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The first-born was named Pharez and his twin brother was named Zarah. It was through those two that families of considerable note in the most illustrious tribe of Judah arose. And from the line of Pharez descended king David and then Jesus Christ.
The phrase "drawing back his hand" refers to the unusual birth of the twins, where the firstborn, Zerah, initially extended his hand out of the womb. The Hebrew word for "drawing back" is "שָׁב" (shav), which can mean to return or withdraw.
There are two pairs of twins in Genesis, but most of us only notice the first. Jacob and Esau get the headlines: the smooth wheeler-dealer who becomes the father of the Israelites and his hairy,...
These names match four of Zerah’s sons. Mahol means “supreme god or dance,” lending more credence to Zerah’s connection with Zeus mythology (see 1 Kings 4:23). Scholars have long wondered why Zerah is mentioned alongside Perez in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.
pe'-rez, fa'-rez (perets, "breach"): One of the twins born to Judah by Tamar, Zerah's brother (Genesis 38:29, 30). In the King James Version Matthew 1:3 and Luke 3:33, he is called "Phares," the name in 1 Esdras 5:5.
In 38:27-30 we see the shifting of the birthright from Zarah to Pharez. This case illustrates the fact that the granting of the birthright does not depend on man’s doing. Zarah was trying to come out first.
Perez, also written as Pharez/Peretz (Hebrew: פֶּרֶץ / פָּרֶץ, Modern Pereṣ / Pareṣ Tiberian Péreṣ / Pāreṣ), was the son of Tamar and Judah, and the twin of Zerah, according to the Book of Genesis.
