Genesis 38 · Verse 10

Genesis 38:10

And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also.
Genesis 38:10, King James Version

Genesis 38:10 in other translations

BSBWhat he did was wicked in the sight of the LORD, so He put Onan to death as well.
WEBThe thing which he did was evil in the LORD’s sight, and he killed him also.
ASVAnd the thing which he did was evil in the sight of Jehovah: and he slew him also.
YLTand that which he hath done is evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and He putteth him also to death.
DARBYAnd the thing which he did was evil in the sight of Jehovah, and he slew him also.
BBEAnd what he did was evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death, like his brother.
WebsterAnd the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.

What does Genesis 38:10 mean?

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 Wherefore he slew him also - The sin of Onan has generally been supposed to be self-pollution; but this is certainly a mistake; his crime was his refusal to raise up seed to his brother, and rather than do it, by the act mentioned above, he rendered himself incapable of it. We find from this history that long be fore the Mosaic law it was an established custom, probably founded on a Divine precept, that if a man died childless his brother was to take his wife, and the children produced by this second marriage were considered as the children of the first husband, and in consequence inherited his possessions.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Genesis 38:10 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֵּ֛רַעvai.Ye.ra'and it was evilH7489
בְּעֵינֵ֥יbe.'ei.Neiin [the] eyes ofH5869
יְהוָ֖הYah.wehYahwehH3068
אֲשֶׁ֣ר'a.Sher[that] whichH834
עָשָׂ֑ה'a.Sahhe had doneH6213
וַיָּ֖מֶתvai.Ya.metand he put to deathH4191
גַּם\־gam-alsoH1571
אֹתֽוֹ\׃'o.To<obj.> himH853

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Genesis 38:10

  • Numbers 11:1

    And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord: and the Lord heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the Lord burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp.

  • Genesis 46:12

    And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.

  • Proverbs 14:32

    The wicked is driven away in his wickedness: but the righteous hath hope in his death.

  • 1 Chronicles 21:7

    And God was displeased with this thing; therefore he smote Israel.

  • Numbers 26:19

    The sons of Judah were Er and Onan: and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.

  • Haggai 1:13

    Then spake Haggai the Lord’s messenger in the Lord’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith the Lord.

  • Jeremiah 44:4

    Howbeit I sent unto you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending them, saying, Oh, do not this abominable thing that I hate.

  • 2 Samuel 11:27

    And when the mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house, and she became his wife, and bare him a son. But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.

  • Proverbs 24:18

    Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him.

  • Numbers 22:34

    And Balaam said unto the angel of the Lord, I have sinned; for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will get me back again.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
displeased. Heb. was evil in the eyes of.
Nu 11:1; 22:34; 2Sa 11:27; 1Ch 21:7; Pr 14:32; 24:18; Jer 44:4
Hag 1:13
him also.
46:12; Nu 26:19

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Genesis 38:9

    And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.

  • Genesis 38:10

    And the thing which he did displeased the Lord: wherefore he slew him also.

  • Genesis 38:11

    Then said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law, Remain a widow at thy father’s house, till Shelah my son be grown: for he said, Lest peradventure he die also, as his brethren did. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.

Read all of Genesis 38

Genesis 38:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y desagradó en ojos de Jehová lo que hacía, y también quitó á él la vida.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et ce qu’il faisait fut mauvais aux yeux de l’ Éternel, et il le fit mourir aussi.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und es war übel in den Augen Jehovas, was er tat; und er tötete auch ihn.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et idcirco percussit eum Dominus, quod rem detestabilem faceret.