Genesis 38:28

Gen 38:28-29. When she travailed — It should seem the birth was hard to the mother, by which she was corrected for her sin: the children also, like Jacob and Esau, struggled for the birthright, and Pharez, who got it, is ever named first, and from him Christ descended. He had his name from his breaking forth before his brother: this breach be upon thee — The Jews, as Zarah, bid fair for the birthright, and were marked, as it were, with a scarlet thread, as those that came first; but the Gentiles, like Pharez, or a son of violence, got the start of them, by that violence which the kingdom of heaven suffers, and attained to the righteousness which the Jews came short of: yet when the fulness of time is come, all Israel shall be saved. Both these sons are named in the genealogy of our Saviour, Mat 1:3, to perpetuate the story, as an instance of the humiliation of our Lord Jesus.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 28. The midwife - bound upon his hand a scarlet thread] The binding of the scarlet thread about the wrist of the child whose arm appeared first in the birth, serves to show us how solicitously the privileges of the birthright were preserved. Had not this caution been taken by the midwife, Pharez would have had the right of primogeniture to the prejudice of his elder brother Zarah. And yet Pharez is usually reckoned in the genealogical tables before Zarah; and from him, not Zarah, does the line of our Lord proceed. See Mt 1:3. Probably the two brothers, as being twins, were conjoined in the privileges belonging to the birthright.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And it came to pass as he drew back his hand,.... Into the "uterus" again:

that, behold, his brother came out; out of his mother's womb, and so was properly born first:

and she said; either Tamar, or rather, her midwife:

how hast thou broken forth? it was astonishing to her how it could be, having never met with the like in her practice before; she could not imagine how it was possible for him to come forth first, when his brother lay in the way of him, and nearest the birth, as appeared by his putting out his hand:

this breach be upon thee; if any damage comes either to the mother or to the brother, and so carries in it the nature of an imprecation; or rather, that the memory of so strange an event might be preserved, she imposed a name on him that should continue it:

therefore his name was called Pharez: or "therefore he called", &c. (k); Judah called his name Pharez, agreeably to what the midwife had related. From him, in a line of succession, sprang the Messiah, the Pharez or breaker, Mic 2:13; for the sake of which the whole history of this chapter seems to be recorded, Mat 1:3.

(k) "vocavit", Pagninus, Montanus; "ideoque vocavit", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Schmidt.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The midwife bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, in token of his being the first-born, which she confidently expected he would be.

This breach be upon thee, be imputed to thee, as the same phrase is taken Gen 16:5.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

And it came to pass, when she travailed, literally, in her bringing forth (cf. Gen_35:17) that the one put out his hand: literally, and it (sc. the child) gave a hand, i.e. it was an abnormal and dangerous presentationand the midwife (vide Gen_35:17) took and bound upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying, This came out first.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It should seem the birth was hard to the mother, by which she was corrected for her sin: the children also, like Jacob and Esau, struggled for the birth-right, and Pharez who got it, is ever named first, and from him Christ descended. He had his name from his breaking forth before his brother; this breach be upon thee - The Jews, as Zarah, bid fair for the birth-right, and were marked with a scarlet thread, as those that come out first; but the Gentiles, like Pharez, or a son of violence got the start of them, by that violence which the kingdom of heaven suffers, and attained to the righteousness which the Jews came short of: yet when the fulness of time is come, all Israel shall be saved. Both these sons are named in the genealogy of our saviour, Matt. i, 3, to perpetuate the story, as an instance of the humiliation of our Lord Jesus.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

ויתן יד THE ONE PUT OUT HIS HAND — one stretched forth his hand outside, and after she had bound the scarlet thread upon his hand he drew it back.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

ויהי בלדתה ויתן יד, one of them stuck his hand out of his mother’s womb, signaling that he wanted out. Seeing that he did not succeed, he withdrew his hand.

ותקח המילדת, she took hold of his hand before he could withdraw it. ותקשור על ידו שני, as a sign who had been first.

Radak on the Tanakh — English translations: “Sefaria Community Translation” (CC0 1.0 (public-domain dedication)); “Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash” (CC BY 4.0); “Rabbi Mike Feuer, Jerusalem Anthology” (CC BY 4.0); and “R. David Kimhi on the first book of Psalms, Translated by R.G. Finch, London, 1919” (public domain). Text via Sefaria.