- verses
- 2
- first named
- Genesis 38:1
- last named
- Genesis 38:23
- period
- the Patriarchs
- role
- Man
Description
Who was Hirah?
Hirah is mentioned in Gen.38.1 and 12 as an Adullamite who was a close friend of Judah, the fourth son of Israel (or 'Jacob'). Adullam was a Canaanite city located in the Shephelah, the foothills between the coastal plain and the Judean hills.
In Gen.38.1, Judah left his brothers and stayed with Hirah in Adullam. During this time, Judah married a Canaanite woman named Shua and had three sons with her. This event marked a significant departure from the traditions of his family, as marrying outside of the Hebrew people was generally discouraged.
Later, in Gen.38.12, after the death of Judah's wife, he went to Timnah with his friend Hirah to shear his sheep. It was during this trip that Judah encountered his daughter-in-law Tamar, who had disguised herself as a prostitute. Judah, unaware of her true identity, slept with her, resulting in Tamar's pregnancy.
Hirah's presence in these narratives suggests that he was a trusted companion of Judah and that their friendship endured over time. As an Adullamite, Hirah would have been familiar with the local customs and culture, which may have influenced Judah's decisions and actions during his time away from his family.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
Took part in
Stands in the same events as
Places
Where this happens
The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 2, across 1 book.
Onward
Where this page goes
Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
Chapter by chapter
Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
Sources