2 Samuel 13 · WEB
Amnon Rapes Tamar; Absalom Kills Amnon
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After 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 troubled that he made himself sick because of his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin, and it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her.
3But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother. Jonadab was a very subtle man.
4He said to him, "Why, son of the king, are you so sad morning after morning? Won't you tell me?" Amnon said to him, "I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister."
5Jonadab said to him, "Lay down on your bed and pretend to be sick. When your father comes to see you, tell him, 'Please let my sister Tamar come and give me bread to eat, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.'"
6So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, "Please let my sister Tamar come and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat from her hand."
7Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, "Go now to your brother Amnon's house and prepare food for him."
8So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house. He was lying down. She took dough and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.
9She took the pan and poured them out before him, but he refused to eat. Amnon said, "Have everyone leave me." Everyone went out from him.
10Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food into the inner room, that I may eat from your hand." Tamar took the cakes which she had made and brought them into the inner room to Amnon her brother.
11When she had brought them near him to eat, he grabbed her and said to her, "Come, lie with me, my sister!"
12She answered him, "No, my brother, do not force me! For no such thing ought to be done in Israel. Don't you do this folly.
13And as for me, where would I carry my shame? And as for you, you would be as 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 listen to her voice, but being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her.
15Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. Amnon said to her, "Arise, be gone!"
16She said to him, "Not so, because this great wrong in sending me away is worse than the other that you did to me!" But he would not listen to her.
17Then he called his servant who served him and said, "Now put this woman out from me and bolt the door after her."
18She had a garment of various colors on her; for with such robes were the king's daughters who were virgins dressed. His servant put her out and bolted the door after her.
19Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her garment of various colors that was on her. She laid her hand on her head, and went her way, crying aloud as she went.
20Absalom her brother said to her, "Has Amnon your brother been with you? But now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother. Don't 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 very angry; but he didn't grieve the spirit of his son Amnon, because he loved him; for he was his firstborn.
22Absalom spoke to Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
23After two full years, Absalom had sheep shearers in Baal Hazor, which is beside Ephraim. Absalom invited all the king's sons.
24Absalom came to the king and said, "See now, your servant has sheep shearers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant."
25The king said to Absalom, "No, my son, let's not all go, lest we be a burden to you." He urged him; however he would not go, but blessed him.
26Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us." The king said to him, "Why should he go with you?"
27But Absalom urged him, and he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him.
28Absalom commanded his servants, saying, "Mark now, when Amnon's heart is merry with wine, when I tell you, 'Strike Amnon,' then kill him. Don't be afraid; haven't I commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant."
29The servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and every man got up on his mule and fled.
30While they were still on the way, the report came to David, "Absalom has slain all the king's sons, and not one of them is left."
31The king arose and tore his garments and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.
32Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, answered, "Don't let my lord think that they have killed all the young men the king's sons; for only Amnon is dead; for by the appointment of Absalom this has been set from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.
33Now therefore don't let my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that all the king's sons are dead; for only Amnon is dead."
34But Absalom fled. The young man who kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the way of the hillside behind him.
35Jonadab said to the king, "Behold, the king's sons are coming. It is as your servant said."
36As soon as he had finished speaking, behold, the king's sons came and lifted up their voice and wept. The king also and all his servants wept bitterly.
37But Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihur, king of Geshur. David mourned for his son every day.
38So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years.
39The soul of king David longed to go out to Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, since he was dead.
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Summary
The consequences God promised in chapter 12 begin to unfold. David's firstborn Amnon develops an obsession with his half-sister Tamar and, following treacherous advice from his cousin Jonadab, tricks and rapes her. Tamar is left desolate in her brother Absalom's house while David — paralyzed by favoritism for his firstborn — fails to act. Two years later Absalom avenges his sister by having Amnon killed at a sheep-shearing feast, then flees to Geshur. The chapter is a relentless portrait of sin's generational cascade.
Themes
- The generational consequences of David's own sin playing out in his children
- Sexual violence and injustice — Tamar's suffering and the failure of those in authority
- The danger of unchecked passion dressed up as love
- Fatherly failure: David's passivity enabling ongoing harm
Key verses
- 2 Sam 13:12-13 — “No, my brother, do not force me! For no such thing ought to be done in Israel... as for me, where would I carry my shame?”
- 2 Sam 13:15 — “Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her.”
- 2 Sam 13:20 — “So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom's house.”
- 2 Sam 13:21 — “But when king David heard of all these things, he was very angry; but he didn't grieve the spirit of his son Amnon, because he loved him.”
Context & background
This chapter illustrates Nathan's prophecy that "the sword will never depart from your house" — David's own sin of lust and murder is mirrored in Amnon's lust and Absalom's murder. Geshur, where Absalom fled, was a small Aramean kingdom on the northeastern shore of the Sea of Galilee — the modern Golan Heights region, currently disputed territory between Israel and Syria. Absalom's mother Maacah was a princess of Geshur (2 Sam 3:3), making it a natural refuge. The "garment of various colors" worn by Tamar marked her as a royal virgin — its tearing is a visible symbol of her destroyed status.
Cross-references
- 2 Sam 12:10-11 — Nathan's prophecy of evil within David's own house, now beginning to be fulfilled
- Gal 6:7-8 — "Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap" — the harvest of David's sin in his children's lives
- Gen 34 — Dinah's rape by Shechem and her brothers' violent revenge — a parallel narrative of sexual violence and family response
- Lev 18:9 — The prohibition against sexual relations with half-siblings
- Ps 55:12-14 — David's lament about betrayal by a close associate