Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Genesis 38:3/רמב"ן על בראשית ל״ח:ג׳

אוַיִּקְרָא אֶת שְׁמוֹ עֵר יְהוּדָה קָרָא לִבְנוֹ עֵר, מִלְּשׁוֹן "עוֹרְרָה אֶת גְּבוּרָתֶךָ" (תהלים פ ג), וְאִשְׁתּוֹ קָרְאָה שֵׁם הַשֵּׁנִי אוֹנָן, וְלֹא סִפֵּר הַכָּתוּב לָמָּה. וְיִתָּכֵן שֶׁתְּקַשׁ בְּלִדְתָּהּ, כִּי דֶּרֶךְ נָשִׁים לִקְרֹא שֵׁם בְּנֵיהֶם עַל זֶה, כְּאֵם יַעְבֵּץ (דהי"א ד ט) שֶׁקָּרְאָה שְׁמוֹ יַעְבֵּץ "לֵאמֹר כִּי יָלַדְתִּי בְּעֹצֶב", וְגַם כֵּן עָשְׂתָה עֲטָרָה אֵם אוֹנָם (שם ב כו), וְהוּא מִלְּשׁוֹן "וַיְהִי הָעָם כְּמִתְאוֹנְנִים" (במדבר יא א), "מַה יִּתְאוֹנֵן אָדָם חָי" (איכה ג לט), כְּמוֹ בֶּן אוֹנִי דְּרָחֵל (בראשית ל"ה:י"ח), וִיהוּדָה לֹא הִקְפִּיד לְשַׁנּוֹת שְׁמוֹ כְּיַעֲקֹב אָבִיו. וּבִבְרֵאשִׁית רַבָּה (בראשית רבה פ"ה:ד') אָמְרוּ, עֵר שֶׁהוּעַר מִן הָעוֹלָם, וְלֹא שֶׁהָיְתָה זוֹ כַּוָּנַת יְהוּדָה, אֲבָל דָּרְשׁוּ כִּי הַשֵּׁמוֹת יוֹרוּ עַל הֶעָתִיד:

1AND HE CALLED HIS NAME ER. Judah called his son Er, said name being derived from the expression, Stir up (‘Or’rah’) Thy might.¹³⁰ His wife called the name of the second son Onan,¹³¹ but Scripture does not relate the reason for this name. Now it is possible that she experienced difficult labor, for it is customary for women to name their children after such an experience, as did the mother of Jabez who so named him, saying: Because I bore him with pain.¹³² (pain). And so did Atarah, the mother of Onam,¹³³, 2:26. [call him by the name Onam on account of her difficult labor], the name being derived from the expression, And the people were ‘k’mithon’nim’ (as murmurers);¹³⁴ Wherefore doth a living man ‘yithonen’ (complain)?¹³⁵ This is similar in expression to ben oni (the son of my sorrow)¹³⁶ mentioned in the case of Rachel. Judah was not particular about changing Onan’s name as his father Jacob had done.¹³⁶In Bereshith Rabbah¹³⁷ our Rabbis said, by way of explaining the name Er, that he was destined to be thrown off (she’hu’ar) from the world.¹³⁸ Now this is not to say that such was Judah’s intent. However, the Rabbis made their exposition since the names indicate the future.