And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
So he went back to Judah and said, 'I couldn't find her. And the men who live there told me that there has never been a prostitute in that place.'
The messenger returned to Judah reporting that he couldn't locate the woman, and the local people claimed no prostitute had ever been there.
📚 Historical Context
This verse is part of the story where Judah had unknowingly slept with his daughter-in-law Tamar, who had disguised herself as a prostitute. Judah had promised to send payment (a young goat) but when his friend Hirah tried to deliver it and retrieve Judah's personal items, the woman had vanished. The locals' denial suggests either they were protecting Tamar's reputation or that she had been so well-disguised that no one recognized the encounter as involving a local prostitute.
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