1After this Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. 2Amnon was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was a virgin; and it was difficult in Amnon's eyes to do anything to her. 3But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David's brother. Now Jonadab was a very shrewd man. 4And he said to him, Why are you, the king's son, so low morning after morning? Will you not tell me? Amnon said to him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister. 5So Jonadab said to him, Lie down on your bed and make yourself sick. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and prepare the food before my eyes, that I may see it and eat it from her hand. 6So Amnon lay down and made himself sick; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, Please let Tamar my sister come and make a couple of cakes for me before my eyes, that I may eat from her hand. 7And David sent to the house for Tamar, saying, Now go to your brother Amnon's house, and prepare food for him. 8So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was lying down. Then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes before his eyes, and baked the cakes. 9And she took the pan and poured them out before him, but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have everyone go out from me. And they all went out from him. 10And Amnon said to Tamar, Bring the food into the inner room, that I may eat from your hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to Amnon her brother in the inner room. 11And when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, Come, lie with me, my sister. 12And she answered him, No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing! 13And I, where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you. 14However, he would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her. 15Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, Arise and go! 16And she said to him, For what reason? This evil to send me away is worse than the other that you have done to me. But he would not listen to her. 17Then he summoned his servant who attended him, and said, Send this woman out away from me, and bolt the door behind her. 18And she had on a tunic of many colors, for the king's virgin daughters wore such robes. And his servant brought her outside and bolted the door behind her. 19And Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her tunic of many colors that was on her, and laid her hand on her head and went away, crying out as she went. 20And Absalom her brother said to her, Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now keep silent, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this thing to heart. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house. 21But when King David heard of all these things, he was extremely furious. 22And Absalom spoke to his brother Amnon neither good nor bad. For Absalom hated Amnon, because he had humbled his sister Tamar. 23And it came to pass, after two full years, that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal Hazor, which is near Ephraim; and Absalom invited all the king's sons. 24And Absalom came to the king and said, Behold, your servant has sheepshearers; please, let the king and his servants go with your servant. 25But the king said to Absalom, No, my son, let us not all go now, lest we be a burden to you. And he pressed him, but he would not go, but blessed him. 26Then Absalom said, If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said to him, Why should he go with you? 27But Absalom pressed him; so he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. 28Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Watch now, when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, Strike Amnon! then kill him. Do not be afraid. Have I not commanded you? Be courageous and valiant. 29And the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. And all the king's sons arose, and each one got on his mule and fled. 30And it came to pass, while they were on the way, that news came to David, saying, Absalom has killed all the king's sons, and not one of them is left! 31So the king arose and tore his garments and lay on the ground, and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn. 32Then Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David's brother, answered and said, Let not my lord suppose they have killed all the young men, the king's sons, for only Amnon has died. For at the mouth of Absalom this has been determined since the day that he humbled his sister Tamar. 33Now therefore, let not my lord the king take this word to heart, to think that all the king's sons have died; for only Amnon has died. 34Then Absalom fled. And the young man who was keeping watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the way along the hillside behind him. 35And Jonadab said to the king, Look! The king's sons have come; according to your servant's word, so it is. 36So it was, as soon as he had finished speaking, that behold the king's sons came, and they lifted up their voice and wept. Also the king and all his servants wept with a very great weeping. 37But Absalom had fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his son every day. 38So Absalom had fled, and went to Geshur, and was there three years. 39And King David longed to go to Absalom. For he had been comforted concerning Amnon, because he had died.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 AMNON LOVES TAMAR. (
2Sam 13:1-5)
Tamar--daughter of David by Maachah (
2Sam 3:3).
2 for she was a virgin--Unmarried daughters were kept in close seclusion from the company of men; no strangers, nor even their relatives of the other sex, being permitted to see them without the presence of witnesses. Of course, Amnon must have seen Tamar, for he had conceived a violent passion for her, which, though forbidden by the law (
Lev 18:11), yet with the sanction of Abraham's example (
Gen 20:12), and the common practice in neighboring countries for princes to marry their half sisters, he seems not to have considered an improper connection. But he had no means of making it known to her, and the pain of that disappointment preying upon his mind produced a visible change in his appearance and health.
3 Jonadab, the son of Shimeah--or Shammah (
1Sam 16:9). By the counsel and contrivance of this scheming cousin a plan was devised for obtaining an unrestricted interview with the object of his attachment.
4 my brother Absalom's sister--In Eastern countries, where polygamy prevails, the girls are considered to be under the special care and protection of their uterine brother, who is the guardian of their interests and their honor, even more than their father himself (see on Gen. 34:6-25).
6 HE DEFILES HER. (2Sa. 13:6-27)
Amnon lay down, and made himself sick--The Orientals are great adepts in feigning sickness, whenever they have any object to accomplish.
let Tamar my sister come and make me a couple of cakes--To the king Amnon spoke of Tamar as "his sister," a term artfully designed to hoodwink his father; and the request appeared so natural, the delicate appetite of a sick man requiring to be humored, that the king promised to send her. The cakes seem to have been a kind of fancy bread, in the preparation of which Oriental ladies take great delight. Tamar, flattered by the invitation, lost no time in rendering the required service in the house of her sick brother.
12 do not force me--The remonstrances and arguments of Tamar were so affecting and so strong, that had not Amnon been violently goaded on by the lustful passion of which he had become the slave, they must have prevailed with him to desist from his infamous purpose. In bidding him, however, "speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from thee," it is probable that she urged this as her last resource, saying anything she thought would please him, in order to escape for the present out of his hands.
15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly--It is not unusual for persons instigated by violent and irregular passions to go from one extreme to another. In Amnon's case the sudden revulsion is easily accounted for; the atrocity of his conduct, with all the feelings of shame, remorse, and dread of exposure and punishment, now burst upon his mind, rendering the presence of Tamar intolerably painful to him.
17 bolt the door after her--The street door of houses in the East is always kept barred--the bolts being of wood. In the great mansions, where a porter stands at the outside, this precaution is dispensed with; and the circumstance, therefore, of a prince giving an order so unusual shows the vehement perturbation of Ammon's mind.
18 garment of divers colours--As embroidery in ancient times was the occupation or pastime of ladies of the highest rank, the possession of these parti-colored garments was a mark of distinction; they were worn exclusively by young women of royal condition. Since the art of manufacturing cloth stuffs has made so great progress, dresses of this variegated description are now more common in the East.
19 Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours . . . laid her hand on her head, and went on crying--that is, sobbing. Oriental manners would probably see nothing beyond a strong sense of the injury she had sustained, if Tamar actually rent her garments. But, as her veil is not mentioned, it is probable that Amnon had turned her out of doors without it, and she raised her hand with the design to conceal her face. By these signs, especially the rending of her distinguishing robe, Absalom at once conjectured what had taken place. Recommending her to be silent about it and not publish her own and her family's dishonor, he gave no inkling of his angry feelings to Amnon. But all the while he was in secret "nursing his wrath to keep it warm," and only "biding his time" to avenge his sister's wrongs, and by the removal of the heir-apparent perhaps further also his ambitious designs.
20 So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house--He was her natural protector, and the children of polygamists lived by themselves, as if they constituted different families.
23 Absalom had sheep-shearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim--A sheep-shearing feast is a grand occasion in the East. Absalom proposed to give such an entertainment at his estate in Baal-hazor, about eight miles northeast of Jerusalem near a town called Ephraim (
Josh 11:10). He first invited the king and his court; but the king declining, on account of the heavy expense to which the reception of royalty would subject him [
2Sam 13:25], Absalom then limited the invitation to the king's sons [
2Sam 13:26], which David the more readily agreed to, in the hope that it might tend to the promotion of brotherly harmony and union.
28 AMNON IS SLAIN. (
2Sam 13:28-36)
Absalom had commanded his servants, saying . . . when Amnon's heart is merry with wine . . . kill him, fear not--On a preconcerted signal from their master, the servants, rushing upon Amnon, slew him at the table, while the rest of the brothers, horror-struck, and apprehending a general massacre, fled in affrighted haste to Jerusalem.
29 every man gat him up upon his mule--This had become the favorite equipage of the great. King David himself had a state mule (
1Kgs 1:33). The Syrian mules are, in activity, strength, and capabilities, still far superior to ours.
30 tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the king's sons--It was natural that in the consternation and tumult caused by so atrocious a deed, an exaggerated report should reach the court, which was at once plunged into the depths of grief and despair. But the information of Jonadab, who seems to have been aware of the plan, and the arrival of the other princes, made known the real extent of the catastrophe.
37 ABSALOM FLEES TO TALMAI. (
2Sam 13:37-39)
Absalom fled, and went to Talmai--The law as to premeditated murder (
Num 35:21) gave him no hope of remaining with impunity in his own country. The cities of refuge could afford him no sanctuary, and he was compelled to leave the kingdom, taking refuge at the court of Geshur, with his maternal grandfather, who would, doubtless, approve of his conduct.