Hebrew Bible Study
Hebrew Bible Study

Tosefta for Genesis 38:24

וַיְהִ֣י ׀ כְּמִשְׁלֹ֣שׁ חֳדָשִׁ֗ים וַיֻּגַּ֨ד לִֽיהוּדָ֤ה לֵֽאמֹר֙ זָֽנְתָה֙ תָּמָ֣ר כַּלָּתֶ֔ךָ וְגַ֛ם הִנֵּ֥ה הָרָ֖ה לִזְנוּנִ֑ים וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוּדָ֔ה הוֹצִיא֖וּהָ וְתִשָּׂרֵֽף׃

And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying: ‘Tamar thy daughter-in-law hath played the harlot; and moreover, behold, she is with child by harlotry.’ And Judah said: ‘Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.’

Tosefta Niddah

Who is [considered to be] a virgin [for purposes of niddah] (see Niddah 1:3)? Any girl who has not seen blood in her days, even if she is married and she has children, I call her a virgin, until her eyes have seen the first. Do not call her a virgin with respect to virginity, rather a virgin with respect to blood. Who is [considered to be] a "pregnant woman"? Summachos says in the name of Rabbi Meir, one whose status of being pregnant is known [to those around her] for three months, as it is said (Gen. 38:24): "And about three months had passed [after which it was told to Yehuda, Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the whore and indeed, behold, has become pregnant from whoring...]." [If] there was a presumption of pregnancy, and then she saw [blood], or she miscarried, [or] afterwards she [gave birth to] something that was not a child, it suffices [to reckon here impurity from] her set time (Eduyot 1:1, Kulp tr.). And even though there is no explicit proof about the matter, there is at least a hint (Is. 26:18), "Behold, we travailed as though we had given birth to the wind."
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