38:1,2
This is one the most sordid chapters in the Bible, with prostitution and incest, among other things. It marks a break in the tale of Joseph, but its importance is in establishing the human genealogy of Jesus. Perez features there in Matt 1:3. Judah, who was to become the prime tribe in Israel, is separated from his brothers for some reason. We are not told why, but he goes off to live among the Canaanites. We should note that Hebrew writings do not only convey messages in “thou shalt not ...” form, but also by narrative. We have already seen, and will do so again, that having more than one wife never works out well. Likewise, living among the Canaanites leads to people living like the Canaanites, which was never a godly way. Judah takes a Canaanite wife, something else that never ended well. In the Law such a thing would be explicitly forbidden, but we have seen that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob counselled against it.
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