rebuked us to our faces saying that we were eating of the flock without Judah.
8 1 Do ye also therefore tell these things to your children, that they honour Judah and Levi, for from 2 them shall the Lord raise up salvation to Israel.
The Testament of Joseph
Do ye therefore, my children, observe the commandments of the Lord, and honour Levi and Judah; for from them shall arise unto you [the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world] one who saveth [all the Gentiles and] Israel. 12 For His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, which shall not pass away; but my kingdom among you shall come to an end as a watcher's hammock, which after the summer disappeareth.
Philo
Leg. 3:146 -- "There also is the carbuncle and the emerald." The two beings endowed with distinctive qualities, the prudent man and the man who acts prudently, differ from one another; one of them existing according to prudence, and the other acting wisely according to the rules of wisdom. For it is on account of these two beings thus endowed with distinctive qualities God implanted prudence and virtue in the earth-born man. For what would have been the use of it, if there had been no reasoning powers in existence to receive it, and to give impressions of its form? So that virtue is very properly conjoined with prudence, and the prudent man is rightly joined with him who displays prudence in his actions; the two being like two precious stones. 80 And may not they be Judah and Issachar? For the man who puts in practice the prudence of God confesses himself to be bound to feel gratitude, and to feel it towards him who has given him what is good without grudging; and he also does honorable and virtuous actions. Accordingly Judah is the symbol of a man who makes this confession "in respect of whom Leah ceased from child-bearing." [Genesis 29:35.] But Issachar is the symbol of the man who does good actions, "For he put forth [Genesis 49:15] his shoulder to labor and became a man tilling the earth." With respect to whom Moses says, hire is in his soul after he has been sown and planted, so that his labor is not imperfect, but is rather crowned and honored with a reward by God. 81 And that he is making mention of these things, he shows when speaking on other subjects; when describing the garment, which reached to the feet he says, "And thou shalt weave in it sets of stones in four rows. The row of stones shall be the sardine stone, the topaz, and the emerald are the first row." Reuben, Simeon, and Levi are here meant. "And the second row," he says, "are the carbuncle and the sapphire." [Exodus 28:17.] And the sapphire is the same as the green stone. And in the carbuncle was inscribed the name of Judah, for he was the fourth son: and in the sapphire the name of Issachar.
Leg. 1:82-83 -- Because Judah, as the type of a disposition inclined to confession, is a being immaterial and incorporeal. For the very name of confession (exomologeseos ) shows that it is a thing external to (ektos) himself. For when the mind is beside itself, and bears itself upwards to God, as the laughter of Isaac did, then it makes a confession to him who alone has a real being. But as long as it considers itself as the cause of something, it is a long way from yielding to God, and confessing to him. For this very act of confessing ought to be considered as being the work not of the soul, but of God who teaches it this feeling of gratitude. Accordingly Judah, who practices confession, is an immaterial being. 83 But Issachar who came forth out of labor is in need of corporeal matter; since if it were otherwise how could a studious man read without his eyes? And how could any one hear words exhorting him to any cause, if he were not endowed with hearing? And how could he obtain meat and drink without a belly, and without a wonder working art exercised towards it? And it is on this account that he was likened to a precious stone.
Leg. 2:95-96 -- The soul produces two kinds, the one divine and the other perishable; that which is the better kind it has already conceived, and ends in it; for when the soul was able to confess to God and to yield everything to him, it was not after that capable of receiving any more valuable possession; on this account she ceased to bring forth, after she had borne Judah, the emblem of the disposition of confessing... [A]nd now she begins to form the mortal race--now the mortal race subsists by imbibing; for, like a foundation, the sense of taste is the cause of the duration of animals; but the name Billah, being interpreted, means imbibing. From her was born Dan, which name being interpreted means judgment, for this kind distinguishes between the separates immortal from mortal things, therefore he prays that he may become a workman of temperance. But he will not pray for Judah, for Judah already has the capacity of praying to and pleasing God:
Leg. 3:26 -- On which account Jacob gives Joseph Shechem, [Genesis 48:22] as an especial portion beyond the rest of his brethren, meaning thereby the bodily things which are the objects of the outward senses, since he had gone through labor in respect of them; but to Judah the confessor he gave not presents but praise, and hymns and divine songs, in which he should be celebrated by his brethren.
Leg. 3:74 -- When, then, O Soul! shall you most especially consider that you have gained a victory? Will it not be when you are made perfect, and when you have been thought worthy of decisions in your favor and of crowns? For then you will be a lover of God, not of the body, and you will receive prizes, inasmuch as your wife shall be Thamar the bride of Judah, and Thamar being interpreted means the palm-tree, the symbol of victory. And a proof of this is, that when Er married her, he was at once discovered to be a wicked man, and was slain; for Moses says, "And Judah took a wife for Er, his first-born son, whose name was Thamar;" and immediately afterwards he adds, "And Er was a wicked man before the Lord, and God slew him;" for when the mind has carried off the prize of virtue, it condemns the dead body to death.
Plant. 1:134 -- But the most correct example of what has been said, is afforded by the sons of Leah, that is of virtue, not all her sons, but the fourth and fifth; for with respect to the fourth, Moses says that, then she ceased to bring forth, [Genesis 29:35] and his name was called Judah, which, being interpreted, is "confession to the Lord,"
Sobr. 1:93-94 -- But now that we have discussed the four different classes of children, we must beware not to overlook this, which may be the most excellent proof of this partition and division of the chapter; for when a child is elated and puffed up by folly, his parents accuse him in this manner, saying, "This is our son," [Deuteronomy 21:19] pointing to the disobedient and stiff-necked youth; 94 for by the demonstration "this," they show that they have other sons likewise, some of whom obey one of them, and others of whom obey them both, being well-disposed reasonings, of whom Reuben is an example; others again, who are fond of hearing and learning, of whom Simeon is a specimen, for his name, being interpreted, means "hearing;" others, people who fly to and become suppliants of God, this is the company of the Levites; others singing a song of gratitude, not so much with a loud voice as with the mind, of whom Judah is the leaders; others, who have been thought worthy of rewards and presents, on account of their voluntary acquisition of virtue through labor, like Issachar; others, persons who have abandoned the Chaldaean meteorological speculations, and passed over to the contemplation of the uncreate God, like Abraham; some, who have attained to self-taught and spontaneous virtue, like Isaac; some, full of wisdom and strength, and beloved by God, like the most perfect Moses.
Congr. 1:125-126 -- Who then is he who is fond of investigating, and desirous of learning, and who thinks it not right to leave any of those things which are disguised or concealed unconsidered and unexamined? Who is he, I say, but the chief captain and king, he who abides by and rejoices in the agreements which he has made with God, by name Judah? For says the scripture, "He turned aside out of his road to her, and said unto her, Suffer me to come in unto thee." [Genesis xxxviii. 16] (but he was not inclined to offer her any violence), and to see what is that power which is thus veiled, and for what purpose it is thus adorned; 126 and after they had come together it is written, "And she conceived;" but the name of the person is not expressly mentioned.
Fug. 1:73 -- But since the blessing of the good has the precedence in panegyrics, and the affixing curses on the wicked is in the second rank of those who are appointed for these duties (and they are the chiefs, and leaders of the race, twelve in number, whom it is customary to call the patriarchs), he has assigned the better six, who are the best for the task of blessing, namely, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin...
Mut. 1:134-135 -- But Tamar, when she became pregnant of divine seeds, and did not know who it was who had sown them (for it is said that at that time she "had covered her face," as Moses did when he turned away, having a reverential fear of beholding God), still when she saw the tokens and the evidences and decided within herself that it was not a mortal man who gave these things, cried out, "To whomsoever these things belong, it is by him that I am with child." [Genesis xxxviii. 25.] 135 Whose was the ring, or the pledge, or the seal of the whole, or the archetypal appearance, according to which all the things, though devoid of species and of distinctive quality, were all stamped and marked? And whose again was the armlet, or the ornament; that is to say, destiny, the link and analogy of all things which have an indissoluble connection? Whose, again, was the staff, the thing of strong support, which wavers not, which is not moved; that is to say, admonition, correction, instruction? Whose is the sceptre, the kingly power? 136 does it not belong to God alone? Therefore, the disposition inclined to confession, that is to say, Judah, being pleased at her possessed and inspired condition, speaks freely, saying, "She has spoken justly, because I gave her in marriage to no mortal man;" [Genesis xxxviii. 26] thinking it an impious thing to pollute divine with profane things.
Josephus
Ant. 1:304 -- After some time she bare three more sons; Simeon, which name signifies that God had listened to her prayer. Then she bare Levi, the confirmer of their friendship. After him was born Judah, which denotes thanksgiving.
Ant. 2:32 -- But Judah, being one of Jacob's sons also, seeing some Arabians, of the posterity of Ishmael, carrying spices and Syrian wares out of the land of Gilead to the Egyptians, after Reuben was gone, advised his brethren to draw Joseph out of the pit, and sell him to the Arabians; 33 for if he should die among strangers a great way off, they should be freed from this barbarous action. This, therefore, was resolved on; so they drew Joseph up out of the pit, and sold him to the merchants for twenty pounds. He was now seventeen years old:
Ant. 2:116-117 -- And Judah, who was of a bold temper on other occasions, spoke his mind very freely to him: ``That it did not become him to be afraid on account of his son, nor to suspect the worst, as he did; for nothing could be done to his son but by the appointment of God, which must also for certain come to pass, though he were at home with him; 117 that he ought not to condemn them to such manifest destruction; nor deprive them of that plenty of food they might have from Pharaoh, by his unreasonable fear about his son Benjamin, but ought to take care of the preservation of Simeon, lest, by attempting to hinder Benjamin's journey, Simeon should perish. He exhorted him to trust God for him; and said he would either bring his son back to him safely, or, together with his, lose his own life.
Ant. 2:138-159 -- And when he promised to give them permission to go away in safety, 139 the rest of them were under great consternation, and were able to say nothing on this sad occasion. But Judah, who had persuaded their father to send the lad from him, being otherwise also a very bold and active man, determined to hazard himself for the preservation of his brother. 140 ``It is true, said he, ``O governor, that we have been very wicked with regard to you, and on that account deserved punishment; even all of us may justly be punished, although the theft were not committed by all, but only by one of us, and he the youngest also; but yet there remains some hope for us, who otherwise must be under despair on his account, and this from your goodness, which promises us a deliverance out of our present danger. 141 And now I beg you will not look at us, or at that great crime we have been guilty of, but at your own excellent nature, and take advice of your own virtue, instead of that wrath you have against us; which passion those who otherwise are of lower character indulge, as they do their strength, and that not only on great, but also on very trifling occasions. Overcome, sir, that passion, and be not subdued by it, nor suffer it to slay those who do not otherwise presume upon their own safety, but are desirous to accept of it from you; 142 for this is not the first time that you will bestow it on us, but before, when we came to buy grain, you afforded us great plenty of food, and gave us permission to carry so much home to our family as has preserved them from perishing by famine. 143 Nor is there any difference between not overlooking men that were perishing for want of necessities, and not punishing those who seem to be offenders, and have been so unfortunate as to lose the advantage of that glorious benefaction which they received from you. This will be an instance of equal favour, though bestowed after a different manner; 144 for you will save those this way whom you fed the other; and you will hereby preserve alive, by your own bounty, those souls which you not allowed to be distressed by famine, it being indeed at once a wonderful and a great thing to sustain our lives by grain, and to bestow on us that pardon, whereby, now we are distressed, we may continue those lives. 145 And I am ready to suppose that God is willing to afford you this opportunity of showing your virtuous disposition, by bringing us into this calamity, that it may appear you can forgive the injuries that are done to yourself, and may be esteemed kind to others, besides those who, on other accounts, stand in need of your assistance; 146 since it is indeed a right thing to do well to those who are in distress for want of food, but still a more glorious thing to save those who deserve to be punished, when it is on account of heinous offences against yourself; for if it be a thing deserving commendation to forgive such as have been guilty of small offences, that tend to a person's loss, and this be praiseworthy in him that overlooks such offences, to restrain a man's passion as to crimes which are capital to the guilty, is to be like the most excellent nature of God himself: 147 and truly, as for myself, had it not been that we had a father, who had discovered, on occasion of the death of Joseph, how miserably he is always afflicted at the loss of his sons, I had not made any words on account of the saving of our own lives; I mean, any further than as that would be an excellent character for yourself, to preserve even those who would have no one to lament them when they were dead, but we would have yielded ourselves up to suffer whatever you pleased; 148 but now (for we do not plead for mercy for ourselves, though indeed, if we die, it will be while we are young, and before we have had the enjoyment of life,) have regard to our father, and take pity of his old age, on whose account it is that we make these supplications to you. We beg you will give us those lives which this wickedness of ours has rendered obnoxious to your punishment; 149 and this for his sake who is not himself wicked, nor does his being our father make us wicked. He is a good man, and not worthy to have such trials of his patience; and now we are absent, he is afflicted with care for us: but if he hear of our deaths, and what was the cause of it, he will on that account die a premature death; 150 and the reproachful manner of our ruin will hasten his end, and will directly kill him; nay, will bring him to a miserable death, while he will make haste to rid himself out of the world, and bring himself to a state of insensibility, before the sad story of our end come abroad into the rest 151 Consider these things in this manner, although our wickedness does now provoke you with a just desire of punishing that wickedness, and forgive it for our father's sake; and let your pity of him weigh more with you than our wickedness. Have regard to the old age of our father, who, if we perish, will be very lonely while he lives, and will soon die himself also. Grant this boon to the name of fathers, 152 for thereby you will honour him that begat you, and will grant it to yourself also, who enjoys already that name; you will then, by that name, be preserved of God, the Father of all, by showing a pious regard to which, in the case of our father, you will appear to honour him who is styled by the same name; I mean, if you will have this pity on our father, upon this consideration, how miserable he will be if he be deprived of his sons! 153 It is your part, therefore, to bestow on us what God has given us, when it is in your power to take it away, and so to resemble him entirely in charity; for it is good to use that power, which can either give or take away, on the merciful side; and when it is in your power to destroy, to forget that you ever had that power, and to look on yourself as only allowed power for preservation; and that the more anyone extends this power, the greater reputation does he gain to himself. 154 Now, by forgiving our brother what he has unhappily committed, you will preserve us all; for we cannot think of living if he be put to death, since we dare not show ourselves alive to our father without our brother, but here must we partake of one and the same catastrophe of his life; 155 and so far we beg of you, O governor, that if you condemn our brother to die, you will punish us together with him, as partners of his crime, for we shall not think it reasonable to be reserved to kill ourselves for grief of our brother's death, but so to die, rather as equally guilty with him of this crime! 156 I will only leave with you this one consideration, and then will say no more, namely, that our brother committed this fault when he was young, and not yet of confirmed wisdom in his conduct; and that men naturally forgive such young persons. I end here, without adding what more I have to say, that in case you condemn us, that omission may be supposed to have hurt us, and permitted you to take the severer side; 157 but in case you set us free, that this may be ascribed to your own goodness, of which you are inwardly conscious, that you free us from condemnation; and that not by barely preserving us, but by granting us such a favour as will make us appear more righteous than we really are, and by representing to yourself more motives for our deliverance than we are able to produce ourselves. 158 If, therefore, you resolve to slay him, I desire you will slay me in his stead, and send him back to his father; or if you please to retain him with you as a slave, I am fitter to labour for your advantage in that capacity, and, as you see, am better prepared for either of those sufferings. 159 So Judah, being very willing to undergo anything whatever for the deliverance of his brother, cast himself at Joseph's feet, and earnestly laboured to assuage and pacify his anger. All his brethren also fell down before him, weeping and delivering themselves up to destruction for the preservation of the life of Benjamin.
New Testament Texts
Matthew 1:1-3
1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. 2 Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram,
Luke 3:30
23 Jesus, when he began his ministry, was about thirty years of age, being the son (as was supposed) of Joseph, the son of Heli … 30 the son of Simeon, the son of Judah, the son of Joseph, the son of Jonam, the son of Eli′akim… 38 the son of Enos, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
Hebrews 7:14
14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
Christian Sources
Justin Martyr
Dialoge with Trypho 52 -- "And it was prophesied by Jacob the patriarch4 that there would be two advents of Christ, and that in the first He would suffer, and that after He came there would be neither prophet nor king in your nation (I proceeded), and that the nations who believed in the suffering Christ would look for His future appearance. And for this reason the Holy Spirit had uttered these truths in a parable, and obscurely: for," I added, "it is said, ‘Judah, thy brethren have praised thee: thy hands [shall be] on the neck of thine enemies; the sons of thy father shall worship thee. Judah is a lion's whelp; from the germ, my son, thou art sprung up. Reclining, he lay down like a lion, and like [a lion's] whelp: who shall raise him up? A ruler shall not depart from Judah, or a leader from his thighs, until that which is laid up in store for him shall come; and he shall be the desire of nations, binding his foal to the vine, and the foal of his ass to the tendril of the vine. He shall wash his garments in wine, and his vesture in the blood of the grape. His eyes shall be bright with5 wine, and his teeth white like milk.'
Hippolytus
De Antichristo 7-11 -- [7] Now the blessed Jacob speaks to the following effect in his benedictions, testifying prophetically of our Lord and Saviour: “Judah, let thy brethren praise thee: thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the shoot, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp; who shall rouse him up? A ruler shall not depart from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until he come for whom it is reserved; and he shall be the expectation of the nations. Binding his ass to a vine, and his ass’s colt to the vine tendril; he shall wash his garment in wine, and his clothes in the blood of the grapes. His eyes shall be gladsome as with wine, and his teeth shall be whiter than milk.”
[8] Knowing, then, as I do, how to explain these things in detail, I deem it right at present to quote the words themselves. But since the expressions themselves urge us to speak of them. I shall not omit to do so. For these are truly divine and glorious things, and things well calculated to benefit the soul. The prophet, in using the expression, a lion’s whelp, means him who sprang from Judah and David according to the flesh, who was not made indeed of the seed of David, but was conceived by the (power of the) Holy Ghost, and came forth7 from the holy shoot of earth... And the expression, “he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as a lion’s whelp,” refers to the three days’ sleep (death, couching) of Christ... And Jacob says, “Who shall rouse him up?” And that is just what David and Paul both refer to, as when Paul says, “and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead.”
[9] And in saying, “A ruler shall not depart from Judah, nor a leader from his thighs, until he come for whom it is reserved; and he shall be the expectation of the nations,” he referred the fulfilment (of that prophecy) to Christ. For He is our expectation. For we expect Him, (and) by faith we behold Him as He comes from heaven with power.
[10] “Binding his ass to a vine:” that means that He unites His people of the circumcision with His own calling (vocation). For He was the vine. “And his ass’s colt to the vine-tendril:” that denotes the people of the Gentiles, as He calls the circumcision and the uncircumcision unto one faith.
[11] “He shall wash his garment in wine,” that is, according to that voice of His Father which came down by the Holy Ghost at the Jordan.13 “And his clothes in the blood of the grape.” In the blood of what grape, then, but just His own flesh, which hung upon the tree like a cluster of grapes?—from whose side also flowed two streams, of blood and water, in which the nations are washed and purified, which (nations) He may be supposed to have as a robe about Him.
Augustine
The City of God 41 -- If, on account of the Christian people in whom the city of God sojourns in the earth, we look for the flesh of Christ in the seed of Abraham, setting aside the sons of the concubines, we have Isaac; if in the seed of Isaac, setting aside Esau, who is also Edom, we have Jacob, who also is Israel; if in the seed of Israel himself, setting aside the rest, we have Judah, because Christ sprang of the tribe of Judah. Let us hear, then, how Israel, when dying in Egypt, in blessing his sons, prophetically blessed Judah. He says: "Judah, thy brethren shall praise thee: thy hands shall be on the back of thine enemies; thy father's children shall adore thee. Judah is a lion's whelp: from the sprouting, my son, thou art gone up: lying down, thou hast slept as a lion, and as a lion's whelp; who shall awake him? A prince shall not be lacking out of Judah, and a leader from his thighs, until the things come that are laid up for him; and He shall be the expectation of the nations. Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's foal to the choice vine; he shall wash his robe in wine, and his clothes in the blood of the grape: his eyes are red with wine, and his teeth are whiter than milk."5 I have expounded these words in disputing against Faustus the Manichaean; and I think it is enough to make the truth of this prophecy shine, to remark that the death of Christ is predicted by the word about his lying down, and not the necessity, but the voluntary character of His death, in the title of lion. That power He Himself proclaims in the gospel, saying, "I have the power of laying down my life, and I have the power of taking it again. No man taketh it from me; but I lay it down of myself, and take it again."1 So the lion roared, so He fulfilled what He said. For to this power what is added about the resurrection refers, "Who shall awake him?" This means that no man but Himself has raised Him, who also said of His own body, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."2 And the very nature of His death, that is, the height of the cross, is understood by the single words "Thou are gone up." The evangelist explains what is added, "Lying down, thou hast slept," when he says, "He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost." Or at least His burial is to be understood, in which He lay down sleeping, and whence no man raised Him, as the prophets did some, and as He Himself did others; but He Himself rose up as if from sleep. As for His robe which He washes in wine, that is, cleanses from sin in His own blood, of which blood those who are baptized know the mystery, so that he adds, "And his clothes in the blood of the grape," what is it but the Church? "And his eyes are red with wine," [these are] His spiritual people drunken with His cup, of which the psalm sings, "And thy cup that makes drunken, how excellent it is!" "And his teeth are whiter than milk,"4 --that is, the nutritive words which, according to the apostle, the babes drink, being as yet unfit for solid food.5 And it is He in whom the promises of Judah were laid up, so that until they come, princes, that is, the kings of Israel, shall never be lacking out of Judah. "And He is the expectation of the nations." This is too plain to need exposition.
Against Fastus the Manichaean 22.60-61 -- [60] Where, then, is Judah praised in Scripture? Where is anything good said of him, except that in the blessing pronounced by his father he is distinguished above the rest, because of the prophecy that Christ would come in the flesh from his tribe? [61] Judah, as Faustus says, committed fornication; and besides that, we can accuse him of selling his brother into Egypt. Is it any disparagement to light, that in revealing all things it discloses what is unsightly? So neither is the character of Scripture affected by the evil deeds of which we are informed by the record itself. Undoubtedly, by the eternal law, which requires the preservation of natural order, and forbids the transgression of it, conjugal intercourse should take place only for the procreation of children, and after the celebration of marriage, so as to maintain the bond of peace. Therefore, the prostitution of women, merely for the gratification of sinful passion, is condemned by the divine and eternal law. To purchase the degradation of another, disgraces the purchaser; so that, though the sin would have been greater if Judah had knowingly lain with his daughter-in-law (for if, as the Lord says, man and wife are no more two, but one flesh, a daughter-in-law is the same as a daughter); still, it is plain that, as regards his own intention, he was disgraced by his intercourse with an harlot. The woman, on the other hand, who deceived her father-in-law, sinned not from wantonness, or because she loved the gains of iniquity, but from her desire to have children of this particular family. So, being disappointed in two of the brothers, and not obtaining the third, she succeeded by craft in getting a child by their father; and the reward which she got was kept, not as an ornament, but as a pledge. It would certainly have been better to have remained childless than to become a mother without marriage. Still, her desire to have her father-in-law as the father of her children was very different from having a criminal affection for him. And when, by his order, she was brought out to be killed, on her producing the staff and necklace and ring, saying that the father of the child was the man who had given her those pledges, Judah acknowledged them, and said, "She hath been more righteous than I" --not praising her, but condemning himself. He blamed her desire to have children less than his own unlawful passion, which had led him to one whom he thought to be a harlot.
Rabbinic Sources
Genesis Rabbah
85:5 And Judah said unto Onan: Go in unto thy brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother unto her: Judah was the first to practice levirate marriage.
85:8 WHEN JUDAH SAW HER, etc. R. Aha said: A man should become familiar with his wife’s sister and with his female relations, so as not to fall into sin through any of them. From whom do you learn this? From Judah: WHEN JUDAH SAW HER, HE THOUGHT HER TO BE A HARLOT; why so? FOR SHE HAD COVERED HER FACE—while in her father-in-law’s house. Another interpretation: When Judah saw her he paid no attention to her. But since she covered her face he reasoned, If she were a harlot, would she actually cover her face! R. Johanan said: He wished to go on, but the Holy One, blessed be He, made the angel who is in charge of desire appear before him, and he said to him: “Whither goest thou, Judah? Whence then are kings to arise, whence are redeemers to arise? Thereupon, AND HE RETURNED UNTO HER—in despite of himself and against his wish.
85:9 And he said: WHAT PLEDGE SHALL I GIVE THEE? And she said: THEY SIGNET AND THEY CORD, AND THY STAFF THAT IS IN THY HAND. R. Hunia said: A holy spirit was enkindled within her. Thy signet alludes to royalty, as in the verse, Though Coniah the son of Jehoiakin king of Judah were the signet upon my right hand, etc. (Jer 22:24); And the cord alludes to the Sanhedrin, as in the verse, And that they put with the fringe of each corner a thread of blue, etc. (Num 15:38). And they staff alludes to the royal Messiah, as in the verse, The staff of the strength of the Lord will send out of Zion (Ps 110:2).
85:9 And he gave them to her… and she conceived by him—men mighty like himself and righteous like himself.
89:17 And Judah said unto his brethren: WHAT PROFIT IS IT, etc. R. Judah b. R. Ilai said: Scripture speaks in praise of Judah. On three occasions Judah spoke before his bretheren, and they made him king over them
93:7 Another interpretation of THEN JUDAH CAME NEAR UNTO HIM… When Joseph seized Benjamin and said to his brethren, the man in whose hand the goblet is found, he shall be my bondman, but as for you, get you up in peace unto your father, Judah retorted, “You would take Benjamin and yet you think there will be peace in my father’s house! Judah was filled with wrath and cried aloud, his voice traveling four hundred parasangs, until Hushim the son of Dan heard it and sped to Judah’s side. Both roared together, so that the land of Egypt was about to be over turned. Concerning them did Job say, the lion roareth, and the fierce lion howleth… And the teeth of the young lions are broken alludes to Joseph’s guards, for when Judah showed his anger, all their teeth fell out… For it says, the old lion perisheth for lack of prey (Job 4:11) which refers to Judah, who gave himself for Benjamin saying, “Perhaps the Holy One, blessed be He, will forgive me for my sin in deceiving my father, assuring him, I will bring him back to thee.”… When Joseph saw the signs by which he knew that Judah was angry, he trembled and was terrified, thinking to himself, “Woe is me! he may kill me. What were these signs? The Scholars of Beth Shiloh said: Blood flowed from his two eyes. Some say that he wore five garments; he had a hair on his chest which, when he became angry, pierced through all of them.
98:7 JUDAH IS A LIONS WHELP. This teaches that he gave him the strength of a lion and the boldness of his whelps.
98:8 Another interpretation: THE SCEPTER SHALL NOT DEPART FROM JUDAH alludes to the Sanhedrin, which punished and kept in order; NOR A RULER FROM BETWEEN HIS FEET, to the two clerks of the judges who stand before them, one at their right and the other at their left.