Genesis 38:9-10 NIV

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 38:1-30

Judah and his descendants (38:1-30)Back in Canaan, Jacob’s family had further troubles. Judah, Jacob’s fourth eldest son, had three sons, the eldest of whom had married. When this son died childless, Judah, according to the custom of the time, asked his next son Onan to have a temporary sexual relationship with the widow Tamar, with the hope that by him Tamar might produce a child. Legally, this child would be considered son of the dead man and so would carry on the family name and inheritance.... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Genesis 38:10

displeased. Hebrew was evil in the eyes of Jehovah. Figure of speech Anthropopatheia. App-6 . read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Genesis 38:8-10

"And Judah said unto Onan, Go unto thy brother's wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and he slew him also."There are a number of extremely interesting questions that hinge upon what is revealed in... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Genesis 38:1-11

Levirite marriage (the marriage of a man to his deceased brother’s wife to provide his brother with an heir) was a common custom in the ancient Near East at this time (Genesis 38:8-10). [Note: de Vaux, pp. 37-38. See Mathews, Genesis 11:27-50:26, pp. 705-10, for an excursus on levirate marrage.] It was common also in Asia, Africa, and other areas, but it evidently originated in Mesopotamia. The Mosaic Law did not abolish it but restricted it in Israel to preserve the sanctity of marriage (cf.... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 38:1-30

The History of JudahThe sins recorded in this chapter testify eloquently to the great need the world had of the Greatest of the descendants of Judah, who came to teach the virtue of purity and the sanctity of family life. The honesty and truthfulness of the historian are shown in his not concealing the dark spots in the history of Judah, whose descendants attained to such greatness. The direct purpose of the narrative is to show the ancestry of David, who was descended from Pharez the son of... read more

Arno Clemens Gaebelein

Arno Gaebelein's Annotated Bible - Genesis 38:1-30

CHAPTER 38 Judah and Tamar 1. Judah’s marriage to the Canaanitish woman (Genesis 38:1-2 ) 2. His sons: Er, Onan and Shelah (Genesis 38:3-5 ) 3. Tamar married to Er and Onan (Genesis 38:6-10 ) 4. Tamar waiting for Shelah (Genesis 38:11 ) 5. Her deception and Judah’s sin (Genesis 38:12-16 ) 6. The birth of Pharez and Zarah (Genesis 38:27-30 ) Historically this chapter comes before the thirty-seventh. The higher critics are one against the other in their unbelieving speculations over... read more

L.M. Grant

L. M. Grant's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 38:1-30

The story of Joseph is interrupted in this chapter to expose the shamefulness of an important part of Judah's history. We have seen that Judah took the lead in selling Joseph as a slave. In fact, in every relationship of Judah his shame and dishonor is evident. He sold his brother, he deceived his father, he married a Canaanite wife, he had both his sons killed by the Lord for wickedness, he deceived his daughter-in-law when promising his son Shelah to her, then had two sons by the same... read more

James Gray

James Gray's Concise Bible Commentary - Genesis 38:1-30

JOSEPH ’S HISTORY DISPENSATIONAL ASPECT OF JACOB’S HISTORY Following F.W. Grant in the Numerical Bible, the life of Jacob gives as its lesson the story of that discipline by which the Spirit of God brings us from weakness to power, from nature’s strength to that wholesome weakness in which alone is strength. But for this, natural strength must be crippled, which is provided for in two ways: in allowing us to realize the power of another nature (Esau) and in the direct dealing of God with our... read more

Robert Hawker

Hawker's Poor Man's Commentary - Genesis 38:9

Reader! pause over this history. Who shall take upon him to say, to what extent this unnatural sin hath been prevalent in all ages! Though hidden from human observation, with what malignity must the vast mass of such works of darkness come up before GOD! Oh! how precious, increasingly precious, is JESUS, in every renewed consideration to the mind conscious of sin, whose blood alone cleanseth from all sin. read more