Tamar

Tamar was the name of several significant women in the OT. (1) Tamar the Canaanite was the daughter-in-law of Judah, whose husband Er died and then Onan. Denied her right to levirate marriage with Shelah, she disguised herself as a prostitute, conceived twins by Judah himself, and so secured her place in the covenant line (Gen. 38). From this union came Perez and Zerah; Perez is in the Messianic genealogy (Ruth 4:18–22; Matt. 1:3). (2) Tamar daughter of David and Maacah was violated by her half-brother Amnon, triggering Absalom's murder of Amnon and a cycle of royal family destruction (2 Sam. 13). David's failure to punish Amnon was a turning point in the disintegration of his household. (3) Absalom later named his own daughter Tamar — "a woman of beautiful appearance" (2 Sam. 14:27). The name also designates boundary locations in Ezekiel's restored land (Ezek. 47:19).