Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
Wilt thou give me a pledge till thou send it? - The word erabon signifies an earnest of something promised, a part of the price agreed for between a buyer and seller, by giving and receiving of which the bargain was ratified; or a deposit, which was to be restored when the thing promised should be given. St. Paul uses the same word in Greek letters, ̔ , II Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:14. From the use of the term in this history we may at once see what the apostle means by the Holy Spirit being the Earnest, ̔ , of the promised inheritance; viz., a security given in hand for the fulfillment of all God' s promises relative to grace and eternal life. We may learn from this that eternal life will be given in the great day to all who can produce this erabon or pledge. He who has the earnest of the Spirit then in his heart shall not only be saved from death, but have that eternal life of which it is the pledge and the evidence. What the pledge given by Judah was, see on Genesis 38:25 (note).
Other Adam Clarke entries containing Genesis 38:17:
Deuteronomy 23:17
Ruth 4:22
2 Kings 14:14
Proverbs 7:10
2 Corinthians 1:22
Ephesians 1:14
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