Tamar among the matriarchs: Godless and perhaps closer to God

Is Tamar among the matriarchs? At first glance, not at all. She draws a striking contrast to precedent in her identity, her fertility, her breach of bridal convention, and most significantly the antagonism and absence of God in her procreative plight. Yet her story still alludes extensively to the matriarchal experience, suggesting that she is perhaps a matriarch after all, but one on whom matriarchy fits differently. This study accordingly explores how Tamar might stretch and develop matriarchal identity. In particular, it draws special attention to a resonance between her experience and a narrative trend in Genesis of divine absence and human responsibility. Exploring the conceptual possibilities of “godlessness” through the thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and other theologians who have traced the contours of God in powerlessness and suffering, this study suggests that, as a godless matriarch, Tamar is perhaps closer to God. Perhaps among the matriarchs she helps to introduce Bonhoeffer’s “God of the Bible, who gains ground and power in the world by being powerless.