who will be ready to suffer death by fire, for the sake of the
glory of Thy Name." And God granted her petition, and
sent the angel Michael down to succor her. He put the
pledges in a place in which Tamar could not fail to see them,
and she took them, and threw them before the feet of the
judges, with the words: "By the man whose these are am
I with child, but though I perish in the flames, I will not
betray him. I hope in the Lord of the world, that He will
turn the heart of the man, so that he will make confession
thereof." Then Judah rose up, and said: "With your permission,
my brethren, and ye men of my father's house, I
make it known that with what measure a man metes, it shall
be measured unto him, be it for good or for evil, but happy
the man that acknowledgeth his sins. Because I took the
coat of Joseph, and colored it with the blood of a kid, and
then laid it at the feet of my father, saying, Know now
whether it be thy son's coat or not, therefore must I now
confess, before the court, unto whom belongeth this signet,
this mantle, and this staff. But it is better that I be put to
shame in this world than I should be put to shame in the
other world, before the face of my pious father. It is better
that I should perish in a fire that can be extinguished than
I should be cast into hell fire, which devoureth other fires.
Now, then, I acknowledge that Tamar is innocent. By me
is she with child, not because she indulged in illicit passion,
but because I held back her marriage with my son Shelah."
Then a heavenly voice was heard to say: "Ye are both
innocent! It was the will of God that it should happen!"[89]

The open confession of Judah induced his oldest brother