Genesis 38:24

let her be burnt Judah, as the head of the family, acts as judge having power of life and death, cf. Genesis 31:32. It is remarkable that the matter is not referred to Jacob; but, presumably, this story constitutes a separate tribal tradition, in which Judah stands as the chief authority.

Judah sentences her to death as an adulteress. He treats her as the betrothed of Shelah, and the childless widow of Er. The penalty for adultery in the Levitical law was death by stoning (cf. Leviticus 20:10 with Deuteronomy 22:22; Ezekiel 16:40; John 8:5). Death by burning, the penalty of a priest's daughter, Leviticus 21:9, was the more ancient usage. The penalty of burning is recorded in the Code of Hammurabi; and occurs in ancient Egyptian sentences for adultery.