“And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. (Notice here that Judah is not so much concerned with the keeping of his promise as he is with getting back his pledge, knowing full well that his identity is tied up with it. It is interesting to note that Tamar relies on proving his identity via the items in order to claim the rightful inheritance for his heir, her son – an inheritance she does not herself even recognise how great – whereas Judah relies on getting the items back precisely for the very reason of obscuring his identity, lest his fornicating ways be made known. All of Tamar’s actions are underscored by Kingdom Purposes whereas all of Judah’s actions are motivated by covering up sin and avoiding shame: notice also how he sends his friend to complete the transaction, lest he risk being seen with what he believes to be a harlot without receiving the sexual benefit of the encounter.) Then he (Judah’s friend the Adullamite) asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the harlot who was openly (or: “in full view”) by the roadside?” And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.” (Notice how this seemingly insignificant witness account of simple fact serves to prove Tamar’s innocence – our Lord having pre-ordained and ensured that never has there been-, nor will there ever be, harlotry in this place for the sake of Tamar’s good name.) So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.” (Judah’s friend seeks only to be thorough in the explanation he gives Judah, yet in repeating the authoritative words of the men of the region, he is unknowingly ultimately strengthening the case for Tamar’s innocence.) Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.” (Here Judah concedes to her keeping the collateral items that name him, probably in the hopes that she has disappeared so completely that no one he knows would ever come across her and be able to find out his sin. And yet what he claims openly is that he is trying to avoid the much lesser shame of dishonesty 😅. I also detect a hint of the shrugging attitude: “Well I tried to do right by her, there’s nothing more I can do.”)  And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child (or: “pregnant”) by harlotry.” So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!” (What strikes us here so overwhelmingly is not only the severe, severe hypocrisy – accompanied by all its evil delusions namely projection and reaction-formation of the same kind we see in the narrative of the woman caught in adultery [John 7 – 8] – but also his complete and total refusal to acknowledge-, and blatant disregard for the fact, that he had forgotten about- and wholly failed poor Tamar concerning his promise to her as it pertains to his son Shelah!)

“²⁰And Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive his pledge from the woman’s hand, but he did not find her. ²¹Then he asked the men of that place, saying “Where is the harlot who was openly by the roadside?”

And they said, “There was no harlot in this place.”

²²So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said there was no harlot in this place.”

²³Then Judah said, “Let her take them for herself, lest we be shamed; for I sent this young goat and you have not found her.”

²⁴And it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the harlot; furthermore she is with child by harlotry.”

So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”

– Genesis 38:20-24 (NKJV)