ONAN

o'-nan ('onan, "vigorous"; compare ONAM , a "son" of Judah (Genesis 38:4,8-10; 46:12; Numbers 26:19; 1 Chronicles 2:3); "The story of the untimely death of Er and Onan implies that two of the ancient clans of Judah early disappeared" (Curtis, Chron, 84). See Skinner, Gen, 452, where it is pointed out that in Genesis 38:11 Judah plainly attributes the death of his sons in some way to Tamar herself. The name is allied to Onam.

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.