Mary got pregnant without having sex, but God convinced Joseph to marry her (Matthew 1:18-25). They later had at least 6 children together (Matthew 13:53-56). Therefore, she is not the single mother I have in mind.
The woman I am talking about is Tamar, Judah's daughter-in-law (whose story is recorded in Genesis chapter 38 in the Bible).
Judah had 3 sons : Er, Onan and Shelah. Er (the oldest) was Tamar's first husband. After God killed Er for being wicked, Judah told Onan (the second son) to marry the still-childless Tamar in order to raise up offspring for his late brother. Onan had nothing to lose, since he could still marry any other woman he likes along with Tamar. Polygamy was allowed then. However, he "wasted his semen on the ground so as not to give offspring to his brother". God killed him too for this. He could also have declined marrying her (as Ruth's nearest male in-law did and allowed someone else, Boaz, to marry her) - Ruth 4:1-10; Deuteronomy 25.5-10. Onan was killed for being a dog in the manger.
Judah told Tamar to go back to her father's house until Shelah grows up, but he didn't really intend to "waste" his only remaining son on a "jinxed" woman (since he didn't know it was God who killed the two sons).
When Tamar saw that Shelah had grown up without her being sent for and that Judah (now widowed like her) was going to pass through her area on his way to a feast, she veiled her face and sat by the roadside like a prostitute. Judah fell into the trap and got her pregnant. She collected his seal ring, cord and rod as security (for the goat he promised to send) before the act. Thereafter, she left the streets and couldn't be located to return the items when the goat was ready.
The items identified Judah as the owner of the pregnancy and saved her from being hanged for "prostitution" (i.e. sleeping with another man without having been given a "discharge certificate" by her late husband's family). Judah acknowledged being in the wrong for neither letting Shelah marry her nor telling her to find another man outside their family. He didn't sleep with her again after that, let alone marry her.
She gave birth to twin boys, Perez and Zerah. Perez became an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Matthew 1: 3,16; Luke 3:23, 33). God understands extenuating circumstances (1 Samuel 16:9; Psalm 7:9) and didn't condemn her for her unusual action in getting herself a child. Shelah too lived and prospered (1 Chronicles 4:21-23) while Onan did not leave any child behind. He didn't have any child from an earlier woman.
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