Genesis 38:14-19
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
14 So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a shawl, and having wrapped herself sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she was aware that, although Shelah was now grown up, she had not been given to him in marriage.(A) 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, since she had covered her face. 16 So he went over to her at the roadside and said, “Come, let me have intercourse with you,” for he did not realize that she was his daughter-in-law. She replied, “What will you pay me for letting you have intercourse with me?” 17 He answered, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.” “Very well,” she said, “provided you leave me a pledge until you send it.” 18 Judah asked, “What pledge should I leave you?” She answered, “Your seal and cord,[a] and the staff in your hand.” So he gave them to her and had intercourse with her, and she conceived by him. 19 After she got up and went away, she took off her shawl and put on her widow’s garments again.
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- 38:18 Seal and cord: the cylinder seal, through which a hole was bored lengthwise so that it could be worn from the neck by a cord, was a distinctive means of identification. Apparently one’s staff could also be marked with some sign of identification (cf. Nm 17:17–18).
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