The Tamar Scroll

Avi groaned as his orgasm grew in intensity from the tip of his zain, flowing upwards through his body. Avi pulled his zain out, making a slight pop as he withdrew completely, and then lay exhausted on the bed, trying to catch his breath. He was completely out of shape; it had been so long that he had made love to a woman. He had to get back into form if he was going to keep up with this young woman.

"Francis, I believe that we should continue this collaboration as often as we can. How about tomorrow night at your place?

The Birth of Tamar and Yehuda's Children

27 And it came to pass in the time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her womb. 28 And it came to pass, when she travailed, that the one put out his hand: and the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first. 29 And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came out: and she said, How hast thou broken forth? This breach be upon thee: therefore his name was called Pharez. 30 And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his hand: and his name was called Zarah.

That evening, Dr. Altman was working in his home. He was late making his annual staff evaluations, so he had to have them on Katan's desk the next day. Most of the evaluations were fairly easy to write. A bit of praise here would be offset by some gentle hints for improvement there. Managing a group of scholars was exactly like managing the staff in any business. Then he came to Dr. Lajeunesse's first evaluation. What he put down on paper would make or break Francis' career. It would determine whether Dr. Lajeunesse would stay on as part of the Dead Sea Scroll Team or not. Dr. Altman shuddered at the thought of losing Dr. Lajeunesse. Their working relationship had become as close as their personal relationship. Of course Dr. Lajeunesse would receive a favourable evaluation. The problem was how to write a glowing evaluation without betraying his true feelings and without Katan noticing an obvious flip-flop in opinion. Then there was the need to find some area of improvement, as required in all government positions. What was there to criticize about Dr. Lajeunesse other than she had stolen his heart? For all her skills and passion in the bedroom, his beloved Hannah never performed oral sex the way Francis Lajeunesse did.

Avi's pleasant thoughts were interrupted by Francis inserting the key in the door to the apartment. Francis made herself comfortable on the couch, crossing her legs for Avi's enjoyment. She removed some papers from her briefcase. She could hardly contain her excitement.

"The ending of the Tamar Scroll fills in a number of gaps in the Biblical narrative. The midwife had skills worthy of a modern obstetrician given how she handled a breach birth. That's how the order of birth of Perez and Zarah became reversed. The ending is much more detailed than the Biblical story. I'm sorry to interrupt but I'm so excited that I must read this to you right now."

I remained in the camp of Yehuda until my time came to give birth. As he had treated my cousin Shuah in her travail, Yehuda visited me not. I hated the man for what he had done to me through his sons and for what he had proposed to do to me to hide his indiscretion and his dalliance. In this manner, it came to pass that my pains of labour were increasing in frequency and in intensity. The midwife was summoned and, ominously, the prophetess. I assumed that, should I die in labour, it was the prophetess whose prayers would see me to the world of the gods. The midwife entered my tent with the birthing stool and the prophetess came armed with incense and amulets. The midwife arranged the cushions for my comfort until my moment should arrive. Then she placed her ear upon my belly and motioned for silence, including me. A smile came upon the midwife and she spake thus:

"I hear not two but three heartbeats. In this, I am not mistaken, my lady Tamar. You have twins in your womb. Your joy shall be twofold. Your descendents shall be twice as plentiful as we women who are not so blessed. Prepare more blankets for the children."

My pains of labour became intense as I sat on the birthing stool. In my travail, I heard the midwife say, "The head of the first is not right. I see his arm coming through. Fetch me a clean ribbon. Don't just stand there with your mouths open, you wenches. Relax, oh Tamar and I will turn the baby." The midwife's expert hands pushed against my abdomen and I feared that she would crush my babies' heads. However, she truly did well because I pushed and first one child came out. As near to exhaustion as I was, I pushed again and the second child emerged. As I was almost falling off the birthing stool, the women caught me and carried me to my bed.

Two cries greeted me as I recovered on my bed. The midwife handed me a child asking "What name shall we give the child at his brit millah? In my ignorance, I assumed that the red thread meant he was the firstborn. I said "As the first born I will call you Zerah (Bright) because you have brought joy and happiness to my life." The midwife said "No, no. This other one came first. The arm of this one came first so we tied a red thread on his hand. But then he pulled it back and his brother came out.

Thus I was corrected and named the first Perez according to his thrusting with boldness. He was not even yet born but he had the thrusting boldness of his father. The prophetess took Perez in her arms and stared in his eyes. "The Lord our God has spoken unto me. This child shall be the father of leaders, kings and prophets. But you, oh Tamar, are to assume a high place among the women of our people. Thou shalt be remembered unto all generations for your faith and for your boldness. Hear, oh daughters of Israel. One greater than any of you is the Canaanite woman called Tamar bat-Hirah."

Thus my actions were requited. I nursed my children and raised them to manhood within the encampment of Yehuda because he did acknowledge the two boys as his and not as the progeny of bastardy and whoredom. I have lain with no man unto this day. I could not lay with any man other than Yehuda because of his wonderful member. I could not lie again with Yehuda, he who would deceive his family concerning our dalliance by ordering my death. I set out my life in this book so that I will be known as a righteous woman and a woman who has truly kept her vows.

Here endeth the Book of Tamar. Are not the rest of the acts of Yehuda written in the Book of the Fathers of Israel?

Francis Lajeunesse propped up her head on one arm as she lay naked on her side on Avi's bed. Her face bore the contented look of a well-laid woman and her bush was matted and wet. Avi could so easily turn her excitement over her work into sexual energy. What a man! And he actually liked a woman who could carry on a conversation. Then she remembered that after reading the last part of her translation, she was so eager to have Avi once more that she forgot to ask his comments on the last part of the scroll. Well, their postplay talk would take another direction instead of Avi's newfound interest in oral sex.

"Avi, you haven't said a word about the last part of the scroll. I'm sorry to intrude on your thoughts but what do you think about this chapter of the scroll? And why was Tamar so important that the Dead Sea Sect preserved her scroll?"

Avi was so drained from the session of athletic sex that he just laid on his back as he answered. "This last part of the scroll introduces the midwife, another remarkable person. She was able to overcome the difficulties of a breach birth in the only way possible in those times. Beyond her skill as a midwife, she was also a prophetess who had a vision of the many noteworthy descendants of Tamar through her son Perez. One of her descendants was Boaz who was the grandfather of King David as well as the great-grandfather of King Solomon. They founded the Davidic dynasty that endured for 300 years in the Kingdom Of Judah and a thousand years after that in the Jewish community of the Caliphate of Bagdad. Tamar's children are regarded as the true descendents of Yehuda, not his descendants by Shelah. Her greatness is why she is mentioned in the Christian sacred books as part of Jesus' Davidic lineage. Why, it all fits together. "

"Now Avi, can I change the subject. We have to talk about the future."

Avi cringed. Not again. Was their affair over? Had she found a younger man? Was Francis looking for commitment and marriage? No, he wouldn't jump to conclusions. The best way to respond to "we have to talk", he had learned in his years of marriage to Hannah was to play dumb. "Nu, Francis my darling, your future is secure. What is the problem that you see?"

"You've published your paper (footnote: Evidence of Anomalous Penile Measurements in Ancient Times; by Altman and Lajeunesse) so you've secured your tenure for the foreseeable future. I've completed my reconstruction and translation of the scroll. We're well on our way to completing my paper (footnote: The Tamar Scroll; translated by F. Lajeunesse, with Talmudic Annotations by A. Altman.) The next step is the inevitable publication in some obscure scholarly journal. Then we must respond to all the snotty objections raised by every scholar jealous of our work. Once that's done, I won't have a project any more. My contract is almost up and who knows if Dr. Katan and the Committee will offer me a new one. After all, it was an experiment to see if a younger woman and a non-Jew would work out as part of the Project Team. If I don't get renewed, I must go back to Canada, leaving you behind. I don't want to live without what we have together now."

"Francis, please don't worry. First of all, I will make a recommendation that your contract be renewed based on your remarkable work as a scholar and your ability to, ummh, closely collaborate with me. Our affair will remain a secret for the time being. I need to show the Committee that we need you for more work. So, I have something in mind for your next assignment. We need to discuss that assignment before we finalize the details of your new contract.

We found a Ruth Scroll in Cave XIV that deviates from the Masoretic text in many important aspects. This scroll is the perfect sequel to your work on the Tamar Scroll. Ruth is another heroic woman of the Bible and she married Boaz, who is the direct descendant of Yehuda and Tamar. Your project, if you're willing to stay on with the Dead Sea Scroll Team, will be to analyse the differences between the two texts and draw whatever conclusions you can make from these. But before you begin the Ruth assignment, we must perform some preliminary experiments that we will incorporate in our published findings."

"And what would that be, Avi?"

"We will re-enact Ruth, Ch. 3 where Ruth crawls between the sheets with Boaz. For scientific purposes only, of course, you must describe what Ruth discovered under the sheets and what she did to Boaz. I will, of course, simulate Boaz' response."