Does God break the rules? Glynn Cardy in his look at Tamar's seduction of Judah, suggests the answer is, "All the time!"
When was the last time you heard a sermon on Tamar, who disguised herself as a prostitute to make sure her father-in-law carried out his responsibilities?
"The story of Tamar [Genesis 38] is about rights, responsibilities, oppression, and God. The context is patriarchy, maybe as early as 10th century BCE. Men rule. Women serve, and are breeders. If you don’t serve and you don’t breed your worth is minimal. So on one level the story is not about Tamar at all, but about the patriarch Judah and Tamar’s male offspring."
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