7
But Er,וַ עֵרJudah’sיְהוּדָהfirstborn,בְּכוֹרwasיְהִיevilרַעin the eyesבְּעֵינֵיof YHWH,יְהוָהand YHWHיְהוָהput him to death.וַיְמִתֵהוּ
Genesis 38:7
Study it in the app“But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the eyes of YHWH, and YHWH put him to death.”
With the Hebrew beneath
Genesis 38:7, word by word
- But Erעֵרer
Er
Er, the elder son of Judah; also another Israelite.
Where else “er” appears- Judah’sיְהוּדָהyehuda
Judah
Judah, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah; also the tribe that came from him and its land, and later the southern kingdom; King David came from it. The name sounds like "give thanks". Borne also by other Israelites.
Where else “yehuda” appears- firstbornבְּכוֹרbechor
firstborn
The son who came into the world before his brothers, with a special place in the family.
Where else “bechor” appears- wasיְהִיyehi
be
To be: "I will be their Elohim".
Where else “yehi” appears- evilרַעra
evil
What is evil, the opposite of good.
Where else “ra” appears- in the eyesעֵינֵיene
sight
"In the eyes of" someone: in their view.
Where else “ene” appears- of YHWHיְהוָהyehva
YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
Where else “yehva” appears- put him to deathיְמִתֵyemite
kill
To kill someone.
Where else “yemite” appears
The context
6Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7 · This verse (above)
8Judah 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.”
To study Genesis 38 in a group
1. What it says
What did Tamar do, and what did Judah say when he learned of it (vv. 14-26)?
2. What it means
What does it mean that Judah admits, “She is more righteous than I” (v. 26)?
3. How I live it
How can you honestly admit your own mistake when it is shown to you?