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name and made a rude gesture at her before turning and striding away. Tamar held her breath until she saw he was taking the path away from Kezib. She would have a few days’ respite from his cruelty.
    “It seems Bathshua won this battle,” Acsah said. “But there will be another, and another,” she added dismally.
    Lighter of heart, Tamar smiled and returned to her work. “Each day has trouble enough, Acsah. I’ll not burden myself with worrying about tomorrow.”
    “Tamar!” Bathshua stepped outside. “If you have time enough for idle chatter, you can come clean up this mess!” Swinging around, she marched back into the house.
    “She expects you to clear up the destruction she and Er have made of that house,” Acsah said with loathing.
    “Hush, or you’ll bring more trouble upon us.”
    Bathshua appeared again. “Leave Acsah to finish in the garden. I want you inside this house now !” She disappeared inside.
    When Tamar entered the house, she treaded carefully so that she wouldn’t step on the shards of broken pottery strewn across the earthen floor. Bathshua sat glumly staring at her broken loom. Hunkering down, Tamar began to gather the shards of a jug into the folds of her tsaiph .
    “I hope Judah is satisfied with the mess he’s made,” Bathshua said angrily. “He thought a wife would improve Er’s disposition!” She glared at Tamar as though she were to blame for everything that had happened. “Er is worse than ever! You’ve done my son more harm than good!”
    Fighting tears, Tamar made no defense.
    Muttering imprecations, Bathshua tipped the loom up. Seeing that the arm was broken and the rug she’d made tangled, she covered her face and wept bitterly.
    Tamar was embarrassed by the woman’s passion. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen Bathshua burst into tempestuous tears. The first time, she’d gone to her mother-in-law and tried to comfort her, only to receive a resounding slap across the face and blame for the woman’s despair. Tamar kept her distance now and averted her eyes.
    Was Bathshua blind to what she caused in this household? She constantly pitted son against father and son against son. She argued with Judah over everything—and in front of her sons—teaching them to rebel and follow their own desires rather than do what was best for the family. It was no wonder her mother-in-law was miserable! And everyone was miserable right along with her.
    “Judah wants Er to tend the sheep.” Bathshua yanked at the loom, making a worse mess. “You know why? Because my husband can’t bear to be away from his abba for more than a year! He has to go back and see how that wretched old man is doing. You watch when Judah comes home. He’ll brood for days. He won’t speak to anyone. He won’t eat. Then he’ll get drunk and say the same stupid thing he does every time he sees Jacob.” She grimaced as she mocked her husband. “‘The hand of God is upon me!’”
    Tamar glanced up.
    Bathshua rose and paced. “How can the man be such a fool—believing in a god who doesn’t even exist?”
    “Perhaps he does exist.”
    Bathshua cast a baleful glance at her. “Then where is he? Has this god a temple in which to live or priests to serve him? He doesn’t even have a tent !” Her chin tipped in pride. “He’s not like the gods of Canaan.” She marched to her cabinet and flung it open. “He is not a god like these .” She held her hand out toward her teraphim reverently. “He isn’t a god you can see.” She ran her hand down one statue. “He isn’t a god you can touch. These gods fan our passions into being and make our land and our women fertile.” Her eyes glittered coldly. “Perhaps if you were more respectful to them, you wouldn’t still have a flat, empty belly!”
    Tamar felt the barb, but this time she didn’t allow it to sink in deeply. “Didn’t the God of Judah destroy Sodom and Gomorrah?”
    Bathshua laughed derisively. “So some say, but I don’t believe