Prostitution in the Word

January 7, 2009, 4:39 pm by dc-agape.

Genesis Chapter 38

In this chapter we are told that Judah leaves his brothers.  We are told that he went to a city that was southwest of Jerusalem (which of course did not exist yet).  The brothers were located in Hebron, which is about 20 miles south of “Jerusalem”.  Judah went to different town than this that was also southwest of “Jerusalem”.  Basically, he went across the street, compared to keeping the flocks in Dothan (80 miles way).

So just like Dinah going out with the Canaanite woman, Judah goes out with the Canaanite men.  He befriends a man by the name of Hirah.  During this time he meets a woman and marries her.  He also has three sons: Er, Onan, and Shelah.

When Er was old enough to marry Judah got a wife for him named Tamar.  YHWH did not like Er, we have no idea why.  The Word says that Er was wicked in the sight of YHWH, just like all the Canaanites.  For some reason YHWH picked out Er to kill.  The only reason that makes any sense is that Er was born into the Chosen Family.  YHWH was not ready for evil children yet.  See the entire book of Judges; YHWH has to deal with a bunch of wicked people in that Book.  But YHWH was naive in Genesis and did not put up with this type of behavior, except in the case of Levi, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.

Well there just happens to be a practice that YHWH does not have an opinion on:  levirate marriage.  This is the practice of a brother-in-law being responsible for producing offspring for a dead brother.  Since this was a traditional marriage in the Word of God, I wonder why we don’t practice it today.  It seems that since so many TrueChristiansTM want to have traditional marriages protected; shouldn’t levirate marriage also be protected?  Polygamy was also a traditional Biblical marriage; I wonder why that is not protected as well.

Onan is required to sleep with his dead brother’s wife because of the Biblical levirate marriage tradition.  He cheats, knowing that it will not be his children, and OMG…spills his seed.  Well, this piss-off YHWH and in a temper tantrum YHWH kills Onan as well.  Judah has only one young son left and is not ready to marry Shelah to Tamar. 

Judah sends Tamar back to her father, with a lie that she should wait there until Shelah is old enough to marry.  After some time, Tamar learns that she will not be wed to Shelah.  She decides to trick Judah into sleeping with her.  She dresses with a veil to disguise her face and waits for Judah to pass by on the way to sheer his flocks.  Judah, ready to get his rocks off, sees her and thinks that he has found a prostitute.

Tamar and Judah begin the bargaining process of the cost of having sex outside of marriage.  She requires his seal and his staff as promise that he will give her a young goat.  Judah is so ready to have sex that he agrees.  Later he sends Hirah back to the spot where he met Tamar with the goat, but Tamar is not there.  Judah finds out that no prostitute has been in the area for a long time. 

In pride, he decides not to hunt down Tamar to pay for the sex he had with her outside of marriage.  Three months later he finds out that Tamar is pregnant.  He is furious, and wants her to be burned to death.  She counters with the presentation of his seal and staff.  Judah recognizes that the Canaanites can be more righteous than the Chosen Family.  The people without YHWH are more righteous than those who do have YHWH, what a surprise!  Soon Tamar has twins.  The story ends with a detail about how the two boys struggle to get out of the womb and the name of the boys are: Perez and Zerah.  Even though this birth of the two sons seems isolated, these are the firstborn tribes of Israel.  Throughout the Book of Numbers these names will reappear.

From a gay Atheist point of view I cannot see why anyone would think that this Word of God was a good guide to how to live your life.  Judah committed the sins of adultery, anger, pride, false witness, and attempted to not pay for services rendered!  How is this an example of how to live?  He neither fears, nor worships YHWH.   Judah even admits that a Canaanite woman, that commits adultery, is more righteous than himself.  Reading this Book without the for-determined attitude that it is “God-breathed” makes all the difference.  Without making the assumption that YHWH was involved does make this an interesting read, but that is all the Book is: an interesting read.  No morality for the human race exists in this Word of God.  If anything we are learning from other peoples back choices, but YHWH is not required for that.

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