Reading for March 24th

Read Genesis 38.16-30.
In verse 16: Let me come in to you is a request to have sexual intercourse.
In verse 18: The signet ring with a distinctive design or stamp which could be used as a personal signature on official or commercial documents.
It was often tied to a cord and worn around the neck.
The staff was a walking stick, often with a distinctive family emblem carved on it.
The modern day equivalent of your signet, cord, staff would be your diver's license and all your credit cards.
In verses 21-22: Judah's messenger asks for the temple prostitute ("kedeshah," literally "holy woman,"  v. 21).
The story assumes the presence of prostitutes associated with fertility rituals at Canaanite temples.
The term temple prostitute is more dignified than the term for an ordinary prostitute ("zonah," v. 22).
In verse 28-30: The twin boys repeat the experience of the twins Jacob and Esau.
The second-born son comes out ahead of the first-born son (25.22-24).
The name Perez means "breach" or "breaking forth" out of the womb ahead of his older brother.
Zerah means "brightness," perhaps in reference to the bright red or crimson thread.
Perez is an ancestor of the great King David (Ruth 4.18-22).
Like Perez, David was also the youngest among his brothers (1 Sam 16.1-13).
Comments or Questions..