Tamar

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Tamar is a woman whose story is told in the Bible, sandwiched between two parts of the story of Joseph. Just when Joseph is resisting the temptation of Potiphar's wife - and being falsely accused of the offense himself, the Book of Genesis interrupts Joseph's story to describe an episode involving Judah and Tamar. (Genesis 38)

Judah's first two sons died without producing an heir. One spilled his seed to avoid impregnating his wife, the other simply refused to marry at all. Tamar disguised herself as a harlot and enticed Judah on the road. She demanded three tokens in lieu of payment.

Later, Tamar was accused of extramarital sex when her pregnancy became known. Judah was to judge her case, but Tamar presented the tokens and he had to free her.<ref>Judah and Tamar - Models of Moral Action, A Torah Commentary for Our Times

By Harvey J. Fields

In Unification Church doctrine, Tamar is seen as a righteous woman who cared more about the lineage than about her own life; this is a non-standard theological view.

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