Onan (English Wikipedia)

Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Onan" in English language version.

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  • Coogan, Michael (October 2010). God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says (1st ed.). New York; Boston: Twelve. Hachette Book Group. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-446-54525-9. OCLC 505927356. Retrieved May 5, 2011. Although Onan gives his name to onanism, usually a synonym for masturbation, Onan was not masturbating but practicing coitus interruptus.
  • Wray, Tina J. (2011). "Chapter 7. Should We or Shouldn't We? A Brief Exploration of Sexuality and Gender". What the Bible Really Tells Us: The Essential Guide to Biblical Literacy. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 142–143. ISBN 9781442212930. OCLC 707329261. Returning to the Levitical list of sexual taboos, curiously missing from the list is any mention of masturbation. Many people assume that this, too, is forbidden, but the truth is, the word masturbation is never specifically mentioned in the Bible, though some argue that it is implied (and also condemned) in several places. The story cited most often is found in Genesis 38...For centuries this obscure passage has been used as an indictment against masturbation though it is not masturbation at all...But if Onan's story is not about masturbation, then where in the Bible is the practice forbidden? Some commentators conclude that the word porneia—a word already discussed in the first two assumptions—is a catchall term to include all forms of unchastity, including masturbation, but others vehemently disagree. In the book of Leviticus, there is explicit mention of purity regulations regarding semen that seem to emanate from either masturbation or possibly nocturnal emission: [Bible quote Lev 15:16-17] None of this, however, represent a clear condemnation of masturbation.

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  • Carr, David M. (2018). Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol A.; Perkins, Pheme (eds.). The new Oxford annotated Bible : New Revised Standard version with the Apocrypha (Fully revised fifth ed.). New York, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-19-027609-6. OCLC 1006596851. Onan's death is attributed to his refusal to perform this duty of impregnating Er's widow, Tamar, probably by coitus interruptus (rather than "onanism," masturbation).
  • Thatcher, Adrian (2011). God, Sex, and Gender: An Introduction. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 184–185. ISBN 978-1405193696.
  • Hodge, Bryan C. (2010). The Christian Case against Contraception: Making the Case from Historical, Biblical, Systematic, and Practical Theology & Ethics. Wipf and Stock Publishers. ISBN 978-1621892199.
  • Riddle, John M. (1992). "1. Population and Sex". Contraception and abortion from the ancient world to the Renaissance. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-674-16875-5. OCLC 24428750.
  • Ellens, J. Harold (2006). "Chapter 6. Making Babies: Purposes of Sex". Sex in the Bible: a new consideration. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. p. 48. ISBN 0-275-98767-1. OCLC 65429579. He practiced coitus interruptus whenever he made love to Tamar.
  • Nemesnyik Rashkow, Ilona (2000). "Sin and Sex, Sex and Sin: The Hebrew Bible and Human Sexuality". Taboo Or Not Taboo: Sexuality and Family in the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p. 16. ISBN 9781451409871. OCLC 42603147. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. Since it is questionable whether masturbation is considered a category of "negative" sexual activity in the Hebrew Bible, I shall not discuss masturbation. (The sin of Onan [Genesis 38] is not necessarily that of masturbation; otherwise, oblique references to seminal emission, such as "a man, when an emission of semen comes out of him" [Lev 15:16], refer to the emission rather than its circumstances. Female masturbation is never mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.)
  • Jones, Stanton; Jones, Brenna (2014). "Chapter 13: Developing Moral Discernment About Masturbation and Petting". How and When to Tell Your Kids About Sex: A Lifelong Approach to Shaping Your Child's Sexual Character. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, Tyndale House. p. 253. ISBN 9781612912301. OCLC 104623265. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. 1. We are aware of only one argument that attempts to draw directly from the Scripture to establish a basis for the acceptance of masturbation, found in J. Johnson, "Toward a Biblical Approach to Masturbation, Journal of Psychology and Theology 10 (1982): 137-146. Johnson suggests that Leviticus 15:16-18 should set the tone for our dealing with masturbation. Verses 16 and 17 say that a man who has an emission of semen should wash and be ceremonially unclean until evening. Verse 18 goes on to say that if a man and woman have intercourse, the same cleanliness rules apply. By bringing up intercourse separately, the passage surely does imply that the emission of semen in verses 16 and 17 occurred for the man individually. The passage may be referring to a nocturnal emission, or wet dream, rather than masturbation, but the passage is not specific. Johnson suggests that this Leviticus passage is significant for treating a solitary sexual experience, whether wet dream or masturbation, as a purely ceremonial cleanliness issue and not as a matter of morality. The passage also puts no more disapproval on the solitary experience than it does on intercourse. Since Christians today commonly view the Old Testament ceremonial law as no longer valid, this author suggests that masturbation is not in itself a moral concern from a biblical perspective and is no longer a ceremonial concern either.
  • Wray, Tina J. (2011). "Chapter 7. Should We or Shouldn't We? A Brief Exploration of Sexuality and Gender". What the Bible Really Tells Us: The Essential Guide to Biblical Literacy. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 142–143. ISBN 9781442212930. OCLC 707329261. Returning to the Levitical list of sexual taboos, curiously missing from the list is any mention of masturbation. Many people assume that this, too, is forbidden, but the truth is, the word masturbation is never specifically mentioned in the Bible, though some argue that it is implied (and also condemned) in several places. The story cited most often is found in Genesis 38...For centuries this obscure passage has been used as an indictment against masturbation though it is not masturbation at all...But if Onan's story is not about masturbation, then where in the Bible is the practice forbidden? Some commentators conclude that the word porneia—a word already discussed in the first two assumptions—is a catchall term to include all forms of unchastity, including masturbation, but others vehemently disagree. In the book of Leviticus, there is explicit mention of purity regulations regarding semen that seem to emanate from either masturbation or possibly nocturnal emission: [Bible quote Lev 15:16-17] None of this, however, represent a clear condemnation of masturbation.
  • Jech, Carl L. (2013). "Chapter 2. Beyond Heaven and Hell". Religion as Art Form: Reclaiming Spirituality Without Supernatural Beliefs. Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 97. ISBN 9781621896708. OCLC 853272981. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. (Masturbation is never mentioned in the Bible.)
  • Vines, Matthew (2014). "4. The Real Sin of Sodom". God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships. New York: Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. p. 72. ISBN 9781601425171. OCLC 869801284. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. Most Christians today understand that masturbation was not the sin of Onan. What's more, many also recognize that masturbation is not inherently sinful.

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  • Frymer-Kensky, Tikva. "Tamar: Bible", Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 20 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. (Viewed on August 6, 2014)

mechon-mamre.org

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web.archive.org

  • Nemesnyik Rashkow, Ilona (2000). "Sin and Sex, Sex and Sin: The Hebrew Bible and Human Sexuality". Taboo Or Not Taboo: Sexuality and Family in the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p. 16. ISBN 9781451409871. OCLC 42603147. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. Since it is questionable whether masturbation is considered a category of "negative" sexual activity in the Hebrew Bible, I shall not discuss masturbation. (The sin of Onan [Genesis 38] is not necessarily that of masturbation; otherwise, oblique references to seminal emission, such as "a man, when an emission of semen comes out of him" [Lev 15:16], refer to the emission rather than its circumstances. Female masturbation is never mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.)
  • Jones, Stanton; Jones, Brenna (2014). "Chapter 13: Developing Moral Discernment About Masturbation and Petting". How and When to Tell Your Kids About Sex: A Lifelong Approach to Shaping Your Child's Sexual Character. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, Tyndale House. p. 253. ISBN 9781612912301. OCLC 104623265. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. 1. We are aware of only one argument that attempts to draw directly from the Scripture to establish a basis for the acceptance of masturbation, found in J. Johnson, "Toward a Biblical Approach to Masturbation, Journal of Psychology and Theology 10 (1982): 137-146. Johnson suggests that Leviticus 15:16-18 should set the tone for our dealing with masturbation. Verses 16 and 17 say that a man who has an emission of semen should wash and be ceremonially unclean until evening. Verse 18 goes on to say that if a man and woman have intercourse, the same cleanliness rules apply. By bringing up intercourse separately, the passage surely does imply that the emission of semen in verses 16 and 17 occurred for the man individually. The passage may be referring to a nocturnal emission, or wet dream, rather than masturbation, but the passage is not specific. Johnson suggests that this Leviticus passage is significant for treating a solitary sexual experience, whether wet dream or masturbation, as a purely ceremonial cleanliness issue and not as a matter of morality. The passage also puts no more disapproval on the solitary experience than it does on intercourse. Since Christians today commonly view the Old Testament ceremonial law as no longer valid, this author suggests that masturbation is not in itself a moral concern from a biblical perspective and is no longer a ceremonial concern either.
  • Jech, Carl L. (2013). "Chapter 2. Beyond Heaven and Hell". Religion as Art Form: Reclaiming Spirituality Without Supernatural Beliefs. Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 97. ISBN 9781621896708. OCLC 853272981. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. (Masturbation is never mentioned in the Bible.)
  • Malan, Mark Kim; Bullough, Vern (Fall 2005). "Historical development of new masturbation attitudes in Mormon culture: secular conformity, counterrevolution, and emerging reform" (PDF). Sexuality & Culture. 9 (4): 80–127. doi:10.1007/s12119-005-1003-z. ISSN 1095-5143. S2CID 145480822. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2015-06-26. While nowhere in the Bible is there a clear unchallenged reference to masturbation, Jewish tradition was always seriously concerned about the loss of semen. The Book of Leviticus, for example states: [Bible quote Lev 14:16-18]...Although masturbation is not mentioned in the Bible or Book of Mormon, absence of scriptural authority on the matter, Kimball said, is irrelevant: "Let no one rationalize their sins on the excuse that a particular sin of his is not mentioned nor forbidden in scripture" (p.25).
  • Vines, Matthew (2014). "4. The Real Sin of Sodom". God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships. New York: Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. p. 72. ISBN 9781601425171. OCLC 869801284. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. Most Christians today understand that masturbation was not the sin of Onan. What's more, many also recognize that masturbation is not inherently sinful.

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  • Freedman, David Noel, ed. (2008). The Anchor Yale Bible dictionary. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-14081-1. OCLC 237189110. The second son of Judah and Shua, a Canaanite woman (Gen 38:2–4). He was the brother of Er and Shelah. In the genealogical list of Judah's descendants, Onan is mentioned as the daughter of Bath-shua (1 Chr 2:3). Judah had arranged a marriage between his firstborn, Er, and a woman named Tamar. Er, however, died an early death, which was attributed to an act of Yahweh because of Er's unmentioned wickedness (Gen 36:7).
  • Patton, Michael S. (1986). "Twentieth-Century Attitudes Toward Masturbation". Journal of Religion and Health. 25 (4): 291–302. doi:10.1007/BF01534067. ISSN 0022-4197. JSTOR 27505893. PMID 24301692. S2CID 2994906. The story of Onan in Genesis 38:7-10 has been the basis of the condemnation of masturbation by Jewish and Christian theologians. Biblical scholars universally agree that the Onan story is a gross misconception of masturbation, since Onan's sexual activity was not masturbation but coitus interruptus.
  • Carr, David M. (2018). Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol A.; Perkins, Pheme (eds.). The new Oxford annotated Bible : New Revised Standard version with the Apocrypha (Fully revised fifth ed.). New York, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-19-027609-6. OCLC 1006596851. Onan's death is attributed to his refusal to perform this duty of impregnating Er's widow, Tamar, probably by coitus interruptus (rather than "onanism," masturbation).
  • Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi, eds. (2014). The Jewish Study Bible (Second ed.). Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-997846-5. OCLC 892869165. The duty in question, known in English as "levirate marriage" is spelled out in Deut. 25.5-10. If a man dies childless, his brother is obligated to marry his widow, and her first son is reckoned as the offspring of the deceased. In Deuteronomy, the surviving brother can decline and undergo a procedure that the Rabbis named "halitzah," but Gen. ch 38 presupposes a stage in the history of the law in which "haliztah" is still unknown.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Hamilton, Victor P. (1995). The book of Genesis. Chapters 18-50. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8028-2309-2. OCLC 31604392. Onan's responsibility is to fulfill his part in what is known as levirate marriage. He is to levirate, or perform the duty of a brother-in-law to (weyabbēm), Tamar. Later biblical law spells out the particulars of the levirate in Deut. 25:5-10, in which the root ybm (cf. yāḇām, "brother-in-law") appears six times (twice as a verb, vv. 5, 7; four times as a noun, vv. 5, 7 [twice], 9). These six occurrences of ybm account for all but two uses of the root in the OT (here and Ruth 1:15). The law states that if brothers live together, and if one of them is married but dies without children, one of the surviving brothers is to marry or take her as wife and father a child with her. The child born of this levirate relationship (levir is Latin for "brother-in-law") carries on the name of his deceased father and eventually inherits the family estate. Here Judah is clever enough to mention only producing a child for the brother. For obvious reasons he says nothing about the inheritance this child will one day receive.
  • Freedman, David Noel, ed. (2008). The Anchor Yale Bible dictionary. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-14081-1. OCLC 237189110. The purpose of levirate marriage is expressed by Deut 25:6: ―that his name [the name of the dead brother] may not be blotted out of Israel.‖ Thus, in order to comply with the intent of the tradition, Judah commanded Onan to take the wife of his deceased brother in order to raise an offspring for his brother (Gen 38:8). Onan was not required to actually marry Tamar, for in levirate marriage the widow only had the right to a son to preserve her husband's name
  • Collins, John J. (2018). Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Third ed.). Minneapolis: Fortress Press. ISBN 978-1-5064-4605-9. OCLC 1031462523. The story begins with Judah's marriage to a Canaanite woman. This is not condemned in the text, but it goes against the practice of the patriarchs hitherto. When their son Er dies, his brother Onan is expected to "go in" to his widow, Tamar, to raise up offspring for him. (This is known as the levirate law. It is spelled out in Deut 25:5-10.)
  • Barton, John; Muddiman, John, eds. (2001). The Oxford Bible commentary. Oxford. ISBN 0-19-875500-7. OCLC 45879881. Tamar's second marriage, to Onan, conforms to the custom of levirate marriage (see Deut 25:5—6).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Leander E. Keck, ed. (2015). The New interpreter's bible commentary. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press. ISBN 978-1-4267-3912-5. OCLC 892041536. Judah then directs his second son, Onan, to "perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her" (though marriage is not mentioned, consummation probably entails it; cf. v. 14)—namely, to raise up an heir to carry on the name and inheritance of the deceased brother (cf. Deut 25:5-10; Ruth 4).
  • Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol A.; Perkins, Pheme, eds. (2018). The new Oxford annotated Bible : New Revised Standard version with the Apocrypha (Fully revised fifth ed.). New York, New York. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-19-027609-6. OCLC 1006596851. According to the ancient custom of levirate marriage (Deut 25.5–10), the duty of a brother-in-law of his brother's childless widow was to impregnate her and thus perpetuate his brother's name and inheritance through his widow's offspring.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Leander E. Keck, ed. (2015). The New interpreter's bible commentary. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press. ISBN 978-1-4267-3912-5. OCLC 892041536. Onan sabotages the intent of the relationship in order to gain Er's inheritance for himself upon Judah's death—the firstborn would receive a double share. He regularly uses Tamar for sex, but makes sure she does not become pregnant by not letting his semen enter her (coitus interruptus, not masturbation). He thereby formally fulfills his duty, lest the role be passed on to his other brother and he lose Er's inheritance in this way. This willful deception would be observable to Tamar, but God's observation leads to Onan's death (again, by unspecified means).
  • Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi, eds. (2014). The Jewish Study Bible (Second ed.). Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-997846-5. OCLC 892869165. 9:Onan would have to expend his own resources to support a child that is legally someone else's, and the child, as the heir to a first-born son, would displace Onan in the line of inheritance to boot.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Walton, John H. (2001). Genesis : from biblical text ... to contemporary life. Grand Rapids, Mich. ISBN 0-310-20617-0. OCLC 46872206. Onan's refusal is explained by his knowledge that the son will not be his (38:9). We need to recognize, then, that there is a birthright issue here. Er was the firstborn and entitled to the birthright. If he has no offspring, the birthright will transfer to Onan. If, however, Tamar bears a son that is considered Er's, the birthright will pass to that son.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Mathews, K. A. (1996–2005). Genesis. Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman Publishers. ISBN 0-8054-0101-6. OCLC 33207787. Onan, however, refused to impregnate Tamar, ejaculating on the ground (coitus interruptus) because he did not want to reduce his share of the family inheritance.
  • Freedman, David Noel, ed. (2008). The Anchor Yale Bible dictionary. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-14081-1. OCLC 237189110.
  • Ehrlich, Carl S. (2001). "Onan". In Metzger, Bruce M.; Coogan, Michael David (eds.). The Oxford guide to people & places of the Bible. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 222. ISBN 0-19-514641-7. OCLC 45439956. Although Onan did cohabit with Tamar, "he spilled his seed on the ground"; for this he was put to death by God. Onan's effort to avoid impregnating his sister-in-law has given rise to the term "onanism," a synonym for masturbation. This passage is then employed by some to indicate divine condemnation of autoeroticism. This interpretation, however, completely misses the point of the passage. Onan's sin was not sexual. Rather, it was his refusal to fulfill the obligation of levirate marriage, according to which a man was obligated to impregnate the wife of his brother if his brother had died without an heir, thus ensuring the continuation of his brothers line and inheritance. That fulfilling this obligation often raised additional questions regarding the apportioning of the familial inheritance is indicated by passages in Deuteronomy and Ruth. Thus Onan's sexual act, most probably coitus interruptus, was the means whereby he avoided his fraternal duty, in spite of the fact that he seemed to be fulfilling it by cohabiting with Tamar. For this deception he was punished.
  • Mariottini, Claude F. (2008). "Onan (PERSON)". In Freedman, David Noel (ed.). The Anchor Yale Bible dictionary. Vol. 5. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-300-14081-1. OCLC 237189110. This action of Onan probably was a reference to coitus interruptus, but Onan's conduct has produced the word "onanism," which has come to be a reference to masturbation.
  • Satlow, Michael L. (1994). "'Wasted Seed,' The History of a Rabbinic Idea". Hebrew Union College Annual. 65. Hebrew Union College: 137–175. ISSN 0360-9049. JSTOR 23508531.
  • Hamilton, Victor P. (1995). The book of Genesis. Chapters 18-50. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8028-2309-2. OCLC 31604392. The levir in this case is to be Onan, the second born. But he refuses to accept his responsibility. Instead, he practices coitus interruptus with Tamar; that is, instead of impregnating her, he wasted his semen on the ground (lit., "he spoiled [it] groundward").This is clearly a reference to withdrawal to prevent conception, rather than a reference to masturbation.
  • Coogan, Michael (October 2010). God and Sex: What the Bible Really Says (1st ed.). New York; Boston: Twelve. Hachette Book Group. p. 110. ISBN 978-0-446-54525-9. OCLC 505927356. Retrieved May 5, 2011. Although Onan gives his name to onanism, usually a synonym for masturbation, Onan was not masturbating but practicing coitus interruptus.
  • Riddle, John M. (1992). "1. Population and Sex". Contraception and abortion from the ancient world to the Renaissance. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 4. ISBN 0-674-16875-5. OCLC 24428750.
  • Ellens, J. Harold (2006). "Chapter 6. Making Babies: Purposes of Sex". Sex in the Bible: a new consideration. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. p. 48. ISBN 0-275-98767-1. OCLC 65429579. He practiced coitus interruptus whenever he made love to Tamar.
  • Patton, Michael S. (June 1985). "Masturbation from Judaism to Victorianism". Journal of Religion and Health. 24 (2). Springer Netherlands: 133–146. doi:10.1007/BF01532257. ISSN 0022-4197. PMID 24306073. S2CID 39066052. Social change in attitudes toward masturbation has occurred at the professional level only since 1960 and at the popular level since 1970. [133] ... onanism and masturbation erroneously became synonymous... [134] ... there is no legislation in the Bible pertaining to masturbation. [135]
  • Kwee, Alex W.; Hoover, David C. (2008). "Theologically-Informed Education about Masturbation: A Male Sexual Health Perspective" (PDF). Journal of Psychology and Theology. 36 (4). La Mirada, California: Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola University: 258–269. doi:10.1177/009164710803600402. ISSN 0091-6471. S2CID 142040707. Retrieved 12 November 2011. The Bible presents no clear theological ethic on masturbation, leaving many young unmarried Christians with confusion and guilt around their sexuality.
  • Nemesnyik Rashkow, Ilona (2000). "Sin and Sex, Sex and Sin: The Hebrew Bible and Human Sexuality". Taboo Or Not Taboo: Sexuality and Family in the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p. 16. ISBN 9781451409871. OCLC 42603147. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. Since it is questionable whether masturbation is considered a category of "negative" sexual activity in the Hebrew Bible, I shall not discuss masturbation. (The sin of Onan [Genesis 38] is not necessarily that of masturbation; otherwise, oblique references to seminal emission, such as "a man, when an emission of semen comes out of him" [Lev 15:16], refer to the emission rather than its circumstances. Female masturbation is never mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.)
  • Jones, Stanton; Jones, Brenna (2014). "Chapter 13: Developing Moral Discernment About Masturbation and Petting". How and When to Tell Your Kids About Sex: A Lifelong Approach to Shaping Your Child's Sexual Character. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, Tyndale House. p. 253. ISBN 9781612912301. OCLC 104623265. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. 1. We are aware of only one argument that attempts to draw directly from the Scripture to establish a basis for the acceptance of masturbation, found in J. Johnson, "Toward a Biblical Approach to Masturbation, Journal of Psychology and Theology 10 (1982): 137-146. Johnson suggests that Leviticus 15:16-18 should set the tone for our dealing with masturbation. Verses 16 and 17 say that a man who has an emission of semen should wash and be ceremonially unclean until evening. Verse 18 goes on to say that if a man and woman have intercourse, the same cleanliness rules apply. By bringing up intercourse separately, the passage surely does imply that the emission of semen in verses 16 and 17 occurred for the man individually. The passage may be referring to a nocturnal emission, or wet dream, rather than masturbation, but the passage is not specific. Johnson suggests that this Leviticus passage is significant for treating a solitary sexual experience, whether wet dream or masturbation, as a purely ceremonial cleanliness issue and not as a matter of morality. The passage also puts no more disapproval on the solitary experience than it does on intercourse. Since Christians today commonly view the Old Testament ceremonial law as no longer valid, this author suggests that masturbation is not in itself a moral concern from a biblical perspective and is no longer a ceremonial concern either.
  • Wray, Tina J. (2011). "Chapter 7. Should We or Shouldn't We? A Brief Exploration of Sexuality and Gender". What the Bible Really Tells Us: The Essential Guide to Biblical Literacy. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. pp. 142–143. ISBN 9781442212930. OCLC 707329261. Returning to the Levitical list of sexual taboos, curiously missing from the list is any mention of masturbation. Many people assume that this, too, is forbidden, but the truth is, the word masturbation is never specifically mentioned in the Bible, though some argue that it is implied (and also condemned) in several places. The story cited most often is found in Genesis 38...For centuries this obscure passage has been used as an indictment against masturbation though it is not masturbation at all...But if Onan's story is not about masturbation, then where in the Bible is the practice forbidden? Some commentators conclude that the word porneia—a word already discussed in the first two assumptions—is a catchall term to include all forms of unchastity, including masturbation, but others vehemently disagree. In the book of Leviticus, there is explicit mention of purity regulations regarding semen that seem to emanate from either masturbation or possibly nocturnal emission: [Bible quote Lev 15:16-17] None of this, however, represent a clear condemnation of masturbation.
  • Jech, Carl L. (2013). "Chapter 2. Beyond Heaven and Hell". Religion as Art Form: Reclaiming Spirituality Without Supernatural Beliefs. Eugene, OR: Resource Publications, Wipf and Stock Publishers. p. 97. ISBN 9781621896708. OCLC 853272981. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. (Masturbation is never mentioned in the Bible.)
  • Malan, Mark Kim; Bullough, Vern (Fall 2005). "Historical development of new masturbation attitudes in Mormon culture: secular conformity, counterrevolution, and emerging reform" (PDF). Sexuality & Culture. 9 (4): 80–127. doi:10.1007/s12119-005-1003-z. ISSN 1095-5143. S2CID 145480822. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2015-06-26. While nowhere in the Bible is there a clear unchallenged reference to masturbation, Jewish tradition was always seriously concerned about the loss of semen. The Book of Leviticus, for example states: [Bible quote Lev 14:16-18]...Although masturbation is not mentioned in the Bible or Book of Mormon, absence of scriptural authority on the matter, Kimball said, is irrelevant: "Let no one rationalize their sins on the excuse that a particular sin of his is not mentioned nor forbidden in scripture" (p.25).
  • Vines, Matthew (2014). "4. The Real Sin of Sodom". God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships. New York: Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. p. 72. ISBN 9781601425171. OCLC 869801284. Archived from the original on 2021-08-15. Retrieved 2020-10-28. Most Christians today understand that masturbation was not the sin of Onan. What's more, many also recognize that masturbation is not inherently sinful.
  • Hamilton, Victor P. (1995). The book of Genesis. Chapters 18-50. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8028-2309-2. OCLC 31604392. This is clearly a reference to withdrawal to prevent conception, rather than a reference to masturbation.Thus the etymological connection of "onanism" (in the sense of masturbation) with Onan's name is misleading.

worldcat.org

  • Freedman, David Noel, ed. (2008). The Anchor Yale Bible dictionary. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-14081-1. OCLC 237189110. The second son of Judah and Shua, a Canaanite woman (Gen 38:2–4). He was the brother of Er and Shelah. In the genealogical list of Judah's descendants, Onan is mentioned as the daughter of Bath-shua (1 Chr 2:3). Judah had arranged a marriage between his firstborn, Er, and a woman named Tamar. Er, however, died an early death, which was attributed to an act of Yahweh because of Er's unmentioned wickedness (Gen 36:7).
  • Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi, eds. (2014). The Jewish Study Bible (Second ed.). Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-997846-5. OCLC 892869165. The duty in question, known in English as "levirate marriage" is spelled out in Deut. 25.5-10. If a man dies childless, his brother is obligated to marry his widow, and her first son is reckoned as the offspring of the deceased. In Deuteronomy, the surviving brother can decline and undergo a procedure that the Rabbis named "halitzah," but Gen. ch 38 presupposes a stage in the history of the law in which "haliztah" is still unknown.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Hamilton, Victor P. (1995). The book of Genesis. Chapters 18-50. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8028-2309-2. OCLC 31604392. Onan's responsibility is to fulfill his part in what is known as levirate marriage. He is to levirate, or perform the duty of a brother-in-law to (weyabbēm), Tamar. Later biblical law spells out the particulars of the levirate in Deut. 25:5-10, in which the root ybm (cf. yāḇām, "brother-in-law") appears six times (twice as a verb, vv. 5, 7; four times as a noun, vv. 5, 7 [twice], 9). These six occurrences of ybm account for all but two uses of the root in the OT (here and Ruth 1:15). The law states that if brothers live together, and if one of them is married but dies without children, one of the surviving brothers is to marry or take her as wife and father a child with her. The child born of this levirate relationship (levir is Latin for "brother-in-law") carries on the name of his deceased father and eventually inherits the family estate. Here Judah is clever enough to mention only producing a child for the brother. For obvious reasons he says nothing about the inheritance this child will one day receive.
  • Freedman, David Noel, ed. (2008). The Anchor Yale Bible dictionary. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-14081-1. OCLC 237189110. The purpose of levirate marriage is expressed by Deut 25:6: ―that his name [the name of the dead brother] may not be blotted out of Israel.‖ Thus, in order to comply with the intent of the tradition, Judah commanded Onan to take the wife of his deceased brother in order to raise an offspring for his brother (Gen 38:8). Onan was not required to actually marry Tamar, for in levirate marriage the widow only had the right to a son to preserve her husband's name
  • Collins, John J. (2018). Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (Third ed.). Minneapolis: Fortress Press. ISBN 978-1-5064-4605-9. OCLC 1031462523. The story begins with Judah's marriage to a Canaanite woman. This is not condemned in the text, but it goes against the practice of the patriarchs hitherto. When their son Er dies, his brother Onan is expected to "go in" to his widow, Tamar, to raise up offspring for him. (This is known as the levirate law. It is spelled out in Deut 25:5-10.)
  • Barton, John; Muddiman, John, eds. (2001). The Oxford Bible commentary. Oxford. ISBN 0-19-875500-7. OCLC 45879881. Tamar's second marriage, to Onan, conforms to the custom of levirate marriage (see Deut 25:5—6).{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Leander E. Keck, ed. (2015). The New interpreter's bible commentary. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press. ISBN 978-1-4267-3912-5. OCLC 892041536. Judah then directs his second son, Onan, to "perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her" (though marriage is not mentioned, consummation probably entails it; cf. v. 14)—namely, to raise up an heir to carry on the name and inheritance of the deceased brother (cf. Deut 25:5-10; Ruth 4).
  • Coogan, Michael David; Brettler, Marc Zvi; Newsom, Carol A.; Perkins, Pheme, eds. (2018). The new Oxford annotated Bible : New Revised Standard version with the Apocrypha (Fully revised fifth ed.). New York, New York. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-19-027609-6. OCLC 1006596851. According to the ancient custom of levirate marriage (Deut 25.5–10), the duty of a brother-in-law of his brother's childless widow was to impregnate her and thus perpetuate his brother's name and inheritance through his widow's offspring.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Leander E. Keck, ed. (2015). The New interpreter's bible commentary. Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press. ISBN 978-1-4267-3912-5. OCLC 892041536. Onan sabotages the intent of the relationship in order to gain Er's inheritance for himself upon Judah's death—the firstborn would receive a double share. He regularly uses Tamar for sex, but makes sure she does not become pregnant by not letting his semen enter her (coitus interruptus, not masturbation). He thereby formally fulfills his duty, lest the role be passed on to his other brother and he lose Er's inheritance in this way. This willful deception would be observable to Tamar, but God's observation leads to Onan's death (again, by unspecified means).
  • Berlin, Adele; Brettler, Marc Zvi, eds. (2014). The Jewish Study Bible (Second ed.). Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-997846-5. OCLC 892869165. 9:Onan would have to expend his own resources to support a child that is legally someone else's, and the child, as the heir to a first-born son, would displace Onan in the line of inheritance to boot.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Walton, John H. (2001). Genesis : from biblical text ... to contemporary life. Grand Rapids, Mich. ISBN 0-310-20617-0. OCLC 46872206. Onan's refusal is explained by his knowledge that the son will not be his (38:9). We need to recognize, then, that there is a birthright issue here. Er was the firstborn and entitled to the birthright. If he has no offspring, the birthright will transfer to Onan. If, however, Tamar bears a son that is considered Er's, the birthright will pass to that son.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Mathews, K. A. (1996–2005). Genesis. Nashville, Tenn.: Broadman & Holman Publishers. ISBN 0-8054-0101-6. OCLC 33207787. Onan, however, refused to impregnate Tamar, ejaculating on the ground (coitus interruptus) because he did not want to reduce his share of the family inheritance.
  • Freedman, David Noel, ed. (2008). The Anchor Yale Bible dictionary. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-14081-1. OCLC 237189110.
  • Ehrlich, Carl S. (2001). "Onan". In Metzger, Bruce M.; Coogan, Michael David (eds.). The Oxford guide to people & places of the Bible. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 222. ISBN 0-19-514641-7. OCLC 45439956. Although Onan did cohabit with Tamar, "he spilled his seed on the ground"; for this he was put to death by God. Onan's effort to avoid impregnating his sister-in-law has given rise to the term "onanism," a synonym for masturbation. This passage is then employed by some to indicate divine condemnation of autoeroticism. This interpretation, however, completely misses the point of the passage. Onan's sin was not sexual. Rather, it was his refusal to fulfill the obligation of levirate marriage, according to which a man was obligated to impregnate the wife of his brother if his brother had died without an heir, thus ensuring the continuation of his brothers line and inheritance. That fulfilling this obligation often raised additional questions regarding the apportioning of the familial inheritance is indicated by passages in Deuteronomy and Ruth. Thus Onan's sexual act, most probably coitus interruptus, was the means whereby he avoided his fraternal duty, in spite of the fact that he seemed to be fulfilling it by cohabiting with Tamar. For this deception he was punished.
  • Mariottini, Claude F. (2008). "Onan (PERSON)". In Freedman, David Noel (ed.). The Anchor Yale Bible dictionary. Vol. 5. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-0-300-14081-1. OCLC 237189110. This action of Onan probably was a reference to coitus interruptus, but Onan's conduct has produced the word "onanism," which has come to be a reference to masturbation.
  • Hamilton, Victor P. (1995). The book of Genesis. Chapters 18-50. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8028-2309-2. OCLC 31604392. The levir in this case is to be Onan, the second born. But he refuses to accept his responsibility. Instead, he practices coitus interruptus with Tamar; that is, instead of impregnating her, he wasted his semen on the ground (lit., "he spoiled [it] groundward").This is clearly a reference to withdrawal to prevent conception, rather than a reference to masturbation.
  • Hamilton, Victor P. (1995). The book of Genesis. Chapters 18-50. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8028-2309-2. OCLC 31604392. This is clearly a reference to withdrawal to prevent conception, rather than a reference to masturbation.Thus the etymological connection of "onanism" (in the sense of masturbation) with Onan's name is misleading.