God’s Word Translation
Genesis 38:10
10What Onan did angered the Lord so much that the Lord took away Onan’s life too.
Genesis 38:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also.
- New International Version (NIV)What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And what he did was wicked in the sight of the Lord, and he put him to death also.
- New King James Version (NKJV)And the thing which he did displeased the Lord; therefore He killed him also.
Context of Genesis 38:10
8Then Judah said to Onan, “Go sleep with your brother’s widow. Do your duty for her as a brother-in-law, and produce a descendant for your brother.” 9But Onan knew that the descendant wouldn’t belong to him, so whenever he slept with his brother’s widow, he wasted his semen on the ground to avoid giving his brother a descendant. What Onan did angered the Lord so much that the Lord took away Onan’s life too. 11Then Judah said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Return to your father’s home. Live as a widow until my son Shelah grows up.” He thought that this son, too, might die like his brothers. So Tamar went to live in her father’s home. 12After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had finished mourning, he and his friend Hirah from Adullam went to Timnah where the men were shearing Judah’s sheep.
Read all of Genesis 38Genesis 38:10 word by word
וַיֵּ֛רַע בְּעֵינֵ֥י יְהוָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה וַיָּ֖מֶת גַּם־אֹתֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Genesis 38:10
- Numbers 11:1The people began complaining out loud to the Lord about their troubles. When the Lord heard them, he became angry, and fire from the Lord began to burn among them. It destroyed some people on the outskirts of the camp.
- Numbers 22:34Balaam said to the Messenger of the Lord, “I’ve sinned. I didn’t know you were standing there in the road to stop me. If you still think this trip is evil, I’ll go back.”
- 2 Samuel 11:27When her mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her to his home, and she became his wife. Then she gave birth to a son. But the Lord considered David’s actions evil.
- 1 Chronicles 21:7God considered the census to be sinful, so he struck Israel ⌞with a plague⌟.
- Proverbs 14:32A wicked person is thrown down by his own wrongdoing, but even in his death a righteous person has a refuge.
- Proverbs 24:18The Lord will see it, he won’t like it, and he will turn his anger away from that person.
- Jeremiah 44:4I have sent my servants the prophets to you again and again to tell you not to do these detestable things that I hate.
- Haggai 1:13Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord who had received the Lord’s message, said to the people, “I am with you, declares the Lord.”
- Genesis 46:12The sons of Judah were Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah. (Er and Onan had died in Canaan.) The sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.
- Numbers 26:19Er and Onan were sons of Judah, but they died in Canaan.
Commentaries on Genesis 38:10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 10Wherefore he slew him also - The sin of Onan has generally been supposed to be self-pollution; but this is certainly a mistake; his crime was his refusal to raise up seed to his brother, and rather than do it, by the act mentioned above, he rendered himself incapable of it. We find from this history that long be fore the Mosaic law it was an established custom, probably founded on a Divine precept, that if a man died childless his brother was to take his…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. 9-10Onan married Tamar, but he was not willing to provide an heir for his brother. He had sexual relations with Tamar, but he did not fulfill his duty to his dead brother (38:8).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 38:10
In the dictionaries
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
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