Genesis 38:9 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 38:1-11

Here is, 1. Judah's foolish friendship with a Canaanite-man. He went down from his brethren, and withdrew for a time from their society and his father's family, and got to be intimately acquainted with one Hirah, an Adullamite, Gen. 38:1. It is computed that he was now not much above fifteen or sixteen years of age, an easy prey to the tempter. Note, When young people that have been well educated begin to change their company, they will soon change their manners, and lose their good education.... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 38:9

And Onan knew that the seed should not be his ,.... Should not be called a son of his, but a son of his brother Er; this is to be understood only of the firstborn; all the rest of the children born afterwards were reckoned the children of the real parent of them; this shows this was a custom in use in those times, and well known, and was not a peculiar case: and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife ; to cohabit with her, as man and wife, he having married her... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 38:9

Onan knew that the seed should not be his - That is, that the child begotten of his brother's widow should be reckoned as the child of his deceased brother, and his name, though the real father of it, should not appear in the genealogical tables. read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 38:1-30

The house of Judah: a family record of sin and shame. I. THE WICKEDNESS OF ER AND ONAN . 1. Early . On any hypothesis Er and Onan can have been little more than boys when they were married, and yet they appear to have arrived at a remarkable precocity in sin. Nor was it simply that they had shed the innocence and purity of youth, but they had also acquired a shameful proficiency in vice. Young scholars are mostly apt learners, especially in the devil's school. 2.... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 38:1-30

The goodness and severity of God. These occurrences in the family of Judah would seem Judah is a wanderer from his brethren; a sensual, self-willed, degenerate man; yet it is in the line of this same wanderer that the promised seed shall appear. The whole is a lesson on the evil of separation from the people of God . Luther asks why such things were placed in Scripture, and answers, read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 38:9-10

And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when —literally, and it was if, i.e. whenever— he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground (literally, destroyed to the ground ) , lest that he should (or, so as not to) give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased (literally, was evil in the eyes of ) the Lord :—the word Jehovah is employed not because the writer was a late interpolator, but because the... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 38:1-30

- The Family of Judah1. 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 strange narrative is an episode in the history of... read more

Donald C. Fleming

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

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

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Genesis 38:1-11

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Genesis 38:9

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Genesis 38:9

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 38:1-30

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 38:1-30

The Pulpit Commentary - Genesis 38:9-10

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Genesis 38:1-30

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Genesis 38:1-30

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

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

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