Genesis 38:7

7 Und Gher, der Erstgeborene Judas, war böse in den Augen Jehovas, und Jehova tötete ihn.

Genesis 38:7 Meaning and Commentary

Genesis 38:7

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 Arabic writer F16 says, that he cohabited with his wife not according to the course of nature, but in the "sodomitical" way: and the Lord slew him;
by his immediate hand, striking him dead at once, as Ananias and Sapphira were stricken, ( Acts 5:5 Acts 5:10 ) ; or by sending some distemper, which quickly carried him off, as a token of his displeasure at his sin.


FOOTNOTES:

F16 Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 16.

Genesis 38:7 In-Context

5 Und wiederum gebar sie einen Sohn, und sie gab ihm den Namen Schela; Juda war aber zu Kesib, als sie ihn gebar.
6 Und Juda nahm ein Weib für Gher, seinen Erstgeborenen, und ihr Name war Tamar.
7 Und Gher, der Erstgeborene Judas, war böse in den Augen Jehovas, und Jehova tötete ihn.
8 Da sprach Juda zu Onan: Gehe ein zu dem Weibe deines Bruders, und leiste ihr die Schwagerpflicht und erwecke deinem Bruder Samen.
9 Da aber Onan wußte, daß der Same nicht sein eigen sein sollte, so geschah es, wenn er zu dem Weibe seines Bruders einging, daß er ihn verderbte zur Erde, um seinem Bruder keinen Samen zu geben.
The Elberfelder Bible is in the public domain.