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Judah: Growing In Grace
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Judah: Growing In Grace
 
Judah And Tamar (Gen 38) ~ Judah And Joseph (Gen 44) 
 
The story of the sale of Joseph is a very familiar one, and Judah played a main role in it, from the very earliest stages of his brothers' campaign against Joseph. It was he who suggested  selling Joseph as a slave to Egypt, rather than killing him or leaving him to die in the pit, as Reuben suggested. Later, it was Judah again, who succeeded in convincing Jacob to allow Benjamin to go down to Egypt together with his brothers (unlike Reuben, who could not convince their father). In this story (Genesis chapter 44) we find Judah standing before Joseph and offering himself as a servant instead of Benjamin.
  
Another story in Torah, which contributes to our understanding of Judah's actions in this situation, is the story of Judah and Tamar. (Gen 38) Why did the Torah record the story of Judah and Tamar immediately after the account of Joseph's sale?
 
The story of Judah and Tamar is recorded immediately after the story of the sale of Joseph, thus creating a background to the encounter between Judah and Joseph, with some interesting paralles.
 
"Please recognize" the brothers declared, presenting Joseph's blood-drenched coat to Jacob, and "Please recognize" declared Tamar, presenting Judah with the items that he had left in her safekeeping.
 
The two central figures in Genesis chapter 44 - Judah and Joseph, take center stage separately: Judah's grappling with the story of Tamar, and Joseph's grappling with his own situation in Egypt. The way in which they addressed the challenges that faced them, teaches us much about their characters. 
 
Judah first fell, then mended his ways. His failure was due to his fear of allowing his youngest son to marry Tamar, and in his insensitive treatment of her ~ first ~ "Remain a widow in your father's house." (Gen 38:11) then ~ "Bring her out and let her be burned." (Gen 38:24)  Tamar, in her wisdom, caused Judah to retract this decree and to mend his ways: "She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shela my son." Gen 38:26  In contrast - Joseph did not fail - even when tempted by Potifar's wife. 
 
Overcoming Fear
 
In the story of Judah and Tamar, Judah refrained from giving his third son, Shela, to Tamar, out of fear that he too will die, like his brothers, and he will have no children left.  In the encounter between Judah and Joseph, Judah described an identical situation in relation to Jacob, his father:

"And your servant, my father, said to us: You know that my wife bore me two sons.  One went out from me, and I said, he has surely been torn apart. And I never saw him since.  If you take this one from me and some calamity befalls him, you shall bring down my grey hairs with sorrow to Sheol."  Gen 44:27-29
    
Jacob, too, feared for the life of his youngest son, Benjamin, lest he 'die' like his older brother, and resisted handing him over to his brothers when they were ready to return to Egypt. 
 
Jacob described Benjamin as the third son who was to be taken from him: "You have bereaved me of my children: Joseph is gone and Simon is gone, and you will take Benjamin, all of this has befallen me."  Gen 42:36  In exactly the same way, Judah felt that Er was gone, Onan was gone, and therefore he had to be especially careful with his third son.
  
Judah's identification with his father Jacob is evident. By the end of the story Judah realized his mistake, repaired his ways and came to his father to persuade him to allow Benjamin to go with him to Egypt.
 
The Pledge Of Commitment
 
In both cases (with Tamar and with Joseph), Judah gave a pledge. In his encounter with Tamar he gave her his staff, his signet and his cord. The pledge remained with Tamar, and it was through it that she was able to convince Judah of his mistake in judging her so hastily. 
 
In his speech to Joseph, Judah mentioned his pledge to Jacob: "For your servant was surety for the boy to my father, saying, if I fail to bring him to you, I will have sinned to my father forever."  Gen 44:32
   
Judah gave Tamar his personal effects, demonstrating his commitment. Likewise with Joseph, he made himself a surety for Benjamin, again demonstrating personal commitment. Judah was ready to serve as surety for Benjamin, proposing to be a slave in Egypt in his brother's place, thus going beyond what was expected of him. Knowing that his father would prefer his brother's return to his own, he suggested that Benjamin's servitude be exchanged for his own.
 
Money - in both instances there was a problem with the payment. Judah sent a goat as payment for the "prostitute on the road" but she could not be found, thus he never paid Tamar. "Judah considered her a prostitute, for she had covered her face."  Gen 38:15
   
With Joseph there was also a problem surrounding payment ~ the money in the brothers' sacks. The brothers did not succeed in paying Joseph, whom they believed to be an Egyptian, for the grain they received from him, because their money was returned to them time after time. 
 
Both, Tamar and Joseph resisted accepting payment for their service. As a result, something of much greater importance - the "surety" - was slated to remain in their hands. Judah's personal effects remained with Tamar, and now Judah himself was about to remain as a slave to the Egyptian viceroy.
  
It was the lack of acceptance of payment that ultimately led Judah to realize that money could not solve his problems ~ instead, self-sacrifice would be required of him.  Indeed, in both  cases Judah displayed great inner strength, declaring in one case, "She has been more righteous than I" and in the other - "Let your servant remain instead of the boy, as a servant to my master."
  
The story of Judah and Tamar highlights Judah's identification with Jacob, the identification of fathers who have lost children and who fear for the fate of their remaining son. It also highlights Judah's willingness to sacrifice himself for others, thus correcting the wrong that he did to Tamar and reversing his brothers' betrayal of Joseph by his selfless act on behalf of his younger brother, Benjamin.