2 Samuel 13

This chapter opens the latter part of 2 Samuel. In the preceding chapter, 2 Samuel 12, Nathan rebukes David for the Bathsheba affair and declares that calamity will arise within David's house. Beginning with this chapter, a series of tragedies unfolds among the king's sons.

Outline

• Verses 1–5: Amnon becomes lovesick over Tamar, and his cousin Jonadab devises a scheme for him to feign illness.
• Verses 6–10: At David's command, Tamar comes to Amnon's house and bakes cakes. Amnon sends everyone out and calls Tamar into his bedchamber.
• Verses 11–14: Tamar refuses and pleads with him to ask the king for her, but Amnon forces her.
• Verses 15–19: Seized by hatred, Amnon drives Tamar out. Tamar puts ashes on her head, tears her garment of many colors, and goes away weeping.
• Verses 20–22: Absalom has Tamar stay in his house. David is very angry, and Absalom refuses to speak to Amnon.
• Verses 23–29: Two years later, at the sheepshearing in Baal-hazor, Absalom's servants kill Amnon while he is drunk with wine.
• Verses 30–36: A report reaches David that all the king's sons have been killed, but Jonadab tells him that only Amnon is dead, and the king's sons return and weep aloud.
• Verses 37–39: Absalom flees to Talmai, king of Geshur, and remains there three years, while David's heart turns toward Absalom.

Key Verses

• 2 Samuel 13:12 "For no such thing ought to be done in Israel": Tamar's words plainly declare the wickedness of the act.
• 2 Samuel 13:15 "The hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her": This reveals that Amnon's "love" was lust.
• 2 Samuel 13:39 David's heart turns toward Absalom, leading into the account of Absalom's return in 2 Samuel 14.

People and Places

• Amnon: David's firstborn son, born to Ahinoam the Jezreelitess (2 Samuel 3:2).
• Tamar: Absalom's sister and Amnon's half-sister. She is a different person from the Tamar of Matthew 1 (Judah's daughter-in-law).
• Absalom: David's third son, whose mother was Maacah, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur (2 Samuel 3:3).
• David: King of Israel.
• Jonadab: The son of Shimeah, David's brother; the text introduces him as "a very subtil man."
• Baal-hazor: A place beside Ephraim where the sheepshearing was held.
• Geshur: The land of Absalom's maternal family, where he took refuge.

Points for Reflection

• Relation to Nathan's prophecy: Many commentators read this chapter as the beginning of the fulfillment of Nathan's prophecy in 2 Samuel 12:10–11.
• Tamar's proposal: In verse 13, Tamar says that if Amnon asks the king, they could be married. The Law, however, forbids marriage between half-siblings (Leviticus 18:9). Interpretations therefore differ: some see her words as reflecting the custom of the time, while others regard them as a plea to escape the immediate danger.
• David's silence: In verse 21, David is angry but does not punish Amnon. Some ancient textual witnesses, including the Septuagint, add that David did not grieve Amnon's spirit because he loved him, since he was his firstborn.
• The victim's position: Absalom tells Tamar, "Hold now thy peace" (verse 20). Some recent interpretations connect this scene to the suffering of victims of sexual violence and to the problem of communities that impose silence on them.