The very one who should have stood up for her, defended her, was Judah. Yet, he is the one who wrongs her at the beginning and end of the story. Disempowered, she was the object of all the actions but the subject of none.2 Her family had failed her. Tamar seized on a way to gain the protection she deserved. When Judah sees what he had done, he confesses his sin and repents. He praises Tamar for being “more righteous” than himself. The Bible doesn’t claim she is righteous. Even Judah doesn’t say she is righteous. Instead, Judah says she is more righteous than him (which doesn’t take much).
