And she put her widow's garments off from her, and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him as wife.
All Commentaries on Genesis 38:14 Go To Genesis 38
John Chrysostom
AD 407
So, buoyed up with these promises Tamar sat in her father’s house, the text says, waiting for her fatherinlaw’s promise to take effect. When she saw that Judah was not prepared to honor his promise, for a while she accepted it mildly, forbearing to have relations with another man, being content with her widowhood and waiting for a suitable opportunity. She was anxious, you see, to have children by her fatherinlaw. When she saw her motherinlaw die and Judah make for Timnah to shear the flocks, she wished to obtain by stealth intercourse with her fatherinlaw and desired to have children by him, not out of incontinence—perish the thought—but to avoid appearing to be some nameless person. As a matter of fact, what happened was by divine design, and the result was that her scheme took effect.
