Old Testament— Genesis

• Jeffrey C. Geoghegan, Israelite Sheepshearing and David's Rise to Power, Biblica 87/1 (2006) 55-63.
  
  Sheepshearing is an important motif in the Old Testament. Each of its four appearances relates to David, and also involves avenging a wrong: (a) in Genesis 38, Tamar lures Judah into a sexual encounter to secure her rightful progeny, and the royal clan comes into existence; (b) in 1 Samuel 25, David seeks compensation for protecting Nabal’s flocks, and ends up obtaining property and wealth near Hebron; (c) in 2 Samuel 13, Absalom kills Amnon, the heir to his father’s throne, for raping his sister Tamar; and (d) in Genesis 31, Jacob takes what rightfully belongs to him for tending Laban’s flocks. This story is not directly connected with David, but it's very similar to 1 Samuel 25, which is. Such narrative connections are never meaningless.
  
• Zvi Ron, Rescue from Fiery Death: Daniel Chapter 3 and Genesis Chapter 38, Jewish Bible Quarterly 41/1 (2013) 24-27.
  
  Both the Book of Daniel and the Joseph narratives of Genesis 37–50 tell of an Israelite taken into captivity in a foreign land who rises to power through his ability to interpret the king’s dreams. But the story of Joseph is interrupted by the story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38— in which Joseph is not mentioned at all— just as the story of Daniel is interrupted by that of three youths, where Daniel is not mentioned, and both interruptions describe a rescue from a fiery death.
  
• Yong Zhao, "The Story of 
Judah, the Hero: 
An Analysis of 
Genesis 38", Jewish Bible Quarterly 42/4 (2014) 238–243.
  
  Genesis 37–50 is generally viewed as “the story of Joseph,” but it's also “the story of Judah,” of which chapter 38 forms a significant part. Genesis 37–50 presents two concurrent stories of growth and change, featuring both Joseph and Judah. The repentance of Judah makes Joseph's repentance possible too.
  
• John R. Huddlestun, "Divestiture, Deception, 
and Demotion: The Garment Motif 
in Genesis 37-39", Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 98 (2002) 47-62.
  
  Genesis 37–39 are more concerned with garments or personal objects than any other chapters in the Joseph narrative. This paper shows how garments (such as Joseph's coat of many colors) play a pivotal role in the development of the plot of the Joseph story.
  
• Steven D. Mathewson, "An Exegetical Study 
of Genesis 38", Bibliotheca Sacra 146 (1989) 373-92.
  
  Genesis 38, which many view as an intrusion, was actually carefully and skillfully woven into the Joseph story. Good review of the connections of this chapter with the rest of the Joseph story, and of its theological purpose within Genesis as a whole.