Tamar's+Plan

=Tamar's Plan = =A Conversation That Never Happened... = By Aria G

Introduction  When reading Genesis, one might wonder what Tamar's motivation is for wanting to lie with Judah. This wiki page will provide a possible answer to this question in the form of a comical audio-cast conversation between Judah and Tamar that never actually happened in the text of Genesis. In the dialogue, Judah has no idea that he is talking with his daughter-in-law because she is disguised as a prostitute. While they converse, Tamar learns why Judah will not allow her to be in their family, but she devises a plan have a baby in their family anyways. The dialogue will also portray the characters' dominant personality traits found in the text as well as represented in two images.

Audio-cast media type="file" key="Judah and Tamar Dialog Final.mp3" align="center"

Dialogue Script *Introductory Music*  Narrator: As Judah was on his way to visit his sheepshearers, he stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of a beautiful prostitute at the entrance to Enaim. Little did he know that this prostitute was actually his widowed daughter-in-law....

Judah: *horse steps* Woah camel, woooah! Well, hello there gorgeous young lady. Tamar: Who me? haha Judah: *Whistles at her* You have more curves than a camel racing track! How much do //you // cost? Tamar: Well I don't know... How much can you offer? *suggestively* Judah: -I have silver, jewelry, animals...Whatever you like. Tamar: Im flattered. but... Judah: -May I at least ask your name? Tamar: No.-- *startled* I mean, ummm, how about you tell me yours first? Judah: Fine. I know you don't know me, so I'll tell you a little bit about myself to make you less nervous. Tamar: Phew! That was close. *quietly*

Judah: Sorry, what was that? Tamar: I said... you are so... handsome! Judah: Hehe. Why thank you *lowering voice to be manly*. So anyways, my name is Judah, son of Jacob. You've heard of him right? Tamar: Ohh. Yes of course. *bored* Judah: Wellll... I'm the kind of guy who tends to make poor descisions, but at least I try to right my wrongs. Tamar: -Well, I guess thats what matters. haha Tamar: Ughh. //Why is he telling me all this? I already know all this stuff about him //. //He must really want to sleep with someone other than his wife //.*Here Judah talking still talking in background* Mhhmm (agreeing noise). //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Come on...just focus Tamar. // <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">*Tamar fades back in* Judah: So yeah... I have a wife named Shua. Tamar: Oh boy. *sarcastic and bored* Judah: What?
 * awkward pause*

Tamar: I said, oh, joy...Congrats on getting married. She is one lucky lady. haha Judah: Well thanks. I think I'm a good husband if I say so myself. Tamar: Yeah. Almost as good as Tiger Woods. *sarcastically* Judah: Who? Tamar: Never mind. Just continue on. Judah: Where was I...Oh yes... I'm married, and my wife bore three boys, Er, Onan, and my youngest is Shelah. But, both of my oldest boys were wicked and God put them to death. Luckily, only Onan was married. Tamar: -That poor widow. Judah: Yes, indeed. But I don't really care for her too much. I said I was going to save her for my youngest son, but I don't think I don't think I will anymore.--But you don't want to hear about my family anymore. Lets get a room somewhere closeby. Tamar: Hold on a second. Why is that? *through clenched teeth* Why is she not worthy? Judah: This is a complicated matter. Can we just go get a room now?

Tamar: Wait. Whats complicated? Has she not been loyal to you or your family? Judah: No, she has been quite loyal... Tamar: --Is she ugly? Judah: No, she is pretty. Tamar: --Than what could she have possibly done to get kind of treatment from you? Judah: She hasn't done anything to deserve being brought into our family and bear //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">me //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> a grandson. Tamar: THAT'S //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">IT //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">? *releases a flustered "ugh" sound* Judah: Why does this matter even concern you?! You're just my prostitute! Tamar: It just seems so terribly unjust. *flustered* Judah: Well its none of //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">your //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> concern, so let's drop it and get on with our buisness.

<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Tamar <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">: <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: normal;">//<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">*frustrated quiet grunt Ugh* // //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 80%;">What an annoying, egotistic, idiot! I should just tell him off! // Mmhm. <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14.4px; line-height: normal;">// But..I don't want to blow my cover... // <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Tamar: I'm so sorry sir. You're right. I was out of place. Please continue. Judah: So anyways, there has been a lot of death in our household and it has taken a toll on my wife and my love life. Tamar: As I can imagine. There has been death in my house as well. Judah: How unfortunate. *deadpan* So what's your name again? Betty right? Tamar: No. I didn't tell you my name. Judah: Yeah, so Betty...its getting late. Tamar: *thinking* //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">He seriously thought my name is Betty?! I can't believe this guy! He doesn't care about me at all. He wants to sleep with me and doesn't know the first thing about who I am! If he even paid attension he would see that i'm just his just daughter-in-law in a stupid veil. Ugh. Come on Tamar. I just want a child in their family soo badly. Just get it together. I'll sleep with him for one night and then i'll get my baby. I can do this. --No, I will do this. // <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Tamar: No. Actually, my name is Lucy.

Judah: My deepest appologies. *sincerely* I'm bad with names. So...What are the plans for tonight, Lucy? *suggestively* Tamar: Well I was thinking we could rent a room at the Inn and get to //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">know //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">each other better. Judah: Oooo. That sounds good to me! Tamar: Just hold up a second there tiger. Now just so were clear, if something //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">crazy //<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;"> happens and you get me pregnant or something... Judah: --Don't worry baby. I promise that if anything goes array, I won't hang you out to dry. *wink noise (like bell)* Tamar: Wow...you are so...charming. *sacasticly* Okay...So... what will you give me, so that you may come in to me?...


 * Ending music*

Script Analysis <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> In the dialogue, Tamar is portrayed as deceitful and determined. Aria conveys the trait of deceit by adding little white lies to Tamar's part. For example, a couple times Tamar says something, but then she makes up another thing when Judah asks her what she said. Also, Tamar lies about her name, and calls herself, Lucy. Tamar's lies forces the readers question her reliability. Also, By portraying Judah as an unbearable and frustrating character, Aria conveys to the reader a sense of Tamar's determination. Judah treats Tamar as an objects and is exceedingly rude. At one point in the dialogue, Judah is especially aggravating, but Tamar talks herself out of giving up and thinks, "//I'll sleep with him for one night and then I'll get my baby. I can do this. --No, I will do this// <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 121%;">//"// <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> (Griffin 3-4). The modal-auxillary, "will" exemplifies how she is positive in her abilities to accomplish this task. <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> Tamar cannot stand Judah, however she wants to achieve her goal so badly that she puts up with his attitude.

Character Chart



<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #2d77d2; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">Character Analysis <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> Even though Tamar is determined, she also has to be deceitful in order to obtain what she wants. Tamar dresses as a prostitute and sits at the entrance of the city and waits for Judah. After he arrives, Judah immediately offers various goods as a price to sleep with him. Tamar later asks Judah for a pledge, and "He said 'What pledge shall I give you?' She replied, "Your signet and your cord, and the staff in hour hand.' So he gave them to her and went in to her" (Gen. 38.17-18). The word "pledge" tells the readers that she is so determined that she conceives a plan to force Judah to make a "pledge" or promise to her. This quote also hints to the reader that Tamar has a plan for Judah and foreshadows the later events. This pledge ultimately saves Tamar's life because if Tamar did not obtain these items from Judah, no one would have no way of knowing that she was telling the truth about sleeping with Judah. At this time, most women could not be honest and blunt about what they wanted, so they had to trick the men. The artist, Horace Vernet's painting, <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">//<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Judah and Tamar, // <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;"> he conveys Tamar's deceitfulness by depicting Tamar covering most of her face with the symbolic veil. Tamar uses this veil to deceive Judah in order to obtain a child in their family. Unlike most women in her society, through her determination, Tamar gets what she wants. The redactors of Genisis include this story because it conveys how different Tamar is from most women in this time. <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">

<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">After Judah's insistent behavior of forcefully trying to sleep with Tamar, he is responsible because he accepts his wrong doings. In the painting by Arent de Gelder called <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">//<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Judah and Tamar // <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">, De Gelder depicts Judah as a vicious character choking Tamar with his monstrous right hand. Judah also stares Tamar down while Tamar gazes innocently back through her veil while cracking a smug smile. The scene shown, occurs when the couple begin to get ready to sleep with each other. Judah's clenching hand conveys to the viewers that he does not car about Tamar's well being, but instead is insistent on sleeping with his "prositute". In fact, in his haste to lie with Tamar, he does not even recognize her as his daughter in law. Through this story, the redactors of Genesis try to show how entitled the men feel towards women, and how powerless the women in this society truly are. However, this time, women prevail. Judah later acts responsibly after they sleep together and tries to keep his promise to her. When Judah hears of Tamar's pregnancy, he first plans to kill his daughter in law, but then realizes that he must be the father because Tamar has his signet, cord, and staff. Tamar shows Judah his identification objects, and "then Judah acknowledged them and said, 'She is more right than I'" (Gen. 38.26). The word "acknowledge" tells the reader how he acted responsibly because Judah probably could have gotten away with lying, but he admits the truth and does not kill her. The redactors include this story in Genesis because this scene develops his character and tells the readers that Judah does indeed have a good conscience and at leasts attempts to right his wrongs unlike most men at this time. <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">

Artist Information <span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The French painter, Horace Vernet (1789-1863), aslo known as Emile-Jean-Horace Vernet, painted "Judah and Tamar" in 1840. Vernet is mostly known for his portraits and battle scenes in the Nepolianic Wars. Find out more at: http://www.paintinghere.com/artist-1/Horace-Vernet-Paintings.html

"Judah and Tamar" was painted by Arent de Gelder (1645-1727) in 1667. This wealthy Dutch painter was one of Rembrandt's las pupils, and Rembrandt's influence is apparent in all of De Gelder's paintings. Find out more at: http://www.artbible.info/art/biography/arent-de-gelder.html

<span style="color: #2d77d2; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18px; line-height: 27px;">Reflection

<span style="color: #808080; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 110%;">Many months ago when my teacher assigned this project, I did not know what characters i should choose. I finally chose to create a conversation between Judah and Tamar because I wanted to understand their motivations for having an affair with each other. Not knowing their motivation made the assignment more difficult at the beginning, so I had to rearrange my Webspiration chart a number of times before I finally got it to a point where I felt confident. The chart took me a long time to complete, however I later found it very useful in creating my character analysis paragraphs. Creating my script was the hardest part of the assignment for me; I could not think of how to build to a climax. However, when I brought my script to my class to review, some of my group members gave me a good idea for the climax and helpful critique about my flawed timeline. Also, the editing of my dialogue proved a difficult and tedious task. I learned through this project that I have the patience to figure out the programs I have on my computer, and that I am really good and helpful to my peers with technology. Through this assignment, I learned how critical it is to work early on long projects because I encountered many unforeseeable problems with technology, and if I left everything to the last minute I would not have been able to finish. A weakness for this assignment included the technological difficulties that surrounded this project. A strength was that we got to be as creative as we wanted with our audio-casts.

Works Cited <span style="color: #000000; font-family: arial,verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small; line-height: normal; white-space: pre-wrap;">"Arent De Gelder." //Art and the Bible//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.artbible.info/art/biography/arent-de-gelder.html>. "Horace Vernet." Museums Syndicate. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2010. <http://www.museumsyndicate.com/artist.php?artist=381>. "Horace Vernet Paintings." PaintingHere.Com. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.paintinghere.com/artist-1/Horace-Vernet-Paintings.html>. "Judah and Tamar." Art and the Bible. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2010. <http://www.artbible.info/art/large/554.html>. Soda Head. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2010. <http://www.sodahead.com/united-states/ > <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">The New Oxford Annotated Bible. 1973. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc., 2007. Print. <span style="font-family: arial,verdana,sans-serif;">"Vernet, Horace." WEB Gallery of Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 May 2010. <http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/v/vernet/horace/tamar.html>.