Jonadab (son of Shimeah)

Biblical Account

Jonadab appears only in 2 Samuel 13. Scripture introduces him as "the son of Shimeah David's brother" (2 Samuel 13:3). Shimeah was the third son of Jesse. He appears as Shimea (KJV "Shimma") in 1 Chronicles 2:13 and as Shammah in 1 Samuel 16:9, and the two names are generally taken to refer to the same person. Jonadab was therefore a nephew of David and a cousin of Amnon, David's firstborn son. Second Samuel 21:21 also mentions "Jonathan the son of Shimeah the brother of David," and this Jonathan may be identified as Jonadab's brother.

Scripture describes Jonadab as Amnon's friend and "a very subtil man" (2 Samuel 13:3). Amnon had fallen in love with his half-sister Tamar and was wasting away. Jonadab asked him the reason and then suggested a scheme: Amnon was to lie in bed feigning illness, and when David came to visit him, he was to ask that Tamar be sent to give him food (2 Samuel 13:4–5). Amnon followed this advice, brought Tamar to him, and violated her.

Two years later Absalom killed Amnon at a sheep-shearing feast. The first report to reach David was that all the king's sons had been killed. Jonadab told David that not all the king's sons were dead but only Amnon, and that Absalom had been determined to do this since the day Tamar was violated (2 Samuel 13:32–33). When the king's sons soon arrived, Jonadab said, "as thy servant said, so it is" (2 Samuel 13:35). Nothing further is recorded of him.

Significance within Scripture

The episode in which Jonadab appears marks the beginning of a series of tragedies in David's household. Many commentators read these tragedies in connection with the judgment that Nathan pronounced on David (2 Samuel 12:10–11). Although Jonadab did not commit the sin himself, he first devised the plan that led to it and later stood as the one who explained its consequences. The New Testament does not mention Jonadab.

Interpretation and Issues

• Meaning of "subtil": The Hebrew word rendered "cunning" in the Korean Revised Version (and "subtil" in the KJV) is a term usually translated "wise." For this reason, many interpreters see Jonadab as an example of cleverness put to evil purposes. The New Korean Standard Version renders it "crafty."
• How he knew Absalom's plan: The text does not explain how Jonadab discerned Absalom's intentions. Some interpreters hold that, being well acquainted with affairs at court, he read the situation correctly; others conjecture that he knew of Absalom's plan in advance. Either view is an inference beyond the text.
• Distinction from a namesake: "Jonadab (Jehonadab) the son of Rechab," who appears in Jeremiah 35 and 2 Kings 10, was the ancestor of the Rechabites, who abstained from wine, and is a different person from the subject of this article.

In the Korean Church

In Korean preaching, Jonadab is reportedly mentioned mainly in passing, when 2 Samuel 13 is treated, as an example of a bad counselor or a wicked friend. Because the passage recounts an act of sexual violence, some have recently sought to read it in connection with the problem of sexual violence in the church, addressing both the plight of Tamar as the victim and David's silence.