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16 So he went to her and said, “Let me have sex with you.” (Judah did not know that she was Tamar, his daughter-in-law.)

She said, “How much will you give me?”

17 Judah answered, “I will send you a young goat from my flock.”

She answered, “I agree to that. But first you must give me something to keep until you send me the goat.”

18 Judah asked, “What do you want me to give you as proof that I will send you the goat?”

Tamar answered, “Give me your seal and its string[a] and your walking stick.” Judah gave these things to her. Then Judah and Tamar had sexual relations, and she became pregnant.

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Footnotes

  1. Genesis 38:18 seal … string People wrote a contract, folded it, tied it with string, put wax or clay on the string, and pressed the seal onto it to seal it. This was like signing the agreement. Also in verse 25.

16 Not realizing(A) that she was his daughter-in-law,(B) he went over to her by the roadside and said, “Come now, let me sleep with you.”(C)

“And what will you give me to sleep with you?”(D) she asked.

17 “I’ll send you a young goat(E) from my flock,” he said.

“Will you give me something as a pledge(F) until you send it?” she asked.

18 He said, “What pledge should I give you?”

“Your seal(G) and its cord, and the staff(H) in your hand,” she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him.(I)

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