And she conceived, and bare a son, and he called his name Er. Which signifies a "watchman": but the reason of the name given by the Targum of Jonathan is,"because he should die without children;'as if it was the same with Ariri, "childless". read more
And she conceived again, and bare a son ,.... As soon as she well could: and she called his name Onan ; the first son Judah gave the name to, but his wife named this, so called from grief or sorrow; the reason of it, according to the above Targum, was,"because his father would mourn for him;'he was a Benoni, see Genesis 35:18 , whose sin and immature death caused sorrow. read more
And she conceived, and bare a son ,.... A third son: and called his name Shelah ; which signifies tranquil, quiet, peaceable and prosperous, and is a word that comes from the same root as Shiloh, that famous son of Judah that should spring from him, Genesis 49:10 the reason of the name, as given by the Targum, is,"because her husband forgot her:" and she was at Chezib when she bare him ; Chezib is the name of a place, by some taken to be the same with Achzib or Ecdippe, now Zib,... read more
And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn ,.... Chose one for him, and presented her to him for his liking, whom he approving of married: whose name was Tamar ; which signifies a "palm tree": the Targum of Jonathan says, she was the daughter of Shem; but it is altogether improbable that a daughter of his should be living at this time, and young enough to bear children: it is much more probable that she was daughter of Levi, Judah's brother, as an Arabic writer F15 Abulpharag.... read more
And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord ,.... That is, exceedingly wicked, as this phrase signifies, Genesis 13:13 , was guilty of some very heinous sin, but what is not mentioned; according to the Targum of Jonathan and Jarchi, it was the same with his brother Onan's, Genesis 38:9 , which it is suggested he committed, lest his wife should prove with child, and lose her beauty; but if it had been the same with his, it would have been expressed as well as his. An... read more
And he was at Chezib when she bare him - This town is supposed to be the same with Achzib, which fell to the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:44 . "The name," says Ainsworth, "has in Hebrew the signification of lying; and to it the prophet alludes, saying the houses of Achzib shall be (Achzab) a lie to the kings of Israel, Micah 1:14 ." read more
Er - 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 more
Verse 7 7.And the Lord slew him. We know that long life is reckoned among the gifts of God; and justly: for since it is by no means a despicable honor that we are created after the image of God, the longer any one lives in the world, and daily experiences God’s care over him, it is certain that he is the more bountifully dealt with by the Lord. Even amidst the many miseries with which life is filled, this divine goodness still shines forth, that God invites us to himself, and exercises us in... read more
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
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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