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Check out the story of Judah and Tamar from verse 12 onwards.
In particular, verse 15. Judah sees Tamar, and thinks she is a whore, because her face is covered.
Huh? Isn't covering up supposed to make one less attractive? Isn't the whole point of a veil modesty? Why on earth does Judah see a woman in a veil and assume straight away that she's a whore?
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Judah has several interactions with women in this story. He takes Tamar as a wife for his son, and sends her away when she doesn't give him babies, until such time as she can be useful again. I'm struck by how quickly he gets over the death of his own wife - she dies, and at once, barely pausing for breath, certainly not taking time to mourn her or bury her, not even taking time to start a new verse, he's recovered. Later, he hears that Tamar is pregnant, and despite having sent her away and completely ignoring her for years, what's he say? הוציאוה ותשרף - Come on then, bring her out, let's burn her. Judah is not, let's say, given to treating his womenfolk as people. Not so much.
So I think Judah is one of those men who thinks that all women are basically whores. He sees a veiled woman in the street and assumes she's a whore? Come on. Doesn't seem tremendously likely that "veil" signifies "whore." More like, he sees a woman, doesn't identify her as part of his household, and therefore deduces that she must be a whore.
And indeed, we see this in the words.ויראה יהודה ויחשבה לזונה כי כסתה פניה: ויט אליה אל הדרך ויאמר הבה נא אבוא אליך כי לא ידע כי כלתו הוא. (Judah saw her, and thought that she was a whore, because she had covered her face. He went to her in the road, and said, Hey, let me sleep with you, because he didn't know that she was his daughter-in-law.) He asks a random woman for a quick tumble in the hay because, the verse says, he didn't know that she was his daughter-in-law. He would have said that to any other woman, apparently. Because he thinks that all women are whores unless they're property.
Well? I have to think about something when I'm working.
In particular, verse 15. Judah sees Tamar, and thinks she is a whore, because her face is covered.
Huh? Isn't covering up supposed to make one less attractive? Isn't the whole point of a veil modesty? Why on earth does Judah see a woman in a veil and assume straight away that she's a whore?
---
Judah has several interactions with women in this story. He takes Tamar as a wife for his son, and sends her away when she doesn't give him babies, until such time as she can be useful again. I'm struck by how quickly he gets over the death of his own wife - she dies, and at once, barely pausing for breath, certainly not taking time to mourn her or bury her, not even taking time to start a new verse, he's recovered. Later, he hears that Tamar is pregnant, and despite having sent her away and completely ignoring her for years, what's he say? הוציאוה ותשרף - Come on then, bring her out, let's burn her. Judah is not, let's say, given to treating his womenfolk as people. Not so much.
So I think Judah is one of those men who thinks that all women are basically whores. He sees a veiled woman in the street and assumes she's a whore? Come on. Doesn't seem tremendously likely that "veil" signifies "whore." More like, he sees a woman, doesn't identify her as part of his household, and therefore deduces that she must be a whore.
And indeed, we see this in the words.ויראה יהודה ויחשבה לזונה כי כסתה פניה: ויט אליה אל הדרך ויאמר הבה נא אבוא אליך כי לא ידע כי כלתו הוא. (Judah saw her, and thought that she was a whore, because she had covered her face. He went to her in the road, and said, Hey, let me sleep with you, because he didn't know that she was his daughter-in-law.) He asks a random woman for a quick tumble in the hay because, the verse says, he didn't know that she was his daughter-in-law. He would have said that to any other woman, apparently. Because he thinks that all women are whores unless they're property.
Well? I have to think about something when I'm working.