Genesis 38:8
New International Version
Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for your brother.”

New Living Translation
Then Judah said to Er’s brother Onan, “Go and marry Tamar, as our law requires of the brother of a man who has died. You must produce an heir for your brother.”

English Standard Version
Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”

Berean Standard Bible
Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and raise up offspring for your brother.”

King James Bible
And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

New King James Version
And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.”

New American Standard Bible
Then Judah said to Onan, “Have relations with your brother’s wife and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a child for your brother.”

NASB 1995
Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”

NASB 1977
Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law to her, and raise up a seed for your brother.”

Amplified Bible
Then Judah told Onan, “Go in to your brother’s widow, and perform your duty as a brother-in-law [under the levirate marriage custom]; [be her husband and] raise children for [the name of] your brother.”

Christian Standard Bible
Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and produce offspring for your brother.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and produce offspring for your brother.”

American Standard Version
And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Yehuda said to Unan his son, “Go in unto the wife of your brother and do the part of a brother, and raise up seed to your brother.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
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.

Contemporary English Version
So Judah told Onan, "It's your duty to marry Tamar and have a child for your brother."

Douay-Rheims Bible
Juda, therefore add to Onan his son: Go in to thy brother's wife and marry her, that thou mayst raise seed to thy brother.

English Revised Version
And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then Judah said to Onan, "Go sleep with your brother's widow. Do your duty for her as a brother-in-law, and produce a descendant for your brother."

Good News Translation
Then Judah said to Er's brother Onan, "Go and sleep with your brother's widow. Fulfill your obligation to her as her husband's brother, so that your brother may have descendants."

International Standard Version
So Judah instructed Onan, "You are to have sexual relations with your dead brother's wife, performing the duty of a brother-in-law with her, and have offspring for your brother."

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Judah said unto Onan: 'Go in unto thy brother's wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her, and raise up seed to thy brother.'

Literal Standard Version
And Judah says to Onan, “Go in to the wife of your brother, and marry her, and raise up seed to your brother”;

Majority Standard Bible
Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and raise up offspring for your brother.”

New American Bible
Then Judah said to Onan, “Have intercourse with your brother’s wife, in fulfillment of your duty as brother-in-law, and thus preserve your brother’s line.”

NET Bible
Then Judah said to Onan, "Have sexual relations with your brother's wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her so that you may raise up a descendant for your brother."

New Revised Standard Version
Then Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her; raise up offspring for your brother.”

New Heart English Bible
Then Judah said to Onan, "Sleep with your brother�s wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother."

Webster's Bible Translation
And Judah said to Onan, Go in to thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

World English Bible
Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her, and raise up offspring for your brother.”

Young's Literal Translation
And Judah saith to Onan, 'Go in unto the wife of thy brother, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother;'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Judah and Tamar
7But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; so the LORD put him to death. 8Then Judah said to Onan, “Sleep with your brother’s wife. Perform your duty as her brother-in-law and raise up offspring for your brother.” 9But Onan knew that the offspring would not belong to him; so whenever he would sleep with his brother’s wife, he would spill his seed on the ground so that he would not produce offspring for his brother.…

Cross References
Matthew 22:24
"Teacher," they said, "Moses declared that if a man dies without having children, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.

Genesis 19:31
One day the older daughter said to the younger, "Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us, as is the custom over all the earth.

Deuteronomy 25:5
When brothers dwell together and one of them dies without a son, the widow must not marry outside the family. Her husband's brother is to take her as his wife and fulfill the duty of a brother-in-law for her.

Deuteronomy 25:6
The first son she bears will carry on the name of the dead brother, so that his name will not be blotted out from Israel.

Ruth 4:5
Then Boaz said, "On the day you buy the land from Naomi and also from Ruth the Moabitess, you must also acquire the widow of the deceased in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance."


Treasury of Scripture

And Judah said to Onan, Go in to your brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to your brother.

A.

Leviticus 18:16
Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness.

Numbers 36:8,9
And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers…

Deuteronomy 25:5-10
If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her…

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Brother-In-Law Brother's Duty Fulfil Fulfill Husband's Judah Marry Offspring Onan Perform Produce Raise Right Seed Wife
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Brother-In-Law Brother's Duty Fulfil Fulfill Husband's Judah Marry Offspring Onan Perform Produce Raise Right Seed Wife
Genesis 38
1. Judah begets Er, Onan, and Shelah.
6. Er's marriage with Tamar, and death.
8. The trespass of Onan.
11. Tamar is reserved for Shelah.
12. Judah's wife dies.
13. Tamar deceives Judah.
27. She bears twins, Pharez and Zarah.














(8) Go in unto thy brother's wife.--We learn from this that the law of the Levirate, by which the brother of the dead husband was required to marry the widow, was of far more ancient date than the law of Moses. Its object, first of all, was to prevent the extinction of any line of descent, a matter of great importance in those genealogical days; and, secondly, it was an obstacle to the accumulation of landed property in few hands, as the son first born after the Levirate marriage inherited the property of his deceased uncle, while the second son was the representative of the real father. A similar custom existed in parts of India, Persia, &c, and prevails now among the Mongols. The Mosaic Law did not institute, but regulated the custom, confining such marriages to cases where the deceased brother had died without children, and permitting the brother to refuse to marry the widow, under a penalty, nevertheless, of disgrace. Onan, by refusing to take Tamar, may have been actuated by the selfish motive of obtaining for himself the rights of primogeniture, which would otherwise have gone to his eldest son, as the heir of his uncle 'Er.

Verse 8. - And Judah said unto Onan (obviously after a sufficient interval), Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, - literally, and perform the part of levir, or husband's brother, to her. The language seems to imply that what was afterwards in the code Mosaic known as the Lex Leviratus (Deuteronomy 25:5, 6) was at this time a recognized custom. The existence of the practice has been traced in different frames among Indians, Persians, and other nations of Asia and Africa - and raise up seed to thy brother. As afterwards explained in the Hebrew legislation, the first. born son of such a Levirate marriage became in the eye of the law the child of the deceased husband, and was regarded as his heir.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then Judah
יְהוּדָה֙ (yə·hū·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

said
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

to Onan,
לְאוֹנָ֔ן (lə·’ō·w·nān)
Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 209: Onan -- 'vigorous', a son of Judah

“Sleep with
בֹּ֛א (bō)
Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

your brother’s
אָחִ֖יךָ (’ā·ḥî·ḵā)
Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 251: A brother, )

wife.
אֵ֥שֶׁת (’ê·šeṯ)
Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

Perform your duty as her brother-in-law
וְיַבֵּ֣ם (wə·yab·bêm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Piel - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 2992: To perform the duty of a husband's brother

and raise up
וְהָקֵ֥ם (wə·hā·qêm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Imperative - masculine singular
Strong's 6965: To arise, stand up, stand

offspring
זֶ֖רַע (ze·ra‘)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2233: Seed, fruit, plant, sowing-time, posterity

for your brother.”
לְאָחִֽיךָ׃ (lə·’ā·ḥî·ḵā)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 251: A brother, )


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OT Law: Genesis 38:8 Judah said to Onan Go (Gen. Ge Gn)
Genesis 38:7
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