New International Version
Genesis 38:10
10What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also.
Genesis 38:10 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But the Lord considered it evil for Onan to deny a child to his dead brother. So the Lord took Onan’s life, too.
Context of Genesis 38:10
8Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.” 9But Onan knew that the child would not be his; so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from providing offspring for his brother. What he did was wicked in the Lord’s sight; so the Lord put him to death also. 11Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, “Live as a widow in your father’s household until my son Shelah grows up.” For he thought, “He may die too, just like his brothers.” So Tamar went to live in her father’s household. 12After a long time Judah’s wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.
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 11:1Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the Lord, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the Lord burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.
- Numbers 22:34Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”
- 2 Samuel 11:27After the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing David had done displeased the Lord.
- 1 Chronicles 21:7This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.
- Proverbs 14:32When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous seek refuge in God.
- Proverbs 24:18or the Lord will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from them.
- Jeremiah 44:4Again and again I sent my servants the prophets, who said, ‘Do not do this detestable thing that I hate!’
- Haggai 1:13Then Haggai, the Lord’s messenger, gave this message of the Lord to the people: “I am with you,” declares the Lord.
- Genesis 46:12The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez and Zerah (but Er and Onan had died in the land of Canaan). The sons of Perez: 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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