Deuteronomy 23:2, No Bastards Allowed

A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.

//Maybe the most famous bastard of all time is the offspring of Tamar and Judah. Judah, hoping to find a little action, is one day deceived by his daughter-in-law Tamar, who pretends to be a temple prostitute. They do the deed. Then, in Genesis 38:24, About three months later Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant."

They have a child named Perez. We turn now to the book of Matthew, and the genealogy listed there:

Judah begat Perez

Perez begat Hezron

Hezron begat Ram

Ram begat Amminadab

Amminadab begat Nahshon

Nahshon begat Salmon

Salmon begat Boaz

Boaz begat Obed

Obed begat Jesse

Jesse begat David

Thus, after only nine generations of begatting (from Perez forward), we come to King David. Didn’t today’s verse promise ten generations of excommunication? Apparently, God relented.