Testament of Judah interprets Genesis 38 as the story of a warrior king's tragic downfall. Targum Neofiti develops it to illustrate the sanctification of the divine name. Genesis Rabba portrays it as a series of providential events issuing in the royal and messianic lineage. The fact that the same biblical text can be interpreted in such different ways stems from the surplus of the biblical text itself and from the diverse perspectives of historically situated readers. A text has always gaps that readers fill in according to their situation.
Meaning emerges from the dialogue between text and reader.
Menn begins with the study of the biblical story of Judah and Tamar in the book of Genesis itself. She approaches the text synchronically and studies first its internal dynamics and narrative art. Menn's analysis of the biblical text is excellent. It also proves how true her affirmation is that readers fill in the gaps of a text. One could of course, question this interpretation purely based upon the silence of the text.