“Judah identified them, and said: She is more righteous than I, because indeed, I did not give her to Shela my son. And he was not intimate with her anymore” (Genesis 38:26). “Judah identified…” – Rabbi Yirmeya in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rav Yitzḥak: The divine spirit appeared in three places: In the court of Shem, in the court of Samuel, and in the court of Solomon. In the court of Shem – “Judah identified them, and said: She is more righteous than I [mimeni].”
What is mimeni? Rabbi Yirmeya in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘You will attest to what is revealed, and I attest to what is concealed.’52Judah could attest that he had been with Tamar, but he could not attest to the fact that no one else had been with her and that she had conceived from him. A Divine Voice therefore emerged and confirmed that which was concealed, namely that she had conceived from Judah and had not been intimate with anyone else.
The word mimeni, which can also mean “from me,” is interpreted to mean that Tamar’s full exoneration was achieved with assistance from the Divine Voice, or that God announced that all of these events were “from Me,” meaning guided by Divine providence (see Kohelet Rabba 10:16). In the court of Solomon – “she is his mother” (I Kings 3:27). Who said? Rabbi Shmuel said: A Divine Voice was shouting and saying: ‘She is certainly his mother!’
In the court of Samuel: “Here I am; testify against me.… He said… The Lord is witness for you, [and His anointed is witness this day, that you did not find anything in my hand.] They said: He is witness” (I Samuel 12:3–5). A Divine Voice emerged and said: “He is witness.”53God testified that Samuel had never taken anything from the people. What does it say regarding Eli’s sons?
“The sin of the lads was [very] great…” (I Samuel 2:17), and it is written: “That they would lie with the women who would assemble…” (I Samuel 2:22). Is it possible that it is so, that the sons of that righteous one would perform that act? Say now that because they would delay the bird offerings in Shilo and they thereby kept [the women] out of their houses for one night, the verse ascribes to them as though they had relations with them.54A woman who gives birth is required to bring two birds as offerings.
The sons of Eli were slow in sacrificing the various offerings that were brought to the Tabernacle. This caused the women to remain in Shilo overnight and to be delayed in returning home to their husbands, and the verse describes this as though the sons of Eli would lie with the women. Similarly, “his sons did not follow his ways, and they turned to bribes” (I Samuel 8:3) – is it possible that the sons of the righteous Samuel would perform that act?
Rabbi Berekhya said: A caravan would pass in Beersheba, and they would forsake the needs of the public and engage in their own business. Because of that action, the verse ascribed to them as though they took bribes. Similarly, “she sat at Petaḥ Einayim” (Genesis 38:14), as it is written above.55Above (section 7) it was written that she did not actually act as a harlot as indicated by the plain meaning of the verse.