Midras Kejadian 38:3: Midrash Tanchuma & Bereshit Rabbah

And he sent Judah before him (Gen. 46:28). Scripture states elsewhere: Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me (Mal. 3:1). Observe that every misfortune that occurred to Joseph likewise befell Zion. It is written of Joseph: and Israel loved Joseph more than all his children (Gen. 38:3), and of Zion it is written: God loves the gates of Zion (Ps. 87:2). Concerning Joseph it is stated: And they hated him (Gen. 37:8), and about Zion: She hath uttered her voice against Me, therefore I have hated her (Jer. 12:8). With reference to Joseph it is said: For behold, we are binding sheaves (Gen. 37:7), and in regard to Zion: Ye shall come home with song, bearing sheaves (Ps. 126:6). It is written of Joseph: Shalt thou indeed rule over us? (Gen. 36:8), and of Zion: That sayeth unto Zion: “Thy God reigneth” (Isa. 52:7). Joseph: And Joseph dreamed a dream (Gen. 37:5), and Zion: When the Lord brought back those that returned to Zion, we were like unto them that dream (Ps. 126:1). Joseph: Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down to thee? (Gen. 37:10), Zion: They shall bow down to thee with their face to the earth (Isa. 49:23). Joseph: And his brothers envied him (Gen. 37:11), Zion: I am jealous of Zion with great jealousy (Zech. 8:2). Joseph: Go now, see whether it is well with thy brethren (Gen. 37:14), Zion: Seek the peace of the city (Jer. 29:7). Joseph: They saw him from afar off (Gen. 37:18), Zion: Remember the Lord from afar off (Jer. 51:50). Joseph: And before he came near unto them they conspired (Gen. 37:18), Zion: They hold crafty converse against the people (Ps. 83:4). Joseph: And they stripped Joseph of his coat (Gen. 37:23), Zion: They shall strip thee of thy clothes (Ezek. 23:26). Joseph: They took him and cast him into the pit (Gen. 37:24), Zion: They have cut off my life in the dungeon (Lam. 3:53). Joseph: And the pit was empty (Gen. 37:24), Zion: And in the pit there was no water (Jer. 38:6). Joseph: And they sat down to eat bread (Gen. 37:25), Zion: We have given the hand to Egypt, and to Assyria, to have bread enough (Lam. 5:6). Joseph: And they drew near and lifted up Joseph (Gen. 37:28), Zion: Ebed-Melech the Cushite drew him up (Jer. 38:13). Joseph: And Jacob rent his garments (Gen. 37:34), Zion: And in that day did the Lord, the God of hosts, call to the weeping (Isa. 22:12). Joseph: All his sons and all his daughters rose to comfort him (Gen. 37:35), Zion: Strain not to comfort me (Isa. 22:4). Joseph: And the Midianites sold him into Egypt (Gen. 37:36), Zion: The children also of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the sons of the Jevanim (Joel 4:6).

“And turned to an Adulamite man, and his name was Ḥira” – the Rabbis say: Ḥira is Ḥiram who was in the days of David, as it is stated: “For Ḥiram had been David’s friend all the days” (I Kings 5:15) – this man was accustomed to being a friend of this tribe. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Ḥiram was someone else. According to the opinion of the Rabbis, he lived close to one thousand two hundred years; according to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda [ben Rabbi Simon], he lived close to five hundred years.²²Both opinions agree that Hiram was the prince of Tyre who was addressed by the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 28:2) almost five hundred years after the time of David (see Yalkut Shimoni, Va’era 180) The debate is whether Ḥiram was also the same person as the Ḥira in the time of Judah, five hundred or so years before David.
“There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and cohabited with her” (Genesis 38:2).
“There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua” – the daughter²³The Hebrew text has the word son, rather than daughter, but many suggest that the text should say daughter (see, e.g., Etz Yosef). of a merchant,²⁴This opinion interprets kenaani, generally translated as Canaanite, to mean merchant, which is in fact how the term is used in some places in Bible (see, e.g., Isaiah 23:8). Accordingly, Judah followed the family tradition of not marrying Canaanites. the shining light of his place.
“She conceived, and she bore a son; he called his name Er” (Genesis 38:3).
“She conceived, and she bore a son; he²⁵Although the most common text of the midrash says “she”, the actual text of the verse is “he”. called his name Er” – as he was discharged [shehuar] from the world.
“She conceived again, and bore a son; she called his name Onan. She continued and bore a son again, and called his name Shela; and he was in Keziv when she bore him” (Genesis 38:4–5).
“She conceived again…Onan” – as he brought acute mourning [anina] upon himself.
“She conceived again.… Shela” – as he initiated a genealogy [shenishtalshel] in the world.²⁶This translation is based on a variant reading, “in the world [baolam],” instead of “from the world [min haolam].”
“She continued…again…Keziv” – Poskat,²⁷This is the Aramaic name for Keziv. the name of a place.
“Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death” (Genesis 38:7).
“Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the eyes of the Lord” – he would plow in the gardens and discharge in the waste.²⁸This is a euphemism for the fact that he would begin intercourse with his wife but then withdraw before discharging the semen so as to avoid impregnating her.