Atlas Biblica

    person

    Onan

    אוֹנָן

    Onan was the second son of Judah, who was punished by God for his wicked actions.

    verses
    6
    first named
    Genesis 38:4
    last named
    1 Chronicles 2:3
    period
    Egypt and Wilderness
    tribe
    Judah

    Description

    Who was Onan?

    In the words of STEPBible TIPNR:

    Onan was the second son of Judah and his Canaanite wife, the daughter of Shua (Gen.38.4; 1Ch.2.3). After the death of his older brother Er, Judah instructed Onan to marry Er's widow, Tamar, and produce an heir for his brother (Gen.38.8). However, Onan, knowing that the child would not be his own, practiced coitus interruptus to avoid providing an heir for his brother (Gen.38.9). This act was displeasing to the Lord, and as a result, God put Onan to death (Gen.38.10). Onan's death left Tamar without an heir and set the stage for the unusual events that followed, which ultimately led to the birth of Perez and Zerah, twin sons of Judah and Tamar (Gen.38.27-30). Onan is also mentioned in the genealogies of Judah (Gen.46.12; Num.26.19; 1Ch.2.3).

    Relations

    Direct connections

    Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.

    How the graph connects Onan10 of 11 entities the graph connects to Onan, in 3 groups: kinship 6, company 1, events 3. Kinship, company and ground are stated relations; events counts the acts two entities stand in together and is not a relation. Each mark is sized by how many verses name that entity and labelled with the link and the count, so the grouping and the size are both readable without colour. Distance from the centre carries nothing.JudahChild of · 1 event · 1,023 versesZerahSibling of · 2 events · 19 versesPerezSibling of · 2 events · 15 versesShelahSibling of · 2 events · 8 versesErSibling of · 5 events · 6 versesBath-shuaChild of · 2 events · 2 versesKinshipOnan’s spillingTook part in · 2 versesCompanyCanaan2 events · 146 versesSeed1 event · 37 versesTamar3 events · 7 versesEventsOnan

    The 10 best-attested of 11 are drawn. All 11 are listed below.

    Child of

    Sibling of

    • Erregistry, no verse
    • Perezregistry, no verse
    • Shelahregistry, no verse
    • Zerahregistry, no verse

    Took part in

    Stands in the same events as

    Places

    Where this happens

    The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.

    Where the story of Onan happensThe one place the claims about Onan reach, on a map of the world the text moves through, framed to them: Canaan. Each dot is a coordinate from the gazetteer, sized by how many rows put Onan there. The coastline is a modern one, simplified; no border, road or settlement of any period is drawn, and no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.Canaan
    Egypt and WildernessThe one place the claims about Onan reach

    Read it

    Where to read it

    Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 6, across 3 books. The name is written 8 times in them.

    1. Genesis4 verses

      38:438:838:946:12

    2. Numbers1 verse

      26:19

    3. 1 Chronicles1 verse

      2:3

    Onward

    Where this page goes

    Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.

    via Tamar’s birth and Er, and 3 moreTamarJudah's daughter-in-law who bore Perez and Zerahvia Perez and ZerahTamar’s birthTamar’s birth is an event attested across 3 verses, connecting 3 pageable entities.via Onan’s spillingSeedSeed is a concept gathering 18 labelled instances in the text.via Onan’s spillingSpillingSpilling is a concept gathering 6 labelled instances in the text.via Judah and PerezHezronSon of Perez, grandson of Judah, ancestor of David.via Judah and ZerahZerahite ClanZerahite Clan is a group attested across 2 verses, connecting 3 pageable entities.via Bath-shuaShuaFather of Canaanite wife of Judah, mother of Er, Onan, and Shelah.via Tamar’s birthBirthBirth is a concept gathering 84 labelled instances in the text.via ShelahErJudah's grandson, ancestor of linen workers.

    Where they appear

    Chapter by chapter

    Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.

    Sources

    What this rests on