God & Savior

Genesis 38:9

But 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.
Genesis 38:9
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Original language and places

Reference data from open datasets, shown as published by their sources. Word-by-word English is a literal guide, not a translation.

Original language (Hebrew)

וַיֵּ֣דַע אוֹנָ֔ן כִּ֛י לֹּ֥א ל֖וֹ יִהְיֶ֣ה הַזָּ֑רַע וְהָיָ֞ה אִם־בָּ֨א אֶל־אֵ֤שֶׁת אָחִיו֙ וְשִׁחֵ֣ת אַ֔רְצָה לְבִלְתִּ֥י נְתָן־זֶ֖רַע לְאָחִֽיו׃

  1. וַיֵּ֣דַעvai.Ye.da'“and he knew”
    Conjunction + Verb, qal, sequential imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from יָדַע · “to know” · Strong's H3045
  2. אוֹנָ֔ן'o.Nan“Onan”
    Noun, proper name of a man · from אוֹנָן · “Onan” · Strong's H0209
  3. כִּ֛יki“that”
    Particle · from כִּי · “for” · Strong's H3588A
  4. לֹּ֥אlo'“not”
    Particle, negative · from לֹא · “not” · Strong's H3808
  5. ל֖וֹlo“to <the> him”
    Preposition with article + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from Os3m · “him” · Strong's H9033
  6. יִהְיֶ֣הyih.Yeh“it will belong”
    Verb, qal, imperfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from הָיָה · “to be” · Strong's H1961
  7. הַזָּ֑רַעha.Za.ra'“the offspring”
    Definite article + Noun, masculine, singular, absolute · from זֶ֫רַע · “children” · Strong's H2233H
  8. וְהָיָ֞הve.ha.Yah“and it was”
    Conjunction + Verb, qal, sequential perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from הָיָה · “to be” · Strong's H1961
  9. אִם־'im-“if”
    Particle · from אִם · “if” · Strong's H0518A
  10. בָּ֨אba'“he went”
    Verb, qal, perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from בּוֹא · “come” · Strong's H0935G
  11. אֶל־'el-“into”
    Preposition · from אֶל · “to(wards)” · Strong's H0413
  12. אֵ֤שֶׁת'E.shet“[the] wife of”
    Noun, feminine, singular, construct · from אִשָּׁה · “wife” · Strong's H0802H
  13. אָחִיו֙'a.Chiv“brother his”
    Noun, masculine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from אָח · “male-sibling” · Strong's H0251G
  14. וְשִׁחֵ֣תve.shi.Chet“and he spoiled”
    Conjunction + Verb, piel, sequential perfect, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from שָׁחַת · “to ruin” · Strong's H7843
  15. אַ֔רְצָה'Ar.tzah“[the] ground towards”
    Noun, feminine, singular, absolute + Suffix, directional · from אֶ֫רֶץ · “soil” · Strong's H0776H
  16. לְבִלְתִּ֥יle.vil.Ti“to not”
    Preposition + Noun, both genders, singular, absolute · from בִּלְתִּי · “lest” · Strong's H1115
  17. נְתָן־ne.ton-“to give”
    Verb, qal, infinitive construct, common · from נָתַן · “give” · Strong's H5414G
  18. זֶ֖רַעZe.ra'“offspring”
    Noun, masculine, singular, absolute · from זֶ֫רַע · “children” · Strong's H2233H
  19. לְאָחִֽיו׃le.'a.Chiv“to brother his”
    Preposition + Noun, masculine, singular, construct + Suffix, pronominal, 3rd person, masculine, singular · from אָח · “male-sibling” · Strong's H0251G
  • Hebrew and Aramaic words: STEP Bible (STEPBible.org), based on work at Tyndale House, Cambridge. CC BY 4.0. Source (version ed476a8)