In the recent exegesis on the book of Ruth, I omitted commentary on the final five verses. This was not because they are grounded in dereliction of duty, deception and prostitution, rather because they are generally acknowledged as a late addition to the text. However, I am persuaded a few words would complete the study.
Verses 16-22 are the genealogy of Boaz, the story’s leading man. Boaz is descended from Perez, and it is his genealogy that is of interest. He is the grandson of the patriarch Jacob/Israel. Jacob’s son Judah marries a Canaanite woman. We know her only as a daughter of Shua. They have three sons: Er, Onan, Shelah. Er marries a Canaanite woman named Tamar. He dies before having a male heir. The cause of death is plainly stated: he was wicked in the sight of the Lord!
Tribal law provided for a levirate (brother-in-law) marriage. In the case of a man dying without heir to continue his name and maintain his property, his brother or next of kin was obliged to take the widow to his bed and impregnate her that she might have “his brother’s” son to inherit the name and property rights of the deceased. This would also provide status and financial support for the widow as far as she was “property” of the deceased.
To fulfill this levirate obligation Judah turns to his next eldest, Onan. Onan takes Tamar to his bed, but engages in coitus interruptus. Much has been made about this to bolster arguments about the moral deficiencies of masturbation—spilling the seed upon the ground—but the sin here is dereliction of duty. Nevertheless, God is not pleased with Onan and he is struck dead.
Judah has but one son left, Shelah. After two sons tied to Tamar are killed by God, Judah fears for his life. It appears Shelah is young. Judah advises Tamar to stay a widow until he “grows up.” Without any rights in Judah’s household, Tamar returns to her family where she will have support and possibly the hope of another marriage. But her late husband’s name and property are in abeyance.
There is a superstition behind Judah’s fears. It was widely believed that the groom is a locus for evil action. There is some indication that the bridal chamber is also a problematic arena. There was an uneasiness about procreation, especially the initial act of coitus. There was the issue of the flow of virginal blood (life). There was the issue of the man who was seen to be the initiator of this discharge. The terror and fascination of procreation was sensed. And where the awe of life is inspired, evil is wont to destroy. In the book of Tobit we hear of Sarah who is plagued by an envious evil spirit. She has had seven wedding nights, and they all have ended in her becoming a widow. To the patriarchal mind, she is somehow the problem. In Deuteronomy (24:5) we read newly married men are exempt from military service and public duties for a full year. It is said this is that they might attend to their new obligations. That sounds sociologically advanced, but it is rooted in this superstition that the newly married man somehow carries an evil-eye upon him. In any dangerous or delicate situation he is literally persona non grata. There remain traces of these superstitions today. Jewish weddings take place under a canopy, a chuppah. In contemporary weddings there is a proclivity to set the exchange of vows under some sort of arbour. While such devices are said to represent a new home, they can also be seen as a shield from evil. Thus also the veiling of the bride. The newly married must be hidden until they can successfully carry life forward. The customs around lights and noise making have also their roots in the need to drive away evil.
Tamar is not a woman to be sidelined by anything. Shelah grows to manhood, and Judah has not acted. She takes matters into her own hands. She hears her father-in-law, Judah, is going to a certain place to sheer his sheep. Now widows did not wear veils, but Tamar wraps herself in a veil and sits by the roadside. Judah sees her and because she is alone, veiled, and by the roadside presumes her to be a temple prostitute. Temple prostitution was a devotional act supposedly made here to the local goddess of love and fertility, Astarte. In some ancient societies of the middle east it was a devotion that one was expected to make at least once in a lifetime.
Judah approaches her and offers to send her a lamb for her services. In pledge of payment she asks for his signet, cord and staff—signs of a businessman with means. The deed done, she goes her way. When Judah sends his friend with the ewe, she is nowhere to be found, and the town folk no nothing of a temple prostitute in the area. Three months pass, and word comes to Judah that Tamar is pregnant. He immediately jumps to the conclusion she has been having illicit sex, and deserves to be burnt at the stake. Summoned to Judah she produces the items he left in pledge. Judah acknowledges his wrong in withholding Shelah and the levirate duty. She gives birth to twins. It would seem they run in Jacob’s family. They are Perez and Zerah. According to the text, Perez becomes the ancestor of Boaz.
The date of this addition to the text of Ruth is debated, and so adds nothing to the dating of the main text. However, it does underscore that David is of mixed blood both paternally and maternally. In this regard it does seem undeniable that we have here a repudiation of the post-exilic policies of Ezra and Nehemiah that demanded racial purity. It is also of note that in connecting Boaz to Tamar, the seemingly smug patriarchal mind is confronted with yet another woman whose determination and ingenuity move history forward. But in this regard we have—among others—Rahab, Deborah, Jael, Abigail, Esther, Huldah, Judith.