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FAMOUS
PAINTINGS |
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Tamar means ‘date palm’, a name that suggests
strength, food, shade, and life |
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ON THIS PAGE:
Tamar marries, but remains
childless Tamar claims her Levirate rights Tamar is accused of promiscuity
The birth of Tamar's twin sons The
Cultural Setting for this story
Activities and Focus Questions
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The fruit of a date palm |
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The story of Tamar contains four
different episodes: The story describes the way a
widow, Tamar, obtained a child for herself and an heir for her dead
husband’s inheritance. It shows a virtuous woman who risked everything,
her life and her reputation, to get what was rightfully hers. It is part of
the continuing Jewish preoccupations with social justice. For
a short version of Tamar's story, see BIBLE
MEN AND WOMEN: TAMAR
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'Tamar', Diane-Blair Goodpasture |
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TAMAR MARRIES, BUT REMAINS CHILDLESS
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Widowed and without children, Tamar was low in the pecking order of the
tribe. But there was a way out: the Levirate Law. Under Levirate law, Er’s
younger brother Onan was obliged to give Tamar a child. But he refused
outright to
do so, probably because any child born to Tamar would carry Er’s name,
not Onan’s, and when their father died the child would inherit the dead
brother’s portion of the estate. He practiced the same form of birth
control, and Tamar did not conceive.
Onan thus failed to carry out the Levirate
obligation to Tamar, and disregarded his father's command. He died, and his death at such an early age was seen
as just punishment from God. Deuteronomy 25:9-10 describes
the punishment for a man who refused to obey the Levirate law: the woman
went up to him in a public assembly, pulled his sandal from his foot, spat
in his face, and said 'This is what is done to the man who does not build
up his brother's house'. To us the punishment does not sound very much,
but in the context of the time it meant public disgrace. The action in
verse 9
had symbolic meaning: the foot symbolized the male genitals, the sandal
the female sexual organs, and the spittle, the semen. The woman’s action
publicly humiliated the man, and his family's disgrace was remembered long
after he himself was dead. Public shame was often used to enforce the law
in ancient times. When Onan died without giving
Tamar a child, she looked to the third son of Judah to be her husband. But
he was only a boy, too young to be a father. So Judah sent Tamar back to
her family, promising to send for her when Shelah, the third son, was old
enough. Judah began to look on Tamar as a jinx,
in some way responsible for the deaths of his two eldest sons. TAMAR
CLAIMS HER LEVIRATE RIGHTS
Tamar waited patiently, but after a while it became clear that Judah did not mean to give her his third son Shelah as a husband. She should not have been surprised. Many years ago Judah had been guilty of selling his own brother Joseph to the Egyptians (Genesis 37:26). Now he refused to keep the Levirate law. When she saw that she was to be
left a childless widow, she decided to act. She did not blame ‘the
system’, but took the initiative to obtain what was rightfully
hers. She dressed in the special clothing of a prostitute which
included a veil across her face that disguised her identity, waited for
Judah at the city gates, and persuaded him to have sexual intercourse with her. ‘She put off her widow’s garments, put on a veil, wrapped herself up, and sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. She saw that Shelah was grown up, yet she had not been given to him in marriage. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.’ Read Genesis 38:12-19. |
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It is likely that Judah perceived
Tamar as one of the sacred prostitutes. The Hebrew words for a sacred
prostitute (kedeshah, sacred woman) and a normal prostitute (zonah)
are both used in this story. In Israel, prostitutes were required to cover
their faces at all times. Sacred prostitution was part of Canaanite religious practice, and Canaanites were the dominant social group at this time. The Canaanites saw sexuality, either human or in Nature, as a divine force. According to Herodotus, a Greek historian writing in about 450BC, a Babylonian woman would follow the following practice: She would disguise herself at least once during her
life, covering her face with a veil. In this way she discarded her own
personal identity. She would then go to the temple and receive a man who
was a stranger to her (Herodotus 1.199). This man, in this
particular act, represented the incarnate god. Their sexual act was meant,
by what is called ‘sympathetic magic’, to reflect and encourage
fertility in the Great Mother, Nature. Herodotus emphasized that, once a woman
had fulfilled this obligation, she was virtuous and loyal to her husband
for the rest of her life. Tamar may have followed a
version of this practice, but she also asked for payment from Judah. He
promised to send her a kid from his flock, and in the meantime, as a
guarantee, he left his seal, cord and staff, all of which were personal
items that could be identified. Then she took off the special clothing of
a prostitutes, dressed herself again in her widow’s clothing, and
returned home. |
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The seal, cord and staff were symbols of a person’s
identity, items of great personal worth, and it is surprising that
Judah gave them up. Judah's seal may have been a
cylinder seal similar to clay seals found in a number of archaeological excavations, particularly in the
Mesopotamian area. Herodotus (1.196) gives a description of the staff made
specifically for each person, with a personal emblem carved on the top of
it. |
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'Tamar',
Aharon April |
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TAMAR IS
ACCUSED OF PROMISCUITY
When Judah’s friend came to make
payment to the unknown prostitute and reclaim Judah’s seal, cord and
staff, the woman was nowhere to be found. Tamar had gone home, without telling
anyone who she was. But through this one act of sexual intercourse with
Judah she had become pregnant, a fact that was
soon evident to the people around her. Judah, who already blamed her for the deaths of
his sons, thought the worst when he heard that she was pregnant. She was
accused of ‘playing the whore’. And Judah said “Bring her out and let her be burned”. Read Genesis 38:20-26. Now Judah, as head of the tribe,
had the right to pass judgment on her, and to condemn her to death. The Code of
Hammurabi, law 129, reads ‘If the
wife of a man has been caught while lying with another man, they shall
bind them and throw them into the water. If the husband of the woman
wishes to spare his wife, then the king in turn may spare his subject’.
Deuteronomy 22:22, the Hebrew law code, recommends death for both the man
and the woman. Judah pronounced that Tamar should
be burnt to death, a particularly cruel way to die. |
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THE
CULTURAL SETTING FOR THIS STORY
It was probably in this period that women enjoyed greatest freedom and
prestige. The stories in Genesis and Exodus show them as independent and
strong, smart and tough. They display leadership and initiative. They
almost always get their way when they want something.
This was probably because women were necessary for the survival of the tribe, and they knew it. As well, women played an active role in religious matters. The concept of monotheism was just beginning to develop, but many women probably worshipped a fertility goddess, the Great Mother, source of plant, animal and human life. Ancient Near Eastern religions certainly had fertility of the soil and animal life as one of their main focuses, with priestesses who served the forces of Nature - the power of river and rain water, abundance of crops and animals, etc. See BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: ANCIENT RELIGIONS for photographs, architectural models and information about religion in the ancient world.
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The stone stele on which the laws of Hammurabi were recorded |
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Another source of information about women and their lives was provided by love poems and lullabies of this period. For additional information on the lives of women in the Bible, see the links to
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________________________________________________________________________ ACTIVITIES Seeking Justice In the journal entry, describe the
event and your personal reaction to it. What happened, and how did you
feel about it? Describe the event to your
learning partner, then
discuss ways you might have dealt with the unjust
treatment you received. Researching ancient laws
The
biblical law ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’ was in fact an
attempt to limit revenge killings, and stop the blood feuds that were
prevalent in the ancient world. Use a search engine to learn about
laws in the ancient world, particularly the laws of Hammurabi. How do these ancient laws contrast with
laws in the modern world? Focus Questions ________________________________________________________________________ INTERESTING SITES - stories, pictures, reconstructions SEXUALLY
CHARGED MOMENT WHEN TAMAR MEETS JUDAH - FAMOUS PAINTINGS A
SHORT VERSION OF THE STORY OF TAMAR EXCAVATIONS
OF CITY GATES, AS IN TAMAR'S STORY MARRIAGE
AND CHILDBIRTH IN ANCIENT TIMES
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Tamar - Bible Woman - Women of the Old
Testament;
Bible Study Resource
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Custom Search
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TAMAR
Ancient cylinder seal
from Mesopotamia
The laws of Hammurabi, a famous law-maker and king of Babylonia, provide insights into the lives of women in this period. There were laws to