Genesis 38:4
“She conceived again, and bore a son; and she named him Onan.”
What does Genesis 38:4 mean?
Judah's wife Tamar had just given birth to Er, and now she was pregnant again. When this second son arrived, she named him Onan, continuing what would become a family marked by tragedy and complicated choices. This brief verse sets the stage for one of the Bible's most difficult stories, where Onan's actions (described in the verses that follow) would have lasting consequences for his family and raise hard questions about duty, desire, and disobedience that people still wrestle with today.