Does God Kill People?

Here is a clear explanation of what is going on in Genesis 38 (Judah, Tamar, Er, and Onan), including the translation issue you’re referring to: the difference between causative ("God did it") vs. allocative ("God allowed it") language in the Old Testament.

✅ 1. Did God “kill them both”? What the text actually says
In Genesis 38, two individuals die:
1. Er – Judah’s firstborn

“Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD slew him.”
— Genesis 38:7 (KJV)

2. Onan – Judah’s second son

“The thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore He slew him also.”
— Genesis 38:10 (KJV)

So the text says the LORD “slew” them.
But this is where Hebrew idiom and translation philosophy matter.

✅ 2. Was God the direct cause… or did God allow the consequence?
The Old Testament Hebrew often uses a causative idiom even when the meaning is permission or allowance.
This means:

• God is often credited with judgments He permits,
• because He is the sovereign Judge over all things.

This is called the Hebrew permissive idiom, or allocative language.

✅ 3. Hebrew Verbs: “God killed them” vs. “God allowed them to die”
The verbs used here are from the Hebrew root מוּת / muth — “to die.”
In ancient Near Eastern thought, when someone died under divine judgment, the text often states it as:

• God struck him
• God killed him
• God slew him

But this did NOT require that God actively performed the killing.
It meant the person came under divine judgment, and God withdrew protection, allowing the consequence.
⚠️ In Hebrew, God is frequently spoken of as doing what He merely allows.
Examples elsewhere:

• God “hardened Pharaoh’s heart” — yet the text also says Pharaoh hardened his own heart.
• God “sent an evil spirit” — yet the context indicates a judgment permitted, not actively created by God.
• Job’s trials are attributed to God — but the narrative shows Satan performing the acts while God allows.

This is the same permissive idiom Kenneth Hagin frequently explained.

✅ 4. Why were Er and Onan judged?
Er
Scripture simply says he was wicked. Jewish tradition says he prevented Tamar from conceiving to keep her beauty, but the Bible does not specify.
Onan
His sin was disobedience to the levirate responsibility AND sexual selfishness:

• He used Tamar for pleasure
• But refused to give offspring to the family line
• He deliberately spilled his seed on the ground to avoid raising a child for his brother

This was seen as rebellion against the covenant family structure.

✅ 5. Did God personally strike them down?
The Hebrew text does not require a direct act of God.
It simply indicates:

• they came under divine judgment,
• God permitted their deaths,
• and the Hebrew idiom attributes the end result to God as the ultimate Judge.

This is consistent with other Old Testament expressions.

✅ 6. So what’s the right way to understand it?
Causative (English KJV style):

“God killed them.”

Allocative / Permissive (Hebrew idiom understood correctly):

“God judged them and allowed death to come upon them.”

✅ 7. Why translations differ
Older translations (KJV, NASB, etc.) tend to use causative language:

• “God killed”
• “God sent”
• “God hardened”

Modern translations sometimes soften it:

• “The LORD put him to death” (ESV) — still causative
• NIV keeps causative as well
• But notes and scholars frequently explain the idiom

Hebrew scholars often point out what Kenneth Hagin taught:

“In Hebrew, God is often spoken of as doing something when He merely allowed it.”

✅ 8. How to teach this Biblically
You can teach your congregation:

• God does not arbitrarily kill people,
• But He does judge sin and rebellion.
• Hebrew idiom attributes judgmental outcomes to God even when He simply withdraws protection and allows consequences.

This preserves:

• God's holiness
• God's justice
• God's goodness
• The integrity of the Biblical text