Genesis 38:4
in Genesis 38Again she conceived and gave birth to a son, and she named him Onan.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
KJV
And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
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This verse in Genesis 38
Commentary
3 notes on this verseAnd 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 Gen 35:18, whose sin and immature death caused sorrow.
This site's exposition
she conceived and gave birth to a son
on Genesis 38:3-5
Three sons arrive in three verses, Er, Onan and Shelah. Judah names the first and their mother names the other two. Jerome reads Chezib as a word carrying the sense of deception, and Clarke ties the name instead to Achzib, a town that fell to Judah.
This site's exposition
she named him Onan
The name Onan is usually taken from on, vigor, the word Jacob uses of Reuben as the firstfruits of his vigor at Genesis 49:3. Numbers 26:19 lists Er and Onan among the sons of Judah with the record that both died in the land of Canaan. Neither left a clan.
The words behind it
8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַתַּ֥הַר | vatahar | and she conceived | H2029 → | 43 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| וַתֵּ֣לֶד | vateled | and she bore | H3205 → | 496 times |
| בֵּ֑ן | ben | a son | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַתִּקְרָ֥א | vatikra' | and she called | H7121 → | 733 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שְׁמ֖וֹ | shemo | name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| אוֹנָֽן׃ | ʾonan | Onan | H209 → | 8 times |
וַתַּ֥הַרand she conceived
vataharH2029 →43 times
ע֖וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
וַתֵּ֣לֶדand she bore
vateledH3205 →496 times
בֵּ֑ןa son
benH1121 →4930 times
וַתִּקְרָ֥אand she called
vatikra'H7121 →733 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שְׁמ֖וֹname his
shemoH8034 →864 times
אוֹנָֽן׃Onan
ʾonanH209 →8 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.
- 1 Chronicles 2:3–8
The 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.
- Genesis 38:1–10
About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite.
- Genesis 46:12
Through
Genesis 46:12The 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.
it leads to
- Genesis 38:7
But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death.
- Genesis 29:35
And once more she conceived and gave birth to a son and said, “This time I will praise the LORD.” So she named him Judah. Then Leah stopped having children.
- Genesis 38:10
What he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put Onan to death as well.
- 1 Chronicles 4:21
The sons of Shelah son of Judah:
- Psalms 78:68
But He chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which He loved.
- Genesis 38:7
Where this verse is studied
About Genesis
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Hebrew Questions on Genesis; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament.