the Fifth Week after Easter
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Complete Jewish Bible
Genesis 38:7
Bible Study Resources
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- InternationalParallel Translations
`Er, Yehudah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD. The LORD killed him.
And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord ; and the Lord slew him.
And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him.
But Er, Judah's oldest son, did what the Lord said was evil, so the Lord killed him.
But Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the Lord 's sight, so the Lord killed him.
But Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him [in judgment].
But Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD took his life.
Now Er the first borne of Iudah was wicked in the sight of the Lord: therefore the Lord slewe him.
But Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so Yahweh put him to death.
But Er was very evil, and the Lord took his life.
And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah, and Jehovah slew him.
But Er did many bad things. The Lord was not happy with him, so the Lord killed him.
But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord , and the Lord put him to death.
And Er, Judahs first-born, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
Er's conduct was evil, and it displeased the Lord , so the Lord killed him.
Now Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the Lord’s sight, and the Lord put him to death.
And Er, Judah's first-born, was evil in the eyes of Jehovah. And Jehovah killed him.
But he was wicked before the LORDE, therfore the LORDE slew him.
And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of Jehovah; and Jehovah slew him.
Now Er, Judah's first son, did evil in the eyes of the Lord, so that he put him to death.
And Er Iudas first borne sonne was wicked in the syght of the Lorde, and the Lorde slewe hym.
And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
And Er, Iudahs first borne was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD slew him.
And Er, the first-born of Judas, was wicked before the Lord; and God killed him.
And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the LORD's sight; so the LORD put him to death.
And Her, the firste gendrid sone of Judas, was weiward in the siyt of the Lord, and therfor he was slayn of the Lord.
and Er, Judah's first-born, is evil in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah doth put him to death.
And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of Yahweh. And Yahweh slew him.
And Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of Yahweh. Yahweh killed him.
But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him.
But Er was a wicked man in the Lord 's sight, so the Lord took his life.
But Er, Judah's first-born, was sinful in the eyes of the Lord. So the Lord took his life.
But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the Lord , and the Lord put him to death.
And it came to pass that Er, Judah's firstborn was displeasing in the eyes of Yahweh, - so Yahweh put him to death,
And Her, the first born of Juda, was wicked in the sight of the Lord: and was slain by him.
But Er, Judah's first-born, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
But Er, Judah's firstborn, was evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD took his life.
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
Er: Genesis 46:12, Numbers 26:19
wicked: Genesis 6:8, Genesis 13:13, Genesis 19:13, 2 Chronicles 33:6
and the: 1 Chronicles 2:3, Psalms 55:23
Reciprocal: Judges 2:11 - did evil 2 Kings 14:24 - in the sight Job 36:14 - They die Psalms 51:4 - evil Ecclesiastes 7:17 - why Romans 5:13 - until
Cross-References
But Noach found grace in the sight of Adonai . Haftarah B'resheet: Yesha‘yahu (Isaiah) 42:5–43:10 (A); 42:5–21 (S) B'rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah B'resheet: Mattityahu (Matthew) 1:1–17; 19:3–9; Mark 10:1–12; Luke 3:23–38; Yochanan (John) 1:1–18; 1 Corinthians 6:15–20; 15:35–58; Romans 5:12–21; Ephesians 5:21–32; Colossians 1:14–17; 1 Timothy 2:11–15; Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 1:1–3; 3:7–4:11; 11:1–7; 2 Kefa (2 Peter) 3:3–14; Revelation 21:1–5; 22:1–5 Here is the history of Noach. In his generation, Noach was a man righteous and wholehearted; Noach walked with God. Noach fathered three sons, Shem, Ham and Yefet. The earth was corrupt before God, the earth was filled with violence. God saw the earth, and, yes, it was corrupt; for all living beings had corrupted their ways on the earth. God said to Noach, "The end of all living beings has come before me, for because of them the earth is filled with violence. I will destroy them along with the earth. Make yourself an ark of gofer-wood; you are to make the ark with rooms and cover it with pitch both outside and inside. Here is how you are to build it: the length of the ark is to be 450 feet, its width seventy-five feet and its height forty-five feet. You are to make an opening for daylight in the ark eighteen inches below its roof. Put a door in its side; and build it with lower, second and third decks. "Then I myself will bring the flood of water over the earth to destroy from under heaven every living thing that breathes; everything on earth will be destroyed. But I will establish my covenant with you; you will come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife and your sons' wives with you. "From everything living, from each kind of living being, you are to bring two into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they are to be male and female. Of each kind of bird, each kind of livestock, and each kind of animal creeping on the ground, two are to come to you, so that they can be kept alive. Also take from all the kinds of food that are eaten, and collect it for yourself; it is to be food for you and for them." This is what Noach did; he did all that God ordered him to do.
Now the men of S'dom were evil, committing great sins against Adonai .
because we are going to destroy it. Adonai has become aware of the great outcry against them, and Adonai has sent us to destroy it."
The sons of Y'hudah: ‘Er, Onan, Shelah, Peretz and Zerach; but ‘Er and Onan died in the land of Kena‘an. The sons of Peretz were Hetzron and Hamul.
The sons of Y'hudah: First ‘Er and Onan, but ‘Er and Onan died in the land of Kena‘an.
The sons of Y'hudah: ‘Er, Onan and Shelah; the mother of these three was Bat-Shua the Kena‘anit. ‘Er, Y'hudah's firstborn, was wicked from Adonai 's perspective, so he killed him.
He made his children pass through the fire [as a sacrifice] in the Ben-Hinnom Valley. He practiced soothsaying, divination and sorcery; and he appointed mediums and persons who used spirit guides. He did much that was evil from Adonai 's perspective, thus provoking him to anger.
Unload your burden on Adonai , and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved. But you will bring them down, God, into the deepest pit. Those men, so bloodthirsty and treacherous, will not live out half their days. But for my part, [ Adonai ,] I put my trust in you.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
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 p 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; or by sending some distemper, which quickly carried him off, as a token of his displeasure at his sin.
p Abulpharag. Hist. Dynast. p. 16.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
- The Family of Judah
1. ×¢××× âaÌduÌllaÌm, âAdullam, ârighteousness.â ×××¨× chıÌyraÌh Chirah, ânobility?â
2. ש××Ö¼×¢ shuÌaâ, Shuaâ, âluck, riches, cry.â
3. ער âeÌr, âEr, âwatching.â
4. ××× × 'oÌnaÌn, Onan, âstrong.â
5. ש××× sheÌlaÌh, Shelah, ârequest? rest.â ×××× kezıÌyb Kezib, âfalsehood.â
6. ת×ר taÌmaÌr, Tamar, âpalm.â
12. ת×× × tıÌmnaÌh, Timnah, âcounted or assigned.â
14. ×¢×× ×× 'eÌynayıÌm, âEnaim, âtwo fountains.â
29. פרץ perets, Perets, âbreach.â
This strange narrative is an episode in the history of Joseph; but an integral part of the âgenerationsâ of Jacob. It is loosely dated with the phrase âat that time.â This does not indicate a sequel to the preceding record, the proper phrase for which is âafter these thingsâ (×××× ×××ר×× ××ר 'achar hadebaÌrıÌym haÌ'eÌleh Genesis 22:1). It implies rather a train of events that commenced at least in the past, some time before the closing incident of the previous narrative Genesis 21:22. But the sale of Joseph, which alone is recorded in the last chapter, only occupied some few weeks or months of a year. Hence, the circumstances contained in this memoir of Judahâs family must have taken their rise before that event. The date âat that time,â is rendered indefinite also by being attached to the phrase, âAnd it came to pass,â which covers at least all the events in the first eleven verses of the chapter.
All this is in accordance with the customary mode of arranging parallel lines of events in Hebrew narrative. We shall see reason afterward for placing the birth of Er at as early a date as possible in the life of Judah Genesis 46:12. Now Judah, we conceive, was born when his father was eighty-seven, and Joseph when he was ninety-one, and hence, there is a difference about four years in their ages. We suppose Er to have been born in Judahâs fourteenth year, when Joseph and Dinah were in their tenth, and therefore, about three years before the rape of Dinah, and shortly after Jacob arrived at the town of Shekem. The dishonor of Dinah, and the cruel treatment of Joseph, being of essential moment in the process of things, had to be recorded in the main line of events. The commencement of Judahâs family, having no particular influence on the current of the history, is fitly reserved until the whole of the circumstances could be brought together into a connected narrative. And the private history of Judahâs line is given, while that of the others is omitted, simply because from him the promised seed is descended. As soon as Jacob is settled in the promised land, the contact with Hebron and its neighborhood seems to have commenced. A clear proof of this is the presence of Deborah, Rebekahâs nurse, in Jacobâs family Genesis 35:8. The great thoroughfare from Damascus to Egypt runs through Shekem and Hebron, and we know that when Jacob was residing at Hebron, his sons fed their flocks at Shekem and Dothan, and the youthful Joseph was sent to inquire after their welfare.
Genesis 38:1-11
Judah marries and has three sons. âWent down from brethren.â This seems to have been an act of willful indiscretion in Judah. His separation from his brethren, however, extends only to the matter of his new connection. In regard to property and employment there seems to have been no long or entire separation until they went down into Egypt. He went down from the high grounds about Shekem to the lowlands in which Adullam was situated Joshua 15:33-35. âA certain Adullamite.â He may have become acquainted with this Hirah, when visiting his grandfather, or in some of the caravans which were constantly passing Shekem, or even in the ordinary wanderings of the pastoral life. Adullam was in the Shephelah or lowland of Judah bordering on Philistia proper. âA certain Kenaanite.â This connection with Shuaâs daughter was contrary to the will of God and the example of his fathers. Onan was born, we conceive, in Judahâs fifteenth year, and Shelah in his sixteenth.
At Kezib. - This appears the same as Akzib, which is associated with Keilah and Mareshah Joshua 15:44, and therefore, lay in the south of the lowland of Judah. This note of place indicates a change of residence since her other children were born. In the year after this birth the dishonor of Dinah takes place. âTook a wife for Er.â Judah chose a wife for himself at an early age, and now he chooses for his first-born at the same age. âWas evil in the eyes of the Lord.â The God of covenant is obliged to cut off Er for his wickedness in the prime of life. We are not made acquainted with his crime; but it could scarcely be more vile and unnatural than that for which his brother Onan is also visited with death. âAnd be a husband to her.â The original word means to act as a husband to the widow of a deceased brother who has left no issue. Onan seems to have been prompted to commit his crime by the low motive of turning the whole inheritance to his own house. At the time of Erâs death Judah must have been in his twenty-seventh year; Joseph was consequently in his twenty-third, and Jacob had for ten years past had his headquarters at Hebron. Hence, the contact with Timnah, Adullam, and Enaim was easy.
Genesis 38:12-23
Judah now comes into criminal, and, though unknown to him, incestuous sexual intercourse with Tamar. âAnd many were the days,â a year or somewhat more. âTo Timnah.â This town is about twenty miles northwest of Hebron. There is another, however, in the hills about seven miles south of Hebron. âPut on a veil;â to conceal her face from Judah, or any other beholder. âThe qate of Enaim.â This is supposed to be the same as Enam Joshua 15:34. âAnd thy lace.â This is the cord by which the signet was suspended round his neck. âCourtesan.â The original word ק×ש×× qedeÌshaÌh means one consecrated to the worship of Ashtoreth, in which chastity is sacrificed.
Genesis 38:24-30
Tamar bears Perez and Zerah to Judah. After three months her pregnancy was manifest. âLet her be burnt.â It is manifest Judah had the power to execute this punishment. The life of the widow of his son was in his hands. Stoning was the mode of punishment by the law of Moses Deuteronomy 22:20-24; burning, only in aggravated cases Leviticus 20:14; Leviticus 21:9. He is a severe judge in a case where he is equally criminal. âShe hath been more righteous than I. Tamar was less culpable in this matter than Judah. For he was moved by lust to commit fornication, and was the indirect occasion of Tamarâs conduct by withholding Selah. But Tamar, though wronged, was not free from blame in her mode of righting herself. The youthful indiscretion of Judah in forming an intermarriage with a Canaanitish family, without the concurrence of his brothers or his father, has been fruitful of crime. If this immorality goes on, the chosen family will be speedily absorbed in the surrounding paganism. Hence, we begin to see the necessity of an immediate removal to another land, where they may be kept more distinct from the native superstition. By the disclosure of Tamar Judah is brought to acknowledgment of his fault, and, we may infer, to repentance. His abstaining from all further sexual intercourse with her may be accepted as a proof of this. âA scarlet thread.â The right of primogeniture here manifests its importance. âPerezâ - a breach. Slight incidents become the foundation of names, and are often the hinges on which great events turn. The minutest circumstances connected with the progenitors of the promised seed have a lasting interest.
Judah was at the close of his twenty-ninth year when Perez and Zerah were born. The dates in his family history may be arranged as underneath, on the supposition that the first child was born when the father was in his fourteenth year. This hypothesis is fairly allowable when we take into consideration not only other cases, but the early willfulness of Judah, and the example he gave to his children. The command also to be fruitful and multiply Genesis 35:11, which was given especially to Jacob, may have had a tendency to encourage early marriages. It is certain that the Jewish rabbis considered a man to have transgressed a divine precept who passed the age of twenty without being married. They also fixed the marriageable age for males at thirteen years and a day. King Ahaz was the father of Hezekiah when he was not more than twelve 2 Kings 16:2; 2 Kings 18:2; and King Josiah the father of Jehoiakim, when fourteen years of age 2 Kings 22:1; 2 Kings 23:36.
Judah 13 years 6 months when Er was born.
Judah 14 years 4 12 months when Onan was born.
Judah 15 years 3 months when Shelah was born.
Judah 28 years 9 months when Perez was born.
Judah 42 years 3 months when Hezron was born to Perez.
Judah 43 years 2 months when Hamul was born.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Genesis 38:7. Er-was wicked in the sight of the Lord — What this wickedness consisted in we are not told; but the phrase sight of the Lord being added, proves that it was some very great evil. It is worthy of remark that the Hebrew word used to express Er's wickedness is his own name, the letters reversed. Er ער wicked, רע ra. As if the inspired writer had said, "Er was altogether wicked, a completely abandoned character."
