Genesis 38:14

And she put off, &c. The neglect on Judah's part to satisfy the requirements of the levirate rule provoked Tamar to have recourse to trickery. To our moral sense such conduct is bad and disgusting. But to Orientals, whose life depended so largely upon the sanctity of racial customs, her action may have seemed not only entertaining in its cleverness, but even honourable and justifiable in its devotion to a deceased husband's rights.

her veil Tamar apparelled herself in the guise of a religious prostitute (ḳedêshah, Genesis 38:21), one who dedicated herself to the goddess Astarte, the Babylonian Istar. The veil was one of the symbols of Istar.

in the gate of Enaim i.e. in the open space at the entrance into the town. The name of the town means "wells," possibly Enam, mentioned in Joshua 15:34, in the same context with Adullam.

by the way i.e. on "the way side" (Genesis 38:21): see Jeremiah 3:2; Ezekiel 16:15-25.