1At that time, Judah went down from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. 2There, Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite man named Shua. He took her, and went in to her. 3She conceived, and bore a son; and he named him Er. 4She conceived again, and bore a son; and she named him Onan. 5She yet again bore a son, and named him Shelah. He was at Chezib when she bore him. 6Judah took a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in Yahweh’s sight. So Yahweh killed him. 8Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.” 9Onan knew that the offspring wouldn’t be his; and when he went in to his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground, lest he should give offspring to his brother. 10The thing which he did was evil in Yahweh’s sight, and he killed him also. 11Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house, until Shelah, my son, is grown up;” for he said, “Lest he also die, like his brothers.” Tamar went and lived in her father’s house.

12After many days, Shua’s daughter, the wife of Judah, died. Judah was comforted, and went up to his sheep shearers to Timnah, he and his friend Hirah, the Adullamite. 13Tamar was told, “Behold, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.” 14She took off the garments of her widowhood, and covered herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown up, and she wasn’t given to him as a wife. 15When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16He turned to her by the way, and said, “Please come, let me come in to you,” for he didn’t know that she was his daughter-in-law.

She said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”

17He said, “I will send you a young goat from the flock.”

She said, “Will you give me a pledge, until you send it?”

18He said, “What pledge will I give you?”

She said, “Your signet and your cord, and your staff that is in your hand.”

He gave them to her, and came in to her, and she conceived by him. 19She arose, and went away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the garments of her widowhood. 20Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his friend, the Adullamite, to receive the pledge from the woman’s hand, but he didn’t find her. 21Then he asked the men of her place, saying, “Where is the prostitute, that was at Enaim by the road?”

They said, “There has been no prostitute here.”

22He returned to Judah, and said, “I haven’t found her; and also the men of the place said, ‘There has been no prostitute here.’” 23Judah said, “Let her keep it, lest we be shamed. Behold, I sent this young goat, and you haven’t found her.”

24About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute. Moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution.”

Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.” 25When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “I am with child by the man who owns these.” She also said, “Please discern whose these are—the signet, and the cords, and the staff.”

26Judah acknowledged them, and said, “She is more righteous than I, because I didn’t give her to Shelah, my son.”

He knew her again no more. 27In the time of her travail, behold, twins were in her womb. 28When she travailed, one put out a hand, and the midwife took and tied a scarlet thread on his hand, saying, “This came out first.” 29As he drew back his hand, behold, his brother came out, and she said, “Why have you made a breach for yourself?” Therefore his name was called Perez. 30Afterward his brother came out, who had the scarlet thread on his hand, and his name was called Zerah.

Person

James (Brother of Jesus)

Father Joseph (Mary's Husband)

Mother Mary (Mother of Jesus)

Siblings Jesus Christ Joses Jude Simon

Biography | Hershel Wayne House

There are several people mentioned in the New Testament named James. The name "Jacob" is a Latinized version of Yakob - or Jacob, a very common Jewish name. Here, the person in question is the brother of Jesus. In order to distinguish him from the other people named James in the NT, the early Church gave him the moniker "the Just." Although the Church later argued that James was the son of Joseph through a marriage previous to Mary or that "brother" actually means "cousin" (owing to the belief that Mary was a perpetual virgin), the Bible gives no indication that he was not the natural son of Joseph and Mary, and the actual brother of the Lord Jesus.

Almost nothing is known of James' early life. He grew up in Nazareth, and at first apparently did not believe (Mark 3:31-35; John 7:5). After the death and resurrection of Jesus, James became a leader of the church in Jerusalem. Paul is reported to have met with James just after his conversion (Gal 1:18-20), and later Paul mentions James among the "pillars" of the church who "recognized the grace" of his call (Gal 2:9-10). James was also present at the Council of Jerusalem that decided Gentiles did not need to become Jews in order to follow Jesus (Acts 15:1-30). Finally, before Paul's arrest in Jerusalem, he met with James and "all the elders" (Acts 21:17-25). According to both Josephus and other early Church historians, James was martyred around A.D. 62 by being thrown from the "pinnacle of the Temple" and then stoned to death. He was said to have been buried and "his monument" was still present "by the temple" in the 4th century A.D.

In 2002 it was announced that an ossuary (bone box) had been found bearing the inscription, written in Aramaic, "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus." Although its authenticity has been challenged by some skeptics, experts have demonstrated that it is almost certainly authentic. Although the names "James (Yakob), "Joseph (Yoseph)," and "Jesus (Yeshua)" were very common in first century Judea, the specific combination written on the ossuary is unique, making the probability that it is indeed James' very high.

Person & place data: Theographic Bible Metadata by Robert Rouse (Viz.Bible), CC BY-SA 4.0.