Genesis 38:2 Commentary and Bible Study

‘Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite.’ Now he knows this is absolutely against the family tradition. He knows the trouble Esau was in for doing this with his father Isaac. He knows the sinfulness and how much against the plan of God this is. But he saw ‘a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah.’ That is not the daughter's name; that is her father's name. ‘And he took her and went in unto her, and she conceived, and bear a son, and he called his name Er. And she conceived again another son, Onan.’ And verse 5: ‘And yet again she conceived,’ but this was after some time, ‘and bear a son; and called his name Shelah’, but he was a lot younger than the other two, and it's important to remember that. Er, meaning ‘watcher’ is named by his father. Onan, meaning ‘iniquity’ or ‘pain’, and Shelah, probably meaning ‘prayer’ or ‘petition’ are named by Judah’s wife.