Judah (son of Jacob)
Judah married a woman and had three sons named Er, Onan and Shelah. Er married a woman named Tamar but Er died childless so Judah told Onan to marry Tamar and raise their children to think of themselves as the children of Er to honour his memory. But instead of having children with her, Onan threw his semen on the ground. The Lord killed Onan for this. After Onan died, Judah’s son Shelah was supposed to marry Tamar but Judah didn’t let him do that because he was scared Shelah would also die. So Tamar dressed up as a prostitute and had sex with Judah but asked for his staff and seal to let her know that he would pay. When Judah came back to pay her, not having recognized her as Tamar, she was gone. When the people told Judah that Tamar was pregnant Judah said to burn her for prostitution but Tamar said that the father was the person who owned the staff, seal and cord. Then Judah said “she is indeed more righteous than I am” and said he was the father. So Judah married Tamar and she gave birth to twins named Peretz and Zerach.