It happened at that time that Judah went down from his brothers … [He] saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite … [he] took here and went into her … Genesis 38:1f
The drama of Joseph’s ordeal, his descent into Egypt, sets the stage for the rest of the Patriarchal Narrative. The reader is thirsting to know what happens to him, but the narrative artfully shifts to Judah, who we have seen played a huge role in selling Joseph to Egypt rather than murdering him. In fact, Judah in the end plays a huge role in the family and the outcome of the story, so we are given here a glimpse into the life of this man by what seems to be an interlude from the main action. As we shall see, this squalid story before us contains hidden within it a microcosm of the whole story, and has a prophetic character to it.
The most startling thing about Jacob’s family is its profound “worldliness.” They seem capable of every crime. At times the brothers appear more like a roving gang of vengeful thugs than Abraham’s offspring. Once, Simeon and Levi butchered all the males of a town, while the other brothers plundered it because of the rape of their sister Dinah (Chapter 34). Even Jacob was upset over this, not so much because of the violence, but because it placed him in danger with the inhabitants of the land (34:30; but see 49:5-6). Plainly, these people are wicked. However, it is equally plain that this family is categorically different than the rest of humanity, in spite of their immoral behavior. They were the children of Abraham through whom God was to reach the world with His love. They were God’s elect, His special people upon whom His thoughts and affections rested. This poses a problem. How is it that God’s chosen can act so contrary to the purity one would expect? The answer lies in the fact that the members of this family were living by their lower parts, that is, their senses and their reason. The story of Judah and Tamar best illustrates this (Chapter 38).
It is said that at the time when Joseph was sold, “Judah went down from his brothers” and “turned” toward a man referred to as an “Adullamite,” a Canaanite from the city of Adullam, a short way from Hebron where his family settled (38:1). “Going down” is directional not only in a geographical sense, but also in a spiritual sense. This comes right on the heels of Jacob’s lament for his son Joseph where he proclaims that he will go down to sheol in mourning (37:35).
Moreover, in the larger context, our story hinges on Joseph, his brothers, and ultimately Jacob and his family going down to Egypt. For Judah going down from his brothers, for Jacob going down to sheol in grief, and for the family going down to Egypt, “going down” means descending from an ideal, a separation from what normally would be proper for those living in the land promised to them by the God of their father Abraham. In Judah’s case, the added fact that he went down “from his brothers,” and turned toward a Canaanite, makes it clear that Judah no longer considered his spiritual roots and preferred to live like the Canaanites. Judah has descended into the lower regions morally and spiritually.
This fact is reinforced by what immediately follows; it is said that Judah saw a Canaanite woman and took her (38:2). Seeing and taking are accompanied by disastrous effects in the Book of Genesis beginning with Eve with the fruit, the Egyptians with Abraham’s wife Sarah, the “Sons of God” who had sexual relations with the daughters of men, and Shechem who raped Jacob’s daughter Dinah (Wenham). These two words succinctly describe devouring on the basis of sensual encounter without regard for spiritual ramifications. The point here is that Judah is sensual man, operating from what his senses dictate, as opposed to spiritual man, who operates from the assumption that invisible realities are more foundational than visible realities. By marrying a Canaanite, Judah has become like his uncle Esau, who, as mentioned before, symbolizes sensual man par excellence and the urge for immediate gratification. Canaanite women symbolize the glamor and draw of this transient world. Such a choice no doubt bothered Jacob, who, like his father before him, looked to the land of Abraham’s ancestors to find a good wife (cf. Gen 24 with 28).
The technical Latin word for the biblical “seeing and taking” is “concupiscence.” Concupiscence is lust void of the true passion of self-giving love. Concupiscence mars and deforms our relationships. On the surface, the “act of love” can be just that, an “act.” It is using others for one’s own pleasure and fulfillment, with little or no genuine giving soul to soul.
Concupiscence is deceitful; telling lies with our bodies. Our bodies were originally built to speak the truth of love, where there is a mutual self-gifting to one another. But after the fall, we tend toward “seeing and taking.” The body is saying one thing (I love you), but the interior is whispering within its own dark chamber something else (I am using you). Sex then becomes a way of controlling the other for our own ends. We very easily can fall into concupiscence in our marriages, the only allowable and safe place for sexual expression. In the marriage bond we must learn to distinguish true body language from false, and this takes much intentional relating between spouses. The goal is to be naked and not be ashamed, that is, transparent; a reversal of the Fall. This takes self-mastery.
Finally, we have here the only reference to birth control in Scripture. Judah provided a wife for his eldest son Er named Tamar. When he died, the ancient law of levirate marriage, where a brother was responsible to raise up children for his deceased brother to carry on his name and inheritance, and providing for his wife, was expected of Onan, his brother. Onan carried out a crude form of birth control by masturbating and ejection of seed before he went into Tamar. This act of irresponsibility “displeased” God to the point of immediate judgement; the text simply said that “He slew him.” Implicit here is the fact that the marriage act by nature carries with it the responsibly of children, and thereby condemns contraceptives of any kind. Moreover, self-gratification is an act of concupiscence, which by nature our conscience condemns for the very reason that it is self-gratifying and not self-gifting.
The sad truth is that many Catholics, and Christians in general, true children of God, live in concupiscence like Judah and his family. Gradually, they have descended down into their lower parts, living by their senses and reason, and go about this way without a clue as to their condition. What is needed is an awakening. For this we must wait for the next post.
Takeaway: Judah begins, like all fallen humanity, with a propensity toward “seeing and taking,” that is, concupiscence.
Questions: 1) Are you scandalized by the immoral behavior of Judah, the great- grandson of Abraham? Why or why not? 2) Can you locate in your life propensities of “seeing and taking,” that is concupiscence (Note: concupiscence is not limited to sexual sin, but in general, sins of the flesh)?
Resources Used:
Wenham, Gordon, Genesis 16-50 in the Word Biblical Commentary, Zondervan, 2015.
Saint JP II, Man and Woman He Created Them.