Genesis 38:11

Summary

Judah instructs his daughter-in-law Tamar to remain a widow in her father's house until his son Shelah grows up, giving as his reason (stated but not confirmed to her) his fear that Shelah might die like his brothers. Tamar complies and returns to her father's house.

Key words

• shvi ("dwell", H3427) — qal imperative feminine singular: a direct command addressed to Tamar (contrast with teshev, H3427, later in the verse — same root, but narrative form describing her actual action).
• 'almanah ("a widow", H0490) — feminine singular noun used adverbially, describing the manner/status in which Tamar is told to live, not a separate clause.
• ki 'amar ("for he said", H3588A + H0559) — a subordinating particle followed by a qal perfect verb; grammatically this reports Judah's inner speech/reasoning, introduced with the same verb "to say" (H0559) used for his direct speech to Tamar in the same verse.
• pen ("lest", H6435) — subordinating particle marking a feared outcome, governing the following imperfect verb.
• ke'echav ("like his brothers", H0251G) — masculine plural noun in construct with pronominal suffix, forming the comparison that closes Judah's stated reasoning.

What the text says

The verse is built from three narrative-vav clauses (vayomer, "and he said," H0559; vatelekh, "and she went," H1980G; vateshev, "and she dwelt," H3427) that carry the plot forward, plus one embedded subordinate clause introduced by ki ("for," H3588A). Judah's command to Tamar uses the imperative shvi ("dwell," H3427) paired with the noun 'almanah ("a widow," H0490), specifying the widow-status she is to maintain in beit avikh ("the house of your father," H1004M + H0001G + H9022). The temporal clause 'ad yigdal Shelah beni ("until Shelah my son grows up," H5704 + H1431 + H7956 + H1121A) sets the endpoint of that arrangement.

The reason clause begins with ki 'amar — literally "for he said" — using the same verb (H0559) that introduced Judah's speech to Tamar at the start of the verse. Grammatically this repetition marks the clause as reporting internal speech or reasoning rather than a second utterance spoken aloud to Tamar; the content of the fear (pen yamut gam hu ke'echav, "lest he too die like his brothers," H6435 + H4191 + H1571 + H0251G) explains Judah's own motive rather than continuing his address to her. The verse closes with an inclusio: Tamar is sent to beit avikh ("your father's house") and the narration confirms she settles in beit aviha ("her father's house," H1004M + H0001G + H9024), the same construct phrase with a shifted pronominal suffix marking the shift from direct address to third-person narration.

Differences between versions

The Hebrew ki 'amar ("for he said," H3588A + H0559) is rendered by the LXX with eipen gar ("for he said"), preserving the verb "to say." The Vulgate instead reads "timebat enim" ("for he feared"), replacing the speech-verb with a verb of fearing, which makes explicit as emotion what the Hebrew and LXX present grammatically as reported speech/thought.