2 Samuel 13:1-14

The Rape of Tamar

13:1 Now David’s son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. In the course of time David’s son Amnon fell madly in love with her. ¹  13:2 But Amnon became frustrated because he was so lovesick ²  over his sister Tamar. For she was a virgin, and to Amnon it seemed out of the question to do anything to her.

13:3 Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very crafty man. 13:4 He asked Amnon, ³  “Why are you, the king’s son, ⁴  so depressed every morning? Can’t you tell me?” So Amnon said to him, “I’m in love with Tamar the sister of my brother Absalom.” 13:5 Jonadab replied to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be sick. ⁵  When your father comes in to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come in so she can fix some food for me. Let her prepare the food in my sight so I can watch. Then I will eat from her hand.’”

13:6 So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came in to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let my sister Tamar come in so she can make a couple of cakes in my sight. Then I will eat from her hand.”

13:7 So David sent Tamar to the house saying, “Please go to the house of Amnon your brother and prepare some food for him.” 13:8 So Tamar went to the house of Amnon her brother, who was lying down. She took the dough, kneaded it, made some cakes while he watched, ⁶  and baked them. ⁷  13:9 But when she took the pan and set it before him, he refused to eat. Instead Amnon said, “Get everyone out of here!” ⁸  So everyone left. ⁹ 

13:10 Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the cakes into the bedroom; then I will eat from your hand.” So Tamar took the cakes that she had prepared and brought them to her brother Amnon in the bedroom. 13:11 As she brought them to him to eat, he grabbed her and said to her, “Come on! Get in bed with me, ¹⁰  my sister!”

13:12 But she said to him, “No, my brother! Don’t humiliate me! This just isn’t done in Israel! Don’t do this foolish thing! 13:13 How could I ever be rid of my humiliation? And you would be considered one of the fools ¹¹  in Israel! Just ¹²  speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” 13:14 But he refused to listen to her. ¹³  He overpowered her and humiliated her by raping her. ¹⁴ 

[13:1]  ¹ tn Heb “Amnon the son of David loved her.” The following verse indicates the extreme nature of his infatuation, so the translation uses “madly in love” here.

[13:1]  sn Amnon was the half-brother of Tamar; Absalom was her full blood-brother.

[13:2]  ² tn Heb “and there was distress to Amnon so that he made himself sick.”

[13:4]  ³ tn Heb “and he said to him.”

[13:4]  ⁴ tn An more idiomatic translation might be “Why are you of all people…?”

[13:5]  ⁵ tn This verb is used in the Hitpael stem only in this chapter of the Hebrew Bible. With the exception of v. 2 it describes not a real sickness but one pretended in order to entrap Tamar. The Hitpael sometimes, as here, describes the subject making oneself appear to be of a certain character. On this use of the stem, see GKC 149-50 §54.e.

[13:8]  ⁶ tn Heb “in his sight.”

[13:8]  ⁷ tn Heb “the cakes.”

[13:9]  ⁸ tn Heb “from upon me.”

[13:9]  ⁹ tc A few medieval Hebrew mss have “and they removed everyone” (Hiphil preterite with vav consecutive 3cp, rather than Qal preterite with vav consecutive 3cp).

[13:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “lie with me” (so NAB, NASB, NRSV); NCV “come and have sexual relations with me.”

[13:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and you will be like one of the fools.”

[13:13]  ¹² tn Heb “Now.”

[13:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “to her voice.”

[13:14]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “and he humiliated her and lay with her.”