Judah lives, literally and literarily, in the shadow of his better-known brother, Joseph.  His story is easy to miss, scattered throughout the narrative of Jacob and Joseph.  Yet Judah is a key figure in the family story.  Joseph, though a fine example of character, is openly privileged and favored in his youth by his father Jacob (who, we recall, had trouble facing his own issues of sibling rivalry). This fuels the anger of Joseph's brother's against both him and their father.

Judah grows up in a poorly 'blended' family riven by competition for affection. It is a sad reflection and outcome of Jacob's own 'family of origin' and his mistakes. This dysfunctional family shapes Judah into a bitter, self-serving opportunist, not unlike his father in significant ways. His malformed character is revealed when he seizes an opportunity to take revenge on his brother and father, leading the scheme to sell Joseph into slavery and deceive their father.

The animosity that has smoldered in the family for two generations flames and subsides, leaving pain, guilt and distance. Judah leaves to start his own family. His bitterness apparently comes out in his sons, who like him are a 'chip off the old block.' Eventually, as Jacob met his own deceptive counterpart in an uncle, Laban, Judah meets his nemesis in a daughter-in-law, Tamar. Like his father, he is painfully forced to face up to his own hypocritical, self serving nature.

The outcome of Judah's painful self confrontation is revealed in a skilful trial of hearts that Joseph arranges as the brothers come to beg for food in Egypt. We see Judah the bitter, self serving opportunist become Judah the tenderhearted, empathetic son, who once sold his father's favorite into slavery, but now, having lost and protected sons himself, offers himself as a slave in the place of another favorite, Benjamin. So Judah becomes a model of biblical transformation.

This gripping narrative deals with themes that are perennially relevant to human individuals, families and societies, and it resonates with the ultimate story of Messiah, who came to serve not to be served, and to offer himself in the place of twelve other 'brothers' squabbling among themselves for significance and security. It thus offers us an opportunity to explore and reflect on our own reactions to life's circumstances in the light of Christ's life, death, and resurrection. The story speaks to Christians and seekers alike for both edification and evangelism.

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