Onan

The Biblical Account

Onan appears in Genesis 38. Judah married the daughter of Shua, a Canaanite, and she bore him three sons, Er, Onan, and Shelah, of whom Onan was the second (Genesis 38:1-5).

After the firstborn, Er, married Tamar and died because he was wicked in the sight of the LORD, Judah commanded Onan to "go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother" (Genesis 38:8). This custom, by which a man married the widow of a brother who had died without a son in order to continue the brother's line, is called levirate marriage; it was later codified in the law in Deuteronomy 25:5-10.

Knowing that the child would not be counted as his own, Onan "spilled it on the ground" when he lay with his brother's wife, so as not to give seed to his brother. The text records that this displeased the LORD, and the LORD slew him also (Genesis 38:9-10). Tamar later bore Perez and Zerah to her father-in-law, Judah.

Onan's name also appears in the lists of Judah's descendants in Genesis 46:12, Numbers 26:19, and 1 Chronicles 2:3, which record that he and Er died in the land of Canaan.

Significance Within Scripture

The story of Onan forms part of the account in which the lineage of the tribe of Judah is placed in jeopardy and then continued through Tamar. That line runs through Perez to David, and Judah, Tamar, and Perez all appear in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:3.

The New Testament does not mention Onan directly, although in one scene the Sadducees appeal to the law of levirate marriage when questioning Jesus about the resurrection (Mark 12:18-23).

Interpretation and Points of Debate

What was the evil? The text says only that Onan's act "displeased the LORD" and does not explain why. As a result, interpretations differ.

• One interpretation locates the heart of the matter in selfishness and deception: Onan outwardly appeared to comply with the levirate obligation while in fact evading it, seeking to keep his brother's portion for himself. Some hold that he reckoned that if his brother had an heir, the firstborn's share would not pass to him. This interpretation emphasizes the injustice done to the vulnerable, namely that he used Tamar while denying her offspring.
• Another long-standing interpretation regards the sexual act itself as the sin. The Catholic tradition has cited this passage as grounds for opposing contraception and masturbation, and Martin Luther and John Calvin are also known to have sharply condemned Onan's act itself in their commentaries on Genesis.
• Deuteronomy 25:7-10 prescribes only public shame, not death, for a man who refuses the levirate duty. Interpreters therefore differ over whether Onan's death should be understood as reflecting something more than a mere refusal of that duty.

Within Protestantism today, many interpreters focus on the passage's own context, namely the levirate obligation and deception, rather than extending it into a judgment on contraception in general, though views vary among denominations and scholars.

Words derived from his name. Terms in Western languages denoting masturbation (such as the English onanism) derive from Onan's name, and the loanword onanism (오나니즘) is also used in Korean. It is frequently pointed out, however, that the act described in the text occurred during intercourse and that the passage does not directly address masturbation.

In the Korean Church

Sermons centered on Onan are relatively rare. He is mentioned chiefly in sermons on the story of Judah and Tamar in Genesis 38 or on the genealogy of Jesus. He is sometimes used as an example in sermons and youth-group lessons on sexual ethics or the evasion of responsibility. Because of the sexual content of the passage, he appears seldom to receive significant attention in Sunday school materials for children.