Er
“Watchful or awake”
Summary
The name of three men in Scripture, most notably the eldest son of Judah who was slain by God for his wickedness before leaving any offspring.
☩Judah's Eldest Son
Er was the firstborn son of the patriarch Judah by Shua's daughter, a Canaanite woman. Judah took Tamar as a wife for him, but Er died before fathering any children. Scripture records simply that 'Er was wicked in the sight of the Lord; and the Lord slew him.' The Hebrew contains a wordplay on his name: Er (עֵר) was 'evil' (רע, ra), the consonants of his name reversed. Although the precise nature of his sin is not specified, it was likely connected with the abominable practices of Canaanite idolatry, given his mother's heritage. His death led to the application of levirate custom, with Onan required to raise up offspring for his brother—an obligation Onan also shirked, resulting in his own death.
☩Other Persons Named Er
A second Er appears as a descendant of Judah through Shelah, listed as the 'father of Lecah.' This Er lived in later generations and his descendants were known as linen workers at Beth-ashbea. A third Er appears in Luke's genealogy of Jesus Christ as an ancestor in the private Davidic line before Salathiel, the son of Jose and father of Elmodam. This places him approximately in the eighth century before Christ.
Related Verses7 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Er," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. III (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Er," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Er," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Er," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).