Chapter 6: The Search

Judah kept his word about the goat. He sent his friend Hirah the Adullamite back to Enaim to deliver it and retrieve the seal, cord, and staff.

But when Hirah arrived, the woman was gone. He asked the local men about a shrine prostitute. The men looked at him blankly.

LOCAL MEN“There has not been any shrine prostitute here.”

Hirah returned empty-handed and told Judah everything.

Judah's only concern was making sure no one found out what he had done.

JUDAH“Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send the goat — you simply could not find her.”

Years earlier, Judah had used a goat to deceive. It worked. He walked away clean. Now he was sending a goat again to make another problem disappear. But this time, the goat came back — and the evidence didn't. The seal, the cord, the staff. Gone.

He had no idea who was holding them, or what they would be used for.