וַיַּרְא־שָׁ֧ם יְהוּדָ֛ה בַּת־אִ֥ישׁ כְּנַעֲנִ֖י וּשְׁמ֣וֹ שׁ֑וּעַ וַיִּקָּחֶ֖הָ וַיָּבֹ֥א אֵלֶֽיהָ׃
I ujrzał tam Jehuda córkę pewnego Kanaanejczyka, imieniem Szua; i pojął ją, i poszedł do niej.
On the Virtues
§ 221. Tamar. “The story of Tamar,” says Cohn, “is greatly idealized.” In the allegorizing of her story in De Fug. 149 ff., De Mut. 134 ff. and elsewhere, we do not expect any censure. But this beatification of the actress in what to our minds is a peculiarly shocking story outdoes the other extravagances of the De Nobilitate. A number of Rabbinical comments are collected in Strack and Billerbeck’s Talmudic commentary on Matthew 1:3. I do not think they show much signs of admiration for Tamar, though the sin of her and Judah is regarded as overruled by Providence. One reason for this seems to be as follows: Tamar was believed to be of pure blood descended from Shem (quite in opposition to Philo). Judah had married a Canaanite (Gen. 38:2) and her sons were tainted. The union between him and Tamar produced the offspring which was fit to be the progenitor of David and the Messiah.