“And turned to an Adulamite man, and his name was Ḥira” – the Rabbis say: Ḥira is Ḥiram who was in the days of David, as it is stated: “For Ḥiram had been David’s friend all the days” (I Kings 5:15) – this man was accustomed to being a friend of this tribe. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon said: Ḥiram was someone else. According to the opinion of the Rabbis, he lived close to one thousand two hundred years; according to the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda [ben Rabbi Simon], he lived close to five hundred years.22Both opinions agree that Hiram was the prince of Tyre who was addressed by the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 28:2) almost five hundred years after the time of David (see Yalkut Shimoni, Va’era 180) The debate is whether Ḥiram was also the same person as the Ḥira in the time of Judah, five hundred or so years before David.
“There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and cohabited with her” (Genesis 38:2). “There Judah saw the daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua” – the daughter23The Hebrew text has the word son, rather than daughter, but many suggest that the text should say daughter (see, e.g., Etz Yosef). of a merchant,24This opinion interprets kenaani, generally translated as Canaanite, to mean merchant, which is in fact how the term is used in some places in Bible (see, e.g., Isaiah 23:8).
Accordingly, Judah followed the family tradition of not marrying Canaanites. the shining light of his place. “She conceived, and she bore a son; he called his name Er” (Genesis 38:3). “She conceived, and she bore a son; he25Although the most common text of the midrash says “she”, the actual text of the verse is “he”. called his name Er” – as he was discharged [shehuar] from the world. “She conceived again, and bore a son; she called his name Onan.
She continued and bore a son again, and called his name Shela; and he was in Keziv when she bore him” (Genesis 38:4–5). “She conceived again…Onan” – as he brought acute mourning [anina] upon himself. “She conceived again.… Shela” – as he initiated a genealogy [shenishtalshel] in the world.26This translation is based on a variant reading, “in the world [baolam],” instead of “from the world [min haolam].”
“She continued…again…Keziv” – Poskat,27This is the Aramaic name for Keziv. the name of a place. “Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the eyes of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death” (Genesis 38:7). “Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the eyes of the Lord” – he would plow in the gardens and discharge in the waste.28This is a euphemism for the fact that he would begin intercourse with his wife but then withdraw before discharging the semen so as to avoid impregnating her.