Onan
Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) · International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
THE DICTIONARY — Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)
strong, the second son of Judah (Genesis 38:4-10; comp. Deuteronomy 25:5; Matthew 22:24). He died before the going down of Jacob and his family into Egypt.
THE FULL ARTICLE — from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), general editor James Orr — public domain, printed whole.
o'-nan ('onan, "vigorous"; compare ONAM, a "son" of Judah (Ge 38:4,8-10; 46:12; Nu 26:19; 1Ch 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 Ge 38:11 Judah plainly attributes the death of his sons in some way to Tamar herself. The name is allied to Onam.