Genesis 38

ἀφίκετο ἕως πρὸς ἄνθρωπόν τινα, "reached as far as a certain man," where the Masoretic version reads "turned aside as far as a man" (וַיֵּט): the Greek has Judah arrive, not turn off the road; the verb is the one of Rom 16:19. ἄνθρωπος prints "man" because a woman, the daughter of 38:2, is in the next verse (11). Swete prints Εἱρᾶς (G91320), a spelling of the Masoretic version's חִירָה, "Hirah," which keeps the familiar form (145f; names table); the alignment cannot pair it because Rahlfs spells it otherwise, and the two Greek forms are one name. The Greek opens with δέ and has no "and" before "Judah went down."

ᾗ ὄνομα Σαύα, "her name Shua," with a feminine relative: in the Greek Shua is the name of the daughter, where the Masoretic version reads "and his name Shua," the name of her father. The Greek holds this at 38:12, where it names the woman Σαύα and has no word for "the daughter of" (seeded, marked). Σαύα is a spelling of שׁוּעַ and keeps the familiar form (145f; names table).

αὕτη δὲ ἦν ἐν Χασβὶ ἡνίκα ἔτεκεν αὐτούς, "now she was in Chezib at the time when she bore them," where the Masoretic version reads "and he was in Chezib when she bore him": in the Greek the one in Chezib is the mother, and the place is where she bore all three sons. The alignment seeds ἦν, "was," as a plus, but the Masoretic version's English already has "was," and nothing is added; the seed is refused (150j). Χασβί is a spelling of כְּזִיב, "Chezib" (145f; names table). The participles of 38:3–5 (συλλαβοῦσα, προσθεῖσα) stand for the Masoretic version's finite verbs, and are marked as at 34:2.

The Greek has κύριος in the first clause, "evil before the Lord," and θεός in the second, ἀπέκτεινεν αὐτὸν ὁ θεός, "God killed him," where the Masoretic version reads ADONAI both times; the second is marked as a different name. The same θεός stands at 38:10 for the Masoretic version's ADONAI. ἐναντίον, "before," renders "in the eyes of," and is marked as at 34:11.

ἐξέχεεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, "he poured out on the land," where the Masoretic version reads "he ruined it to the land" (שִׁחֵת): the Greek names the act by its verb of pouring (ἐκχέω, of blood at Matt 23:35 and 26:28), with no object, as the Hebrew has none; nothing is added or softened. γνοὺς δὲ Αὐνάν, "now Onan, having come to know," is a participle that the sentence leaves without its verb, as the Greek does: the main clause is ἐγίνετο, "it came to be." εἰσήρχετο, "he entered," is an imperfect of εἰσέρχομαι, a habit, carrying the Masoretic version's "whenever."

Swete prints τὸ ῥῆμα from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs has no subject: πονηρὸν δὲ ἐφάνη τὸ ῥῆμα ἐναντίον τοῦ θεοῦ, "the word appeared evil before God," for the Masoretic version's "what he did was bad in the eyes of ADONAI." ῥῆμα keeps its home gloss "word," the thing said and the thing it tells of (Luke 2:15), here the deed. The Greek's verb is φαίνω in the passive, "appear" (147f), for the Masoretic version's "was bad"; it reads θεός for ADONAI (marked) and adds τοῦτο, "this," after "did" (seeded). θανατόω, "put to death," stands for the Masoretic version's "made him die."

ὁ ποιμὴν αὐτοῦ, "his shepherd," where the Masoretic version reads "his fellow" (רֵעֵהוּ): the Greek reads the same consonants as רֹעֵהוּ, "his shepherd," and so makes Hirah Judah's herdsman, on his way to the shearing. Again at 38:20. Swete spells the man's people Ὀδολλαμείτης here and at 38:20 (Ὀδολλαμίτην at 38:1), one word, "the Adullamite."

Swete prints ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ, "his son," after Shela, from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs and the Masoretic version have the name alone; the alignment cannot pair it, and it is marked as a plus. The Greek has ἐκαλλωπίσατο, "she beautified herself," for the Masoretic version's "wrapped herself" (עָלַף hithpael): the Greek turns the disguise into adornment, as a whore would dress, and so readies Judah's mistake in 38:15. θερίστρῳ, "a summer veil," is the word of 38:19. She sits "at the gates of Enaim," plural, for "the doorway of Enaim" (πύλαι for פֶּתַח), "on the passage of Timnah": πάροδος is a way by or through (1 Cor 16:7 ἐν παρόδῳ, "in passing"), not the road (ὁδός), where the Masoretic version reads "on the way to Timnah"; the different word is marked. The last clause is active, αὐτὸς δὲ οὐκ ἔδωκεν αὐτὴν αὐτῷ γυναῖκα, "but he did not give her to him for a woman," naming Judah as the one who withheld her, where the Masoretic version reads "she had not been given." Αἰνάν is a spelling of עֵינַיִם, "Enaim" (145f; names table).

Ἔασόν με εἰσελθεῖν, "Allow me to enter," where the Masoretic version reads "Up, please, let me come in" (הָבָה נָּא): the Greek has a request for leave in place of the call, and no "please" (seeded, marked). Tamar's answer is a condition, ἐὰν εἰσέλθῃς, "if you enter," for the Masoretic version's "that you may come in" (כִּי). The Greek adds αὐτῇ, "to her" (seeded).

Swete prints the present ἀποστέλλω, "I send," from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs has the future; the Masoretic version reads "I will send." The Greek adds σοι, "you" (seeded). ἀρραβών, "pledge," is the Masoretic version's own word in Greek letters (עֵרָבוֹן), the word Paul uses for the Spirit as the first instalment (2 Cor 1:22; 5:5; Eph 1:14).

Τὸν δακτύλιόν σου καὶ τὸν ὁρμίσκον, "your ring and the necklace," where the Masoretic version reads "your seal and your cord": the Greek names the seal by the ring that carries it (δακτύλιος, Luke 15:22), and the cord by a small neck-chain (ὁρμίσκος, the diminutive of ὅρμος, a necklace). At 38:25 the Greek has the singular ὁ ὁρμίσκος, where the Masoretic version reads "the cords." ῥάβδος keeps its home gloss "rod" (Heb 9:4).

κομίσασθαι τὸν ἀρραβῶνα, "to recover the pledge," where the Masoretic version reads "to take the pledge": the middle of κομίζω is to get back what is one's own (Matt 25:27; Heb 11:19). παρὰ τῆς γυναικός, "from the woman," stands for the Masoretic version's "from the hand of the woman" (מִיַּד הָאִשָּׁה): the Greek has the preposition alone, and the lack of "the hand of" is marked.

ἡ πόρνη, "the whore," at 38:21 (twice) and 38:22, where the Masoretic version reads "the consecrated woman" (הַקְּדֵשָׁה, קְדֵשָׁה): the Masoretic text changes its word when Hirah asks in public, from Judah's זוֹנָה "whore" (38:15) to the woman of the shrine, and the Greek does not follow it, keeping the word of 38:15 through the scene. πόρνη holds its home gloss (34:31), and the difference is marked as a different word each time. ἡ γενομένη, "the one who came to be," stands for the Masoretic version's pronoun (הִוא), and the Greek's ἦν, "was," for "there has been."

The Greek has καί, "and," for the Masoretic version's "and also" (וְגַם), and the lack of "also" is marked (150l). The men's answer is reported, λέγουσιν μὴ εἶναι ἐνταῦθα πόρνην, "say that there is no whore here," a present and an indirect statement, where the Masoretic version reads "said, 'There has been no consecrated woman here.'" Οὐχ εὗρον, "I did not find," has no object. ἄνθρωποι prints "men" because a woman is in the verse (11).

Ἐχέτω αὐτά, "Let her have them," where the Masoretic version reads "Let her take it for herself"; and μή ποτε καταγελασθῶμεν, "lest we be laughed at," for "lest we become a contempt" (לָבוּז): the Greek gives the scorn as the laughter of others (καταγελάω, Matt 9:24). It opens that clause with ἀλλά, "but," and sets the last two clauses against each other with μέν … δέ, "I, on the one hand, … but you," in perfects, "have sent … have not found," where the Masoretic version reads "Look, I sent this kid, and you did not find her."

καὶ ἰδού, "and look," for the Masoretic version's "and also, look" (וְגַם הִנֵּה): the lack of "also" is marked (150l). ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχει, "she has a child in the womb," is the idiom of Matt 1:18, with "a child" supplied by the English (lexicon). The Greek has μετὰ τρίμηνον, "after three months," without the Masoretic version's "about" (כְּ): the Greek states the time flatly, and the lack is marked. ἐκπορνεύω, "play the whore," and πορνεία, "whoring," are of the root of πόρνη (38:15).

αὐτὴ δὲ ἀγομένη, "now she, being led," where the Masoretic version reads "she was being brought out": ἄγω, "lead," is the verb of leading to judgment (Luke 23:32; Acts 8:32), without the "out" of Judah's command. Ἐκ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τίνος ταῦτά ἐστιν, "by the man whose these are," for "to whom these belong." The Greek has no "please" after "Recognize" (seeded, marked), and αὕτη, "this," with the rod alone, where the Masoretic version reads "these" of all three.

Δεδικαίωται Θαμὰρ ἢ ἐγώ, "Tamar has been justified rather than I," where the Masoretic version reads "She is more just than I" (צָדְקָה מִמֶּנִּי): the Greek has the perfect passive of δικαιόω, "justify," the verb of δίκαιος "just" and δικαιοσύνη "justice," with ἤ of preference. Whether she is declared in the right or made so the Greek does not say, and the English keeps it open (guide §1.4; 93). Luke 18:14 has the same construction: "this one went down to his house justified rather than that one" (δεδικαιωμένος … παρ᾽ ἐκεῖνον). The Greek names her (seeded) and has οὗ εἵνεκεν, "because" (147f), for "for therefore." Ἐπέγνω, "recognized," has no object.

Swete prints the aorist ἔτεκεν, "she bore," and κοιλίᾳ, "belly," from Alexandrinus, where Rahlfs has the imperfect ἔτικτεν, "she was bearing," and γαστρί, "womb." The Masoretic version reads "at the time of her bearing, and look, twins in her body." The Greek has τῇδε, "here," for "look" (הִנֵּה), and the copula ἦν, "were."

The alignment seeds ὁ εἷς, "the one," as a plus, but the Masoretic version's English already has "one" ("and one gave forth"), and the Greek adds only the article, which is not marked (142a); the seed is refused, as 150j does for a copula. προεξήνεγκεν τὴν χεῖρα, "brought forth first the hand," is a double compound (προ-, ἐκ-) that puts the order of birth in the verb. The midwife's word is a future, ἐξελεύσεται πρότερος, "shall go out the former," a prediction, where the Masoretic version reads "This one went out first"; πρότερος is the former of two (Eph 4:22).

Τί διεκόπη διὰ σὲ φραγμός; "Why was a fence cut through on account of you?" where the Masoretic version reads "What a breach you have burst upon yourself!" (מַה־פָּרַצְתָּ עָלֶיךָ פָּרֶץ). The Hebrew plays the name Perez (פֶּרֶץ) on the breach and the bursting; the Greek turns the breach into its cause, the fence (φραγμός, Matt 21:33; Eph 2:14) broken through, and the name Φάρες no longer sounds in it. The sound the Greek does not carry is noted, not supplied (24). For "as he returned his hand" the Greek has ἐπισυνήγαγεν, "he gathered together," and for "look" εὐθύς, "straightway." Φάρες is a spelling of פֶּרֶץ, "Perez" (Matt 1:3; names table).