Where Did Onanists Get Their Name From?
Would you like to know from where does the term onanism derive? Surprise! We can pin the blame on the Jews!
Onanism is named after Onan, who was punished by God for spilling his semen on the ground.
Masturbation or onanism was, and still is, prohibited in Christianity and Judaism. The term is derived from a short mention of unfortunate Onan.
Let's read about what happened in ancient times:
“And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. 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. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also.” (Genesis 38, 6-11)
Masturbation is still considered a sin in some religions.
This is a relationship by marriage. If the woman was widowed, her brother-in-law (i.e. the brother of her husband) was obligated to conceive a child with her. The child was considered the son of the deceased and thus continued the lineage. Onan was well aware of that and he apparently used the contraceptive technique of 
coitus interruptus. If a widow remarried, all the property would fall into the hands of the other family, which never suited the father or grandfather, who gave the property to his son and his lineage.
Onan was disobeying an old Jewish law that helped Jews survive in a harsh social environment.
It's strange that this story was later used to warn against masturbation. As already said, this is a belief that it's a sin if sperm fall on the ground. Sperm is here considered a holy fluid that should only be used for the female organs for which it is intended. But “God” didn't punish Onan because he was wasting sperm, but because he didn't observe a very important law of the Jewish people. Such laws helped the Jews survive in an environment where they were surrounded by bigger nations. Of course, there's also an alternative explanation. Maybe Onan was only seeking pleasure. He had sex with his brother’s wife as much as he wanted if she didn't get pregnant. A just punishment was imposed for such villainy after all.
Fortunately, nowadays we aren't punished by God for either onanism or for using contraception.
