38:2 There Judah saw the daughter of a Canaanite man 1 named Shua. 2 Judah acquired her as a wife 3 and had marital relations with her. 4 38:3 She became pregnant 5 and had a son. Judah named 6 him Er. 38:4 She became pregnant again and had another son, whom she named Onan. 38:5 Then she had 7 yet another son, whom she named Shelah. She gave birth to him in Kezib. 8
38:6 Judah acquired 9 a wife for Er his firstborn; her name was Tamar. 38:7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord killed him.
38:8 Then Judah said to Onan, “Have sexual relations with 10 your brother’s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise 11 up a descendant for your brother.” 12 38:9 But Onan knew that the child 13 would not be considered his. 14 So whenever 15 he had sexual relations with 16 his brother’s wife, he withdrew prematurely 17 so as not to give his brother a descendant. 38:10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so the Lord 18 killed him too.
1 tn Heb “a man, a Canaanite.”
2 tn Heb “and his name was Shua.”
3 tn Heb “and he took her.”
4 tn Heb “and he went to her.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
5 tn Or “she conceived” (also in the following verse).
6 tc Some
7 tn Heb “and she added again and she gave birth.” The first verb and the adverb emphasize that she gave birth once more.
8 tn Or “and he [i.e., Judah] was in Kezib when she gave birth to him.”
9 tn Heb “and Judah took.”
10 tn Heb “go to.” The expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
11 tn The imperative with the prefixed conjunction here indicates purpose.
12 sn Raise up a descendant for your brother. The purpose of this custom, called the levirate system, was to ensure that no line of the family would become extinct. The name of the deceased was to be maintained through this custom of having a child by the nearest relative. See M. Burrows, “Levirate Marriage in Israel,” JBL 59 (1940): 23-33.
13 tn Heb “offspring.”
14 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.
15 tn The construction shows that this was a repeated practice and not merely one action.
16 tn Heb “he went to.” This expression is a euphemism for sexual intercourse.
17 tn Heb “he spoiled [his semen] to the ground.” Onan withdrew prematurely and ejaculated on the ground to prevent his brother’s widow from becoming pregnant.
18 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the