Onan
Onan (Hebrew: "וֹנָן, Modern Onan Tiberian ʼÔn"n ; "Strong") is a minor biblical person in the Book of Genesis Chapter 38, who was the second son of Judah. Like his older brother, Er, Onan died prematurely by Yahweh's will for being wicked.
Biblical account
After Onan's brother Er died, his father Judah told him to fulfill his duty as a brother-in-law to Tamar, by giving her offspring. Centuries later, in the days of Moses, this practice was formulated into a law of a Levirate marriage, where the brother of the deceased would provide offspring to the childless widow to preserve the family line.
However, when Onan had sex with Tamar, he disregarded this principle when he withdrew before climax and "spilled his seed (or semen) on the ground", (coitus interruptus) since any child born would not legally be considered his heir. This he did several times, disregarding the principle of a Levirate union, and was accordingly sentenced to death by Yahweh for this wickedness. (Genesis 38:8-10)
Onanism
The term onanism has come to refer to "masturbation" in many modern languages – for example, Hebrew (אוננות, onanút), German (Onanie), Greek (αυνανισμός, avnanismós), Japanese (オナニー, onanī), and Swedish (onani) – based on an interpretation of the Onan story.
The word onanism is not based on the biblical story of Onan itself but on an interpretation of that biblical story, nor is the word onanism found in any form in the biblical texts. Thus the etymological connection of onanism (in the sense of masturbation) with Onan’s name is misleading.[64][49]
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines onanism as:
| Articles related to masturbation | |
|---|---|
| |
Chat rooms • What links here • Copyright info • Contact information • Category:Root