Judah’s family line continued through Tamar. The twins replaced Judah’s two sons who had died (38:7, 10). Their birth was similar to the birth of Jacob and Esau (25:21–26). As with Jacob and Esau, the expected order of birth was reversed. In both cases, the twin connected with the color red (scarlet) did not remain in the first place.
In a similar way, Jacob gained the right to rule over his older brother (27:29). This pattern seems to appear again in Judah’s family. The family line continued through Perez, not through the older son Shelah, whom Judah had tried hard to protect (38:11; see 1 Chronicles 4:21), and not through the older twin Zerah (see Ruth 4:13–22; Matthew 1:3).