And when she was ready to be brought to bed, there appeared twins in her womb: and in the very delivery of the infants, one put forth a hand, whereon the midwife tied a scarlet thread, saying:

And it came to pass at the time of her delivery, that behold, twins were in her womb.

And it cometh to pass in the time of her bearing, that lo, twins are in her womb;

And when the time came for her to give birth, it was clear that there were two children in her body.

Then, at the moment of birth, there appeared twins in the womb. And so, in the very delivery of the infants, one put forth a hand, on which the midwife tied a scarlet thread, saying,

Et fuit, in tempore quo parturiebat ipsa, ecce, gemini erant in utero ejus.

Behold twins were in her womb. Although both Judah obtained pardon for his error, and Tamar for her wicked contrivance; yet the Lord, in order to humble them, caused a prodigy to take place in the birth. Something similar had before happened in the case of Jacob and Esau, but for a different reason: as we know that prodigies sometimes portend good, sometimes evil. Here, however, there is no doubt that the twins, in their very birth, bring with them marks of their parents' infamy. For it was both profitable to themselves that the memory of their shame should be renewed, and it served as a public example, that such a crime should be branded with eternal disgrace. There is an ambiguity in the meaning of the midwife's words. Some suppose the "breaking forth" to apply to the membrane of the womb, [1] which is broken when the foetus comes forth. Others more correctly suppose, that the midwife wondered how Pharez, having broken through the barrier interposed, should have come out first; for his brother, who had preceded him, was, as an intervening wall, opposed to him. To some the expression appears to be an imprecation; as if it had been said, "Let the blame of the rupture be upon thee." But Moses, so far as I can judge, intends to point out nothing more, than that a prodigy took place at the birth.

Footnotes

1 - "Secundinis," -- secundina is the membrane which incluses the foetus during the period of gestation; and which, being rent at the protrusion of the child, comes away as part of the after-birth. The whole is called secundine in English, and in French "arriere faix." -- Ed.

And it came to pass in the time of her travail,.... When her time to bring forth was come, and her pains were on her, and her midwife with her:
that, behold, twins were in her womb; which the midwife could discover before the birth of either.