Genesis 38:7

7 And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him.

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.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 16.

Genesis 38:7 In-Context

5 And once again she bore a son, and she called his name Shelah. And he was in Chezib when she bore him.

6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name [was] Tamar.

7 And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him.

8 Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to the wife of your brother and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother."

9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be for him, so whenever he went in to the wife of his brother he would waste [it] on the ground so as not to give offspring to his brother.