Genesis 38:7

7 And Er, the first-born of Judas, was wicked before the Lord; and God 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 she again bore a son; and called his name, Selom: and she was in Chasbi when she bore them.

6 And Judas took a wife for Er his first-born, whose name was Thamar.

7 And Er, the first-born of Judas, was wicked before the Lord; and God killed him.

8 And Judas said to Aunan, Go in to thy brother's wife, and marry her as her brother-in-law, and raise up seed to thy brother.

9 And Aunan, knowing that the seed should not be his—it came to pass when he went in to his brother's wife, that he spilled upon the ground, so that he should not give seed to his brother's wife.