Genesis 38:7
in Genesis 38But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Er, Judah’s first-born, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah slew him.
KJV
And Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him.
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This verse in Genesis 38
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord,.... That is, exceedingly wicked, as this phrase signifies, Gen 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, Gen 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.
This site's exposition
Judah acquired a wife for Er
on Genesis 38:6-7
Judah acquires Tamar for his firstborn, and Genesis never says where she came from or whose daughter she was. Er is wicked in the sight of the LORD, who puts him to death. Clarke notes that the Hebrew letters of the name Er reversed spell the word for wicked.
This site's exposition
was wicked in the sight of the LORD
Er is the first single person in Scripture whom the LORD is said to put to death. The Chronicler repeats it at 1 Chronicles 2:3. Judah had helped take a son from his father, and now he buries his own firstborn.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
This was so much the worse because the Messiah was to descend from Judah, and, had he not been guilty of this wickedness, he might have had the honour of being one of his ancestors. Note, Those sins that dishonour the body and defile it are very displeasing to God and evidences of vile affections.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.”
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְהִ֗י | vayhi | and he was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| עֵ֚ר | ʾer | Er | H6147 → | 10 times |
| בְּכ֣וֹר | bekhor | [the] firstborn of | H1060 → | 122 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| רַ֖ע | ra' | evil | H7451 → | 662 times |
| בְּעֵינֵ֣י | beeinei | in [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַיְמִתֵ֖הוּ | vaymitehu | and he put to death him | H4191 → | 839 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיְהִ֗יand he was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
עֵ֚רEr
ʾerH6147 →10 times
בְּכ֣וֹר[the] firstborn of
bekhorH1060 →122 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
רַ֖עevil
ra'H7451 →662 times
בְּעֵינֵ֣יin [the] eyes of
beeineiH5869 →887 times
יְהוָ֑הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַיְמִתֵ֖הוּand he put to death him
vaymitehuH4191 →839 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Numbers 26:19The sons of Judah were Er and Onan, but they died in the land of Canaan.
it leads to
- Genesis 46:12
The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, Shelah, Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The sons of Perez: Hezron and Hamul.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 46:12
Through
Genesis 19:13because we are about to destroy this place. For the outcry to the LORD against its people is so great that He has sent us to destroy it.”
it leads to
- Jude 1:7
In like manner, Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, who indulged in sexual immorality and pursued strange flesh, are on display as an example of those who sustain the punishment of eternal…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 18:20
Then the LORD said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great. Because their sin is so grievous,
- Matthew 13:49–50
So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous,
- Revelation 16:1–12
Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, “Go, pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s wrath.”
- Acts 12:23
Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
- Jude 1:7
Through
1 Chronicles 2:3The sons of Judah: Er, Onan, and Shelah. These three were born to him by Bath-shua the Canaanite. Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, who put him to death.
it leads to
- Genesis 38:2–10
There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua, and he took her as a wife and slept with her.
- Genesis 38:2–10
Through
Genesis 13:13But the men of Sodom were wicked, sinning greatly against the LORD.
it leads to
- 2 Peter 2:10
Such punishment is specially reserved for those who indulge the corrupt desires of the flesh and despise authority. Bold and self-willed, they are unafraid to slander glorious beings.
- 2 Peter 2:10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.