And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
Ver. 3. And Judah begat Phares and Zarah] Jerome is deceived, that deriveth the pedigree of the Pharisees from this Phares. They took their name either of Pharash, to expound as interpreters of the law, Romans 2:18; or of Pharas, to separate with a-"Stand further off, for I am holier than thou." Josephus saith, that the Pharisees seemed to outstrip all others both in height of holiness and depth of learning: συνταγμα τι Ιουδαιων ευσεβεστερων τον βιον, και δοκουντωνακριβεστερον των αλλων τον νομον εφηγεισθαι. B. J. i. 4. As for Pharos, he was a breachmaker (whence also he had his name, Gen 38:29). He violently took the first birthright, and became both a father of the Messiah and a type. For Christ by his strength broke the power of death and hell; he broke down also the partition wall that was between the Jews and Gentiles, who when they shall be fully born, then shall the Jews, typified by Zarah, who thrust forth the hand first, as those that, willing to be justified by their works, and thinking to regenerate themselves, had the scarlet thread of the law's condemnation bound upon their hands, which therefore they drew back and fell from God, -then shall they, I say, come forth again, Romans 11:11,12; Romans 11:25,26 .
Of Thamar] A Canaanitess, but probably a proselyte. The Jews say she was Melchisedec's daughter, the high priest, and was therefore to be burned, Leviticus 21:9. But this may well pass for a Jewish fable: howbeit, that Melchisedec was a Canaanite, but a most righteous king and priest of the most high God, and was therefore not molested or meddled with by Kedarlaomer and his accomplices, I judge not unlikely. This Thamar, out of desire, partly of revenge, and partly of issue, fell into the sin of incest. Rahab was a harlot, Bathsheba an adulteress: yet all these grandmothers to our Saviour; who, because he needed not to be ennobled by his stock, so neither was disparaged by his progenitors, but took flesh of these greatest sinners to show that we cannot commit more than he can remit; and that by his purity he washeth off all our spots, like as the sun wasteth and wipeth away all the ill vapours of the earth and air.
And Phares begat Esrom] When he was about fourteen years of age, the year before they went down to Egypt, say some: others view it otherwise. (Pareus in Gen.; Funccius in Chronol. Com., Anno 2273.) Let him that readeth understand as he can. Christ (the Arch-Prophet), when he comes again, shall teach us all things.
Esrom begat Aram] While they sojourned in the land of Egypt; a miserable home, where was nothing but bondage and tyranny. And yet in reference to it, Moses (who was likewise born there) calls his son Gershom, or a stranger there, because born in Midian. The sons of Ephraim, about the birth of Moses, sought to break prison before God's delivery: but this proved a great mischief to themselves, and no small heart break to their aged father, 1Ch 7:21-22 Psalms 78:9. Besides that, it gave occasion, likely, to that cruel edict of Pharaoh: "Let us deal wisely" (St Stephen saith sophistically, subtilly, κατασοφισαμενος, Act 7:19), "lest they multiply and join also to our enemies, and fight against us" (as now they have fought against the Gittites, their own enemies, who detained from them the promised land, till their sins were full), and "so get them up out of the land," as lately they had essayed to do. "Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens,"Exodus 1:11, and to keep them from spawning so fast, after the manner of fishes (as the word imports), which multiply beyond measure. But God turned their wisdom into folly; they took a wrong course. For who knows not that your labouring men have the most and the strongest children? And notwithstanding this new Pharaoh's craft and cruelty,