Genesis 38:11Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Judah perceived Tamar as the reason for the demise of Ira and Abnan, and out of fear for Silom, he withheld this son from her despite his earlier assurances. Eventually, Judah realized through his own experiences that Tamar was not the source of his children's deaths; rather, his sons were suffering the consequences of their own wrongdoing.

The third group, symbolically the youngest, existing in the latter times of the holy prophets (just before the appearance of the Divine Baptist, who revealed the one who descended from heaven, Christ), were not permitted by God to be accepted by the Jewish synagogue, nor to bear fruit, fearing for their demise. “For the law produces wrath” (Rom. 4:15), and no one is justified through the law (Rom. 3:20) (Gal. 2:16). Consider how profoundly Silom represents the last, faithful people. His name signifies ‘extraction’ or ‘deliverance.’ When Divine wrath seemingly annihilated the descendants of Israel due to their evil acts against Christ and their intolerable rage against Him, those who had faith were, in a sense, rescued from destruction and freed from the chains of punishment. “The remnant” is saved, as the Scriptures state (Rom. 9:27; Is. 10:22). God, through His prophet, declared, “as when a shepherd rescues out of the lion's mouth two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be saved” (Am. 3:12). Thus, Silom is aptly descriptive of extraction or atonement in this regard. The faithful, rescued from the multitude of the lost, withdraw from Thamaria, meaning the fruitfulness of the law, which is further illustrated by the words of the Apostle Paul regarding those who adhere to the law: “But what was once gain to me, I have counted as loss for Christ” (Phil. 3:7). Paul aspired to possess not his own righteousness, that which stems from the law, but the righteousness that comes through faith in Christ Jesus. Consequently, the youngest, Silom, did not engage with Tamar, leading her to remain a widow for an extended period. Since God did not permit the Jewish synagogue to bear fruit at that time, she was perceived as a widow, childless, and without a spiritual husband. Christ Himself remarked, “For she is not my wife, nor am I her husband” (Hosea 2:2). Was there no longer any reason for this state? Was she unworthy of Divine attention? Do not assume so. Despite her exposure to extreme wickedness, God, in His boundless goodness, will show mercy in the end times, and she herself will yield the fruit expected of a follower of Christ. We learn from Scripture that she will approach Christ following the Gentiles.

Notably, this woman conducted herself with integrity: she did not covet another’s matrimonial bond, nor did she adorn herself like a prostitute out of selfish desire; rather, she sought the rightful legacy of children from the family into which she had married, acting cunningly in response to her father-in-law’s unfulfilled promises.