- Jul 21, 2019
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Hello! In Genesis 38, Er had a wife named Tamar. Because he was wicked, God killed him (v. 7). According to the customs of the time, Er's brother, Onan, should enter a levirate marriage with her to produce offspring continuing his brother's line (v. 8). He knew the offspring wouldn't be his, though, so when he had relations with Tamar, Onan performed the contraceptive practice of withdrawal, emitting on the ground (v. 9). God wasn't pleased and killed him for what he did (v. 10).
Being someone who hasn't grown up hearing that contraception is wrong, this passage confuses me. While apparently not as prevalent an interpretation in the past, many today say that Onan's sin was not contraception, just violating the levirate custom. However, I came across John F. Kippley, who lists a number of reasons supporting the contraceptive interpretation in the essay "The Sin of Onan: Is It Relevant To Contraception?" starting at page 3. One is the argument that Judah and Shelah also violated the levirate custom but didn't die (vv. 13-18, 24-26).
Does Genesis 38 condemn contraception? While I'd appreciate it if you'd glance over pages 3-4 of the essay before replying, such isn't mandatory. Thanks!
Being someone who hasn't grown up hearing that contraception is wrong, this passage confuses me. While apparently not as prevalent an interpretation in the past, many today say that Onan's sin was not contraception, just violating the levirate custom. However, I came across John F. Kippley, who lists a number of reasons supporting the contraceptive interpretation in the essay "The Sin of Onan: Is It Relevant To Contraception?" starting at page 3. One is the argument that Judah and Shelah also violated the levirate custom but didn't die (vv. 13-18, 24-26).
Does Genesis 38 condemn contraception? While I'd appreciate it if you'd glance over pages 3-4 of the essay before replying, such isn't mandatory. Thanks!