Words are written and stories told, to and about people in their social context. A story set in Finland in winter may not be fully understood by a person who has lived all their lives in the tropics, where there is just the wet and the dry seasons. And a story written in a culture that existed 3,000 years ago will invariably convey a different meaning in the modern context to what it did originally.

The classic example of a story changing meaning when read in a changed cultural context is the story of Onan in the first book of the Old Testament.^*1*

The ancient Hebrew tribes followed a custom called the Levirate^*2*, whereby if a man died without leaving a male heir, a surviving brother was obliged to marry the dead brother’s widow, and the first male child of their union would be considered to be the heir of the deceased brother, inherit his name and property, and eventually be able to provide for his mother in her old age.^*3*

Er was the eldest son of the tribal leader. On his death, Onan, his younger brother, became next in line to inherit the leadership. Onan did as his father told him and married his brother’s widow, but deliberately avoided having children by her. We are not told whether Onan was already married, nor if he had children of his own (but it is likely).

He believed that any children he had by Er’s wife would be Er’s children and not his own. The story says:

‘... Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother’.

God was displeased with Onan and ‘slew him’. It is commonly thought that the object of God's disapproval was the use of contraception (coitus interruptus). But if you interpret the story in the light of the Levirate tradition, a different interpretation becomes apparent.

The Levirate sought firstly, to maintain property within the tribe, and secondly, to produce children who would care for their mother in her old age. In ancient Hebrew society, an elderly woman without children would have an existence barely better than a slave.

To take the story to mean that God merely disapproved of the use of contraception is akin to saying that it is wrong to strike matches, because someone, at some time, did so in order to burn down their neighbour’s house.

What Onan did was to fail to meet his obligations according to the Levirate. Contraception is mearly the means he used to shirk his responsibilities. A man might murder another person by running them down with a motor car. What is the crime? Is it driving a motor car? Or is it committing murder?

 

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Footnotes

1. Bible c. 6th century B.C., King James Version, 1969 (1611), British and Foreign Bible Society London.

Genesis 38:1-10 (link)
And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.
2 And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in unto her.
3 And she conceived, and bare a son; and he called his name Er.
4 And she conceived again, and bare a son; and she called his name Onan.
5 And she yet again conceived, and bare a son; and called his name Shelah: and he was at Chezib, when she bare him.
6 And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar.
7 And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him.
8 And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.
9 And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother.
10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also. Back

2. Bible c. 6th century B.C., King James Version, 1969 (1611), British and Foreign Bible Society London.

Deuteronomy 25:5-6 (link)
5 If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto her.
6 And it shall be, that the firstborn which she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother which is dead, that his name be not put out of Israel. Back

3. Hastings, James, ed. 1909, Dictionary of the Bible, T & T Clark, Edinburgh.
p. 584 “MARRIAGE
4. Levirate Marriage (Lat. levir, ‘a brother-in-law’). —In Dt 255-10 ... it is enacted that if a man die leaving no son ..., his brother, if he lives on the same estate, is to take his widow, and the eldest child is to succeed to the name and inheritance of the deceased (cf Gn 38:9). ... The law is a codification, possibly a restriction, of an existing custom. (a) It is presupposed for the patriarchal age in Gn 38, the object of this narrative being to insist on the duty of the survivor; ... In OT it is more probably connected with the desire to preserve the family name (a man lived through his children), and to prevent a division or alienation of property. Back