Genesis 38:22
And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place. And he returned to Judah, and said, I cannot find her; and also the men of the place said, that there was no harlot in this place.
The verse belongs to the account of the sin of Judah and of his family, coming after Joseph was sold into Egypt and before the account of Joseph bought by Potiphar in Egypt. Tamar put herself out of her accustomed path and appearance so that Judah could not know her. When Judah's companion searched for Tamar, the men of the place denied that any harlot was there, for in the story Tamar was acting the part of a harlot with her father-in-law.
The verse belongs to the account of Tamar, whose son Pharez was born of a harlot and stands in the human ancestry of Christ. The line from Jacob through David and the sinful kings of Judah tended to concentrate in Christ all the weaknesses, passions, and sinful tendencies of fallen humanity, so that Christ took flesh not of sinless man but of sinful man, with flesh more subject to infirmity because the race had deteriorated physically and morally. This taking of sinful flesh was a necessary part of the plan of redemption so he could suffer death, be tempted, and sympathize with and succor the tempted.
The record of Judah's sin exposes sin so that it may be shunned, not to encourage lust or excuse wrongdoing, and it reveals God's love, mercy, and power as the remedy. Time, place, speech, or apparel can obscure human sight and estrange human love and knowledge, while the Lord still knows who are his and his eye remains over them.