Genesis
Genesis 38:9
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.
Word by word
Each English word or phrase beside the Hebrew it translates, in the order of the English. Choose a number to open that word’s study.
| English | Hebrew | Sounds like | Grammar | Word study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| But Onan | אוֹנָ֔ן | ’ō·w·nān | Noun - proper - masculine singular | H209 Onan |
| knew | וַיֵּ֣דַע | way·yê·ḏa‘ | Conjunctive waw; Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | H3045 know |
| that | כִּ֛י | kî | Conjunction | H3588 burning, branding |
| the offspring | הַזָּ֑רַע | haz·zā·ra‘ | Article; Noun - masculine singular | H2233 sowing, seed, offspring |
| would not | לֹּ֥א | lō | Adverb - Negative particle | H3808 not |
| belong | יִהְיֶ֣ה | yih·yeh | Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | H1961 fall out, come to pass, become, be |
| to him | ל֖וֹ | lōw | Preposition; third person masculine singular | |
| so whenever | אִם־ | ’im- | Conjunction | H518 if |
| he would sleep with | בָּ֨א | bā | Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular | H935 come in, come, go in, go |
| his brother’s | אָחִיו֙ | ’ā·ḥîw | Noun - masculine singular construct; third person masculine singular | H251 brother |
| wife | אֵ֤שֶׁת | ’ê·šeṯ | Noun - feminine singular construct | H802 woman, wife, female |
| he would spill his seed | וְשִׁחֵ֣ת | wə·ši·ḥêṯ | Conjunctive waw; Verb - Piel - Conjunctive perfect - third person masculine singular | H7843 go to ruin (?) |
| on the ground | אַ֔רְצָה | ’ar·ṣāh | Noun - feminine singular; third person feminine singular | H776 earth, land |
| so that he would not | לְבִלְתִּ֥י | lə·ḇil·tî | Preposition-l | H1115 not, except |
| produce | נְתָן־ | nə·ṯān- | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | H5414 give, put, set |
| offspring | זֶ֖רַע | ze·ra‘ | Noun - masculine singular | H2233 sowing, seed, offspring |
| for his brother | לְאָחִֽיו׃ | lə·’ā·ḥîw | Preposition-l; Noun - masculine singular construct; third person masculine singular | H251 brother |
Cross-references
Other passages that speak to the same thing. Point at one to read it.
Deuteronomy 25:6 · James 3:16 · James 4:5 · Titus 3:3
Cross-references from OpenBible.info, used under CC BY 4.0. The best-supported references for each verse are shown.
Scripture text: Berean Standard Bible.