Genesis 38:7

Genesis 38:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him.
• New International Version (NIV)But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord put him to death.
• New King James Version (NKJV)But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord killed him.

Context of Genesis 38:7

5Later, she gave birth to another son. She gave him the name ‘Shelah’. She gave birth to Shelah in Kezib. 6Judah found a wife for his oldest son, Er. Her name was Tamar. But the Lord saw that Er, Judah's firstborn son, was very bad. So the Lord caused him to die. 8Then Judah said to Onan, ‘You should marry your dead brother's wife and have sex with her. You are her dead husband's brother. You must have a son who will become your dead brother's descendant.’ 9But Onan did not want Tamar to give birth to his child. He knew that the child would not belong to him. So when he had sex with his brother's wife Tamar, he made his semen go onto the ground. Onan did this so that Tamar would not give birth to a child for his dead brother.

Genesis 38:7 word by word

וַיְהִ֗י עֵ֚ר בְּכ֣וֹר יְהוּדָ֔ה רַ֖ע בְּעֵינֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וַיְמִתֵ֖הוּ יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And Erעֵר‛êr · ErH6147
• Judah’sיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• firstbornבְּכוֹרbekôr · firstbornH1060
• was wickedרַעra‛ râ‛âh · bad: evilH7451
• in the sightעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eye: seeingH5869
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• slewמוּתmûth · to dieH4191

Cross-references for Genesis 38:7

• Genesis 46:12The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah. Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
• Numbers 26:19The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in Canaan.
• Genesis 6:8But as for Noah, the Lord was happy about him.
• Genesis 13:13The people of Sodom were very wicked. They did not obey the Lord at all.
• Genesis 19:13We will soon destroy this city. Everybody knows how bad the people who live here are. As a result, the Lord has sent us to destroy this place.’
• 2 Chronicles 33:6He burnt his own sons with fire as a sacrifice in Ben Hinnom valley. He used magic and false gods to find out what would happen in the future. He took advice from magicians and people who talked to the spirits of dead people. He did many things that the Lord said were very evil. This made the Lord very angry.
• 1 Chronicles 2:3Judah's sons were: Er, Onan and Shelah. Their mother was Bath-shua, who was a woman from Canaan. Judah's firstborn son Er did things that the Lord saw were evil. So the Lord killed him.
• Psalms 55:23And as for wicked people, you, God, will send them to their graves. They will go down into the deep hole of death while they are still young. That is what will happen to those cruel people, who kill and cheat others. But I will trust in you, God.

Commentaries on Genesis 38:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7Er - was wicked in the sight of the Lord - What this wickedness consisted in we are not told; but the phrase sight of the Lord being added, proves that it was some very great evil. It is worthy of remark that the Hebrew word used to express Er's wickedness is his own name, the letters reversed. Er ער wicked, רע ra . As if the inspired writer had said, "Er was altogether wicked, a completely abandoned character."Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-30Verses 1-30 - The Family of Judah 1. עדלם ‛ǎdûllâm Adullam, “righteousness.” חירה chı̂yrâh Chirah, “nobility?” 2. שׁוּע shûa‛ Shua, “luck, riches, cry.” 3. ער ‛êr Er, “watching.” 4. אונן 'ônân Onan, “strong.” 5. שׁלה shēlâh Shelah, “request? rest.” כזיב kezı̂yb Kezib, “falsehood.” 6. תמר tāmār Tamar, “palm.” 12. תמנה tı̂mnâh Timnah, “counted or assigned.” 14. עינים 'êynayı̂m Enaim, “two fountains.” 29. פרץ perets Perets, “breach.” This…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7That Er was a wicked man is not surprising, since his mother was a Canaanite and his father a rebellious Israelite.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-301. at that time--a formula frequently used by the sacred writers, not to describe any precise period, but an interval near about it.Read the comment

Topics related to Genesis 38:7

• Adultery
• Er
• Inheritance
• Tamar

In the dictionaries

• Lay
• Onan
• Remain
• Archaeology; Archaeology and Criticism
• Ben-Ammi
• Er
• Genealogy
• Genesis
• Harlot
• Husband's Brother

Commentaries on Genesis 38

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings