Genesis 38:9-11

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Genesis 38:9 tn Heb “offspring.”
2. Genesis 38:9 tn Heb “would not be his,” that is, legally speaking. Under the levirate system the child would be legally considered the child of his deceased brother.
3. Genesis 38:9 tn The construction, with a vav plus perfect consecutive (veqatal) of הָיָה (hayah) shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.sn The purpose of the custom was to produce an heir for the deceased brother. Onan had no intention of doing that. A possible motivation is that if there was an heir for his older brother, it would have decreased his share of inheritance significantly. But he would have sex with the girl as much as he wished. He was willing to use the law to gratify his desires, but was not willing to fulfill his responsibilities.
4. Genesis 38:9 tn Heb “he went to” or “approached.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual relations.
5. Genesis 38:9 tn Heb “he ruined [it] to the ground.” The direct object is implied. Onan deliberately got rid of his semen on the ground so that his brother’s widow would not become pregnant.
6. Genesis 38:10 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the Lord) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
7. Genesis 38:11 tn Heb “said.”
8. Genesis 38:11 tn Heb “Otherwise he will die, also he, like his brothers.”sn I don’t want him to die like his brothers. This clause explains that Judah had no intention of giving Shelah to Tamar for the purpose of the levirate marriage. Judah apparently knew the nature of his sons, and feared that God would be angry with the third son and kill him as well.