Onan

Onan, the second son of Judah and the brother of Er and Shelah, dies after refusing to provide offspring for his deceased brother through Tamar. His brief story turns the obligations of kinship into a conflict over lineage: Judah commands him to raise up seed for Er, but Onan prevents conception, and the LORD judges his act evil. The account later records his death among the family losses that preceded Jacob’s migration to Egypt.

Family and Levirate Duty

Judah had three sons by the daughter of Shua: Er, Onan, and Shelah. Judah took Tamar as a wife for Er, his firstborn. After Er died, Judah instructed Onan to go to his brother’s widow and perform the duty of a husband’s brother, so that Er might have descendants.

Onan understood that any child would not be reckoned as his own. When he went in to Tamar, he spilled his seed on the ground rather than give offspring to his brother. The narrative explicitly connects his action to this refusal of the duty Judah had assigned him; it does not describe a broader dispute between the brothers or supply further explanation of Onan’s intentions.

Death and Family Consequences

The account identifies Onan’s conduct as evil in the sight of the LORD and says that the LORD slew him also, following Er’s death. Judah then told Tamar to remain a widow in her father’s house until Shelah was grown, while privately fearing that Shelah might die as his brothers had. Tamar returned to her father’s house, and the expected marriage to Shelah did not take place even after he grew up.

Judah’s sons’ deaths become part of the background to Tamar’s later action: after Judah withheld Shelah, she disguised herself and conceived by Judah. The narrative thus places Onan’s refusal within a sequence in which Tamar is left without the promised family connection or offspring through Judah’s sons.

Later Genealogical Record

When Jacob’s household entered Egypt, the account’s list of Judah’s descendants names Er, Onan, and Shelah, then adds that Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. The genealogy preserves Onan’s place in Judah’s family while marking him as one of its deceased sons; it does not give him descendants.