--- title: Genesis 38:9 — And Onan knew that the seed would not be his; and it came to pass wh… · Hebrew, tree and pragmatics description: And Onan knew that the seed would 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 he should give seed to his brother. Who acts: Onan, seed, Judah. Genesis 38:9 in Hebrew with its dependency tree, Targum Onkelos, JPS 1917 and the pragmat --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN.38.9/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [Tanakh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tanakh/) / [Torah](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/) / [Genesis](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN/) / [chapter 38](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN/38/) / 38:9 # Genesis 38:9 בְּרֵאשִׁית **Who acts:** Onan, seed, Judah · **What happens:** know, not be, come, pass, go in, spill · **To what, where:** Judah, seed, ground, brother · **Speech:** someone speaks in this verse This is Genesis 38:9 from Mova's open Bible corpus, the Tanakh in three languages (The Torah). The page gives the verse in Hebrew as the Westminster Leningrad Codex has it, its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, built from MACULA Hebrew — and its pragmatics: who acts — Onan, seed, Judah — and what happens in the verse to Judah, seed, ground, brother, read clause by clause by Mova's frames. Beside it stand the Aramaic of Targum Onkelos and the English of the Jewish Publication Society's 1917 translation, each English sentence with a tree of its own. It is one of the 50 chapters of Genesis on this site, all built by Mova itself from its own trees, with no large model in between. וַיֵּ֣דַע אוֹנָ֔ן כִּ֛י לֹּ֥אל֖וֹ יִהְיֶ֣ה הַזָּ֑רַע וְהָיָ֞ה אִם־בָּ֨א אֶל־אֵ֤שֶׁת אָחִיו֙ וְשִׁחֵ֣ת אַ֔רְצָה לְבִלְתִּ֥י נְתָן־זֶ֖רַע לְאָחִֽיו׃ [And Onan knew that the seed would 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 he should give seed to his brother.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.1225/) ## The tree {#tree} Right to left, as the Hebrew is read; a prefix or suffix is a word of its own, and a line under the words joins those written as one. Under each word its part of speech and MACULA's English gloss. ```conllu rtl gloss # sent_id = wlc:GEN:1128 # text = וַיֵּ֣דַע אוֹנָ֔ן כִּ֛י לֹּ֥אל֖וֹ יִהְיֶ֣ה הַזָּ֑רַע וְהָיָ֞ה אִם־בָּ֨א אֶל־אֵ֤שֶׁת אָחִיו֙ וְשִׁחֵ֣ת אַ֔רְצָה לְבִלְתִּ֥י נְתָן־זֶ֖רַע לְאָחִֽיו׃ # verse = GEN.38.9 1-2 וַיֵּ֣דַע _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 וַ וְ CCONJ _ _ 2 cc _ Gloss=and|Ref=GEN_38:9!1|MId=o010380090011|Strong=2050b 2 יֵּ֣דַע יָדַע VERB _ Gender=Masc|HebBinyan=QAL|Number=Sing|Person=3 0 root _ Gloss=he.knew|Ref=GEN_38:9!1|MId=o010380090012|Strong=3045|Frame=A0:010380090021;A1:010380090061;|Type=wayyiqtol 3 אוֹנָ֔ן אוֹנָן PROPN _ _ 2 nsubj _ Gloss=Onan|Ref=GEN_38:9!2|MId=o010380090021|Strong=0209 4 כִּ֛י כִּי SCONJ _ _ 7 mark _ Gloss=(dm).that|Ref=GEN_38:9!3|MId=o010380090031|Strong=3588 5-7 לֹּ֥אל֖וֹ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 5 לֹּ֥א לֹא ADV _ _ 7 advmod _ Gloss=not|Ref=GEN_38:9!4|MId=o010380090041|Strong=3808|Type=negative 6 ל לְ ADP _ _ 7 case _ Gloss=to|Ref=GEN_38:9!5|MId=o010380090051|Strong=3807a 7 ֖וֹ הוּא PRON _ Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 2 ccomp _ Gloss=him|Ref=GEN_38:9!5|MId=o010380090052|Strong=2050c|Type=pronominal 8 יִהְיֶ֣ה הָיָה AUX _ Gender=Masc|HebBinyan=QAL|Number=Sing|Person=3 7 cop _ Gloss=it.will.belong|Ref=GEN_38:9!6|MId=o010380090061|Strong=1961|Frame=A0:010380090072;|Type=yiqtol 9-10 הַזָּ֑רַע _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 9 הַ הַ DET _ PronType=Art 10 det _ Gloss=the|Ref=GEN_38:9!7|MId=o010380090071|Strong=1886a|Type=definite_article 10 זָּ֑רַע זֶרַע NOUN _ Gender=Masc|Number=Sing 7 nsubj _ Gloss=offspring|Ref=GEN_38:9!7|MId=o010380090072|Strong=2233 11-12 וְהָיָ֞ה _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 11 וְ וְ CCONJ _ _ 12 cc _ Gloss=and|Ref=GEN_38:9!8|MId=o010380090081|Strong=2050b 12 הָיָ֞ה הָיָה VERB _ Gender=Masc|HebBinyan=QAL|Number=Sing|Person=3 2 conj _ Gloss=it.was|Ref=GEN_38:9!8|MId=o010380090082|Strong=1961|Type=qatal 13 אִם־ אִם SCONJ _ _ 14 mark _ Gloss=if|Ref=GEN_38:9!9|MId=o010380090091|Strong=0518|SpaceAfter=No 14 בָּ֨א בּוֹא VERB _ Gender=Masc|HebBinyan=QAL|Number=Sing|Person=3 20 advcl _ Gloss=he.went|Ref=GEN_38:9!10|MId=o010380090101|Strong=0935|Frame=A0:010380090021;|Type=qatal 15 אֶל־ אֶל ADP _ _ 16 case _ Gloss=into|Ref=GEN_38:9!11|MId=o010380090111|Strong=0413|SpaceAfter=No 16 אֵ֤שֶׁת אִשָּׁה NOUN _ Gender=Fem|Number=Sing 14 obl _ Gloss=the.wife|Ref=GEN_38:9!12|MId=o010380090121|Strong=0802 17-18 אָחִיו֙ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 17 אָחִי אָח NOUN _ Gender=Masc|Number=Sing 16 compound:smixut _ Gloss=his.brother|Ref=GEN_38:9!13|MId=o010380090131|Strong=0251 18 ו֙ הוּא PRON _ Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 17 nmod:poss _ Gloss=his|Ref=GEN_38:9!13|MId=o010380090132|Strong=2050c|Type=pronominal 19-20 וְשִׁחֵ֣ת _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 19 וְ וְ CCONJ _ _ 20 cc _ Gloss=and|Ref=GEN_38:9!14|MId=o010380090141|Strong=2050b 20 שִׁחֵ֣ת שָׁחַת VERB _ Gender=Masc|HebBinyan=PIEL|Number=Sing|Person=3 2 parataxis _ Gloss=he.spoiled|Ref=GEN_38:9!14|MId=o010380090142|Strong=7843|Frame=A0:010380090021;|Type=qatal 21-22 אַ֔רְצָה _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 21 אַ֔רְצ אֶרֶץ NOUN _ Number=Sing 20 obl _ Gloss=ground|Ref=GEN_38:9!15|MId=o010380090151|Strong=0776 22 ָה ה X _ _ 21 nmod _ Gloss=to.[the]|Ref=GEN_38:9!15|MId=o010380090152|Strong=1886c|Type=directional_he 23-24 לְבִלְתִּ֥י _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 23 לְ לְ ADP _ _ 25 case _ Gloss=to|Ref=GEN_38:9!16|MId=o010380090161|Strong=3807a 24 בִלְתִּ֥י בֵּלֶת ADP _ _ 25 advmod _ Gloss=not|Ref=GEN_38:9!16|MId=o010380090162|Strong=1115 25 נְתָן־ נָתַן VERB _ HebBinyan=QAL 20 advcl _ Gloss=to.give|Ref=GEN_38:9!17|MId=o010380090171|Strong=5414|Frame=A0:010380090021;A1:010380090181;|Type=infinitive_construct|SpaceAfter=No 26 זֶ֖רַע זֶרַע NOUN _ Gender=Masc|Number=Sing 25 obj _ Gloss=offspring|Ref=GEN_38:9!18|MId=o010380090181|Strong=2233 27-29 לְאָחִֽיו _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 27 לְ לְ ADP _ _ 28 case _ Gloss=to|Ref=GEN_38:9!19|MId=o010380090191|Strong=3807a 28 אָחִֽי אָח NOUN _ Gender=Masc|Number=Sing 25 obl _ Gloss=brother|Ref=GEN_38:9!19|MId=o010380090192|Strong=0251 29 ו הוּא PRON _ Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 28 nmod:poss _ Gloss=his|Ref=GEN_38:9!19|MId=o010380090193|Strong=2050c|Type=pronominal 30 ׃ ׃ PUNCT _ _ 29 punct _ Ref=GEN_38:9!19 ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} - form: statement - act: narrate - voice: narrator - speech: narration - negation: yes | verb | form · stem | who (A0) | what, whom (A1) | to whom, further (A2) | who makes it happen (AA) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | יֵּדַע *he knew* | wayyiqtol · qal | אוֹנָן *Onan* | יִהְיֶה *it will belong* | | | | יִהְיֶה *it will belong* | yiqtol · qal | זָּרַע *offspring* | | | | | בָּא *he went* | qatal · qal | אוֹנָן *Onan* | | | | | שִׁחֵת *he spoiled* | qatal · piel | אוֹנָן *Onan* | | | | | נְתָן־ *to give* | infinitive construct · qal | אוֹנָן *Onan* | זֶרַע *offspring* | | | MACULA's semantic frames: for each verb the head word of each participant. A0 is the one who acts, A1 what the act is done to or is about, A2 a further participant; AA, with a causative verb, the one who makes it happen. ## Targum Onkelos {#onkelos} וִידַע אוֹנָן אֲרֵי לָא עַל שְׁמֵהּ מִתְקְרֵי זַרְעָא וַהֲוָה כַּד עָלֵיל לְוַת אִתַּת אֲחוּהִי וּמְחַבֵּל אָרְחֵהּ עַל אַרְעָא בְּדִיל דְּלָא לְקַיָּמָא זַרְעָא לַאֲחוּהִי The Aramaic translation read beside the Hebrew. Text only: Mova has no Aramaic parser yet. ## English, JPS 1917 {#english} Each sentence on its own page, with its tree and pragmatics. A sentence that runs on into the next verse is listed under the verse it begins in. 1. [And Onan knew that the seed would 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 he should give seed to his brother.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/jps/GEN.1225/) **Hebrew text:** Westminster Leningrad Codex, public domain. **Tree, glosses and frames:** MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets, available at [github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-hebrew](https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-hebrew/), [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); converted to Universal Dependencies by Mova (words in text order, a prefix its own word). **Speech act:** Mova's rules on the MACULA words (`macula prag`). **Targum:** Onkelos (Torat Emet), Jonathan and the Writings (Mikraot Gedolot), from Sefaria, public domain. **English:** JPS 1917, public domain; trees and speech acts by Mova's cycle, frames by Mova's reader (Elamur Cosmic License). Hebrew sentence `wlc:GEN:1128`. - ← previous: [Genesis 38:8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN.38.8/) - next →: [Genesis 38:10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN.38.10/) - ↑ back to [Genesis 38](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/torah/GEN/38/)