Tamar gives birth to twins - Zerah's hand comes out first, marked with a scarlet cord. But Perez comes out second, pushing past his brother.
This is the second time in Genesis we get this 'younger shall serve the older' reversal - with Perez and Zerah like with Jacob and Esau. Birth order doesn't determine destiny.
I was a twin, technically (absorbed in utero - vanishing twin syndrome). I've always wondered about the sibling I never knew. This passage makes me think about all the stories we don't get to tell - all the people who left no genealogy, no record. Perez got his moment anyway. Maybe that matters.
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