The artist, Ferdinand Bol, was a student of the master painter Rembrandt, and similarities in style are evident. Figures are painted in dramatic circumstances using intense colors and expressing deep emotion. Tamar is forefront and dressed in white, symbolizing her righteousness in the situation. While her countenance is bathed in light, Judah’s face is shadowed. Genesis 38: 16 describes Judah turning his head to Tamar and propositioning her, as he is seen here. She holds all three objects of the pledge she made with Judah that signified his identity until he could send her the agreed payment of a goat—his signet, his cord, and his staff. The seal of a person was proof of their identification, like a legal signature functions today. A staff represented a person’s authority. A large fruit is painted into the vegetation of the background, possibly foreshadowing the fruitful result of the birth of twins that resulted from this event.