The Meaning of Genesis 46:12 Explained

Genesis 46:12

KJV: And the sons of Judah; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zerah: but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pharez were Hezron and Hamul.

YLT: And sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pharez, and Zarah, (and Er and Onan die in the land of Canaan.) And sons of Pharez are Hezron and Hamul.

Darby: And the sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Pherez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Pherez were Hezron and Hamul.

ASV: And the sons of Judah: Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Perez, and Zerah; but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Perez were Hezron and Hamul.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the sons  of Judah;  Er,  and Onan,  and Shelah,  and Pharez,  and Zerah:  but Er  and Onan  died  in the land  of Canaan.  And the sons  of Pharez  were Hezron  and Hamul. 

What does Genesis 46:12 Mean?

Context Summary

Genesis 46:1-27 - Jacob And His Family Go To Egypt
Evidently Joseph's invitation to his father to come to him in Egypt aroused very earnest questionings in Jacob's soul. Was it a wise step for him to take? Perhaps he remembered Genesis 15:13, and dreaded to take the risk. Under these circumstances he went to Beersheba, the well of the oath, so intimately associated with the lives of Abraham and Isaac, and from which he had gone forth on his life's pilgrimage. There he offered special sacrifices and received special directions and promises. He was not only to go down into Egypt, but to go there under the divine guidance and protection. When we visit Egypt at our own impulse we shall land ourselves, as Abraham and Isaac did, in temptation and failure; but when God bids us go, we may make the journey with absolute impunity. Though we walk through the dark valley, we need not fear, if He be with us.
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Chapter Summary: Genesis 46

1  Jacob is comforted by God at Beersheba
5  Thence he with his company goes into Egypt
8  The number of his family that went into Egypt
28  Joseph meets Jacob
31  He instructs his brothers how to answer Pharaoh

What do the individual words in Genesis 46:12 mean?

And the sons of Judah Er and Onan and Shelah and Perez and Zerah but died Er and Onan in the land of Canaan And were the sons of Perez Hezron and Hamul
וּבְנֵ֣י : יְהוּדָ֗ה עֵ֧ר וְאוֹנָ֛ן וְשֵׁלָ֖ה וָפֶ֣רֶץ --וָזָ֑רַח וַיָּ֨מָת עֵ֤ר וְאוֹנָן֙ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ --כְּנַ֔עַן וַיִּהְי֥וּ בְנֵי־ פֶ֖רֶץ חֶצְר֥וֹן וְחָמֽוּל

וּבְנֵ֣י  And  the  sons 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
: יְהוּדָ֗ה  of  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
עֵ֧ר  Er 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵר  
Sense: the eldest son of Judah.
וְאוֹנָ֛ן  and  Onan 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֹונָן  
Sense: second son of Judah, slain by God for not fulfilling the levitical requirement to beget a child with the wife of a dead, childless brother.
וְשֵׁלָ֖ה  and  Shelah 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֵׁלָה 
Sense: the youngest son of Judah slain by God for refusing to obey the law for levirate marriage with Tamar.
וָפֶ֣רֶץ  and  Perez 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פֶּרֶץ  
Sense: twin son with Zarah of Judah by Tamar and ancestor of two families of Judah, the Hezronites and Hamulites; from the Hezronites came the royal line of David and Christ.
--וָזָ֑רַח  and  Zerah 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: זֶרַח  
Sense: a son of Reuel and grandson of Esau, one of the dukes of the Edomites.
וַיָּ֨מָת  but  died 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: מוּת  
Sense: to die, kill, have one executed.
עֵ֤ר  Er 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵר  
Sense: the eldest son of Judah.
וְאוֹנָן֙  and  Onan 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: אֹונָן  
Sense: second son of Judah, slain by God for not fulfilling the levitical requirement to beget a child with the wife of a dead, childless brother.
בְּאֶ֣רֶץ  in  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
--כְּנַ֔עַן  of  Canaan 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: כְּנַעַן 
Sense: the 4th son of Ham and the progenitor of the Phoenicians and of the various nations who peopled the seacoast of Palestine.
וַיִּהְי֥וּ  And  were 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
בְנֵי־  the  sons 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: בֵּן 
Sense: son, grandson, child, member of a group.
פֶ֖רֶץ  of  Perez 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: פֶּרֶץ  
Sense: twin son with Zarah of Judah by Tamar and ancestor of two families of Judah, the Hezronites and Hamulites; from the Hezronites came the royal line of David and Christ.
חֶצְר֥וֹן  Hezron 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֶצְרֹון 
Sense: a son of Reuben.
וְחָמֽוּל  and  Hamul 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: חָמוּל  
Sense: the younger son of Pharez, Judah’s son by Tamar.