Man living at the time of the Patriarchs
Hirah was an Adullamite who was a close friend of Judah, the son of Jacob.
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Hirah is mentioned in Gen.38.1 and 12 as an Adullamite who was a close friend of Judah, the fourth son of Israel (or 'Jacob'). Adullam was a Canaanite city located in the Shephelah, the foothills between the coastal plain and the Judean hills.
In Gen.38.1, Judah left his brothers and stayed with Hirah in Adullam. During this time, Judah married a Canaanite woman named Shua and had three sons with her. This event marked a significant departure from the traditions of his family, as marrying outside of the Hebrew people was generally discouraged.
Later, in Gen.38.12, after the death of Judah's wife, he went to Timnah with his friend Hirah to shear his sheep. It was during this trip that Judah encountered his daughter-in-law Tamar, who had disguised herself as a prostitute. Judah, unaware of her true identity, slept with her, resulting in Tamar's pregnancy.
Hirah's presence in these narratives suggests that he was a trusted companion of Judah and that their friendship endured over time. As an Adullamite, Hirah would have been familiar with the local customs and culture, which may have influenced Judah's decisions and actions during his time away from his family.
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(a noble race), an Adullamite, the friend of Judah. (Genesis 38:1,12) and see Genesis38:20
Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.
2 verses in 1 book · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H2437
About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite.
After a long time Judahʼs wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah.
Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.