《Lange’s Commentary on the Holy Scriptures – 2 Samuel (Vol. 2)》(Johann P. Lange)
13 Chapter 13
Verses 1-39
3. Breaking up of David’s house and family by the crimes of his sons Amnon and Absalom
2 Samuel 13:1-39
a. Amnon’s incest with Tamar. 2 Samuel 13:1-21
1And it came to pass after this that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her 2 And Amnon was so vexed [troubled][FN1] that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin, 3and Amnon thought it hard for him to do anything to her. But [And] Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab[FN2], the son of Shimeah David’s brother; and Jonadab was a very subtil Prayer of Manasseh 4And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king’s Song of Solomon, lean from day to day [Why art thou so lean, O son of the king, morning by morning]? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar my brother Absalom’s sister 5 And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make [feign] thyself sick; and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat [food[FN3] to eat], and dress [prepare] the meat [food3] in my sight, that I may see it and eat it 6at her hand. So [And] Amnon lay down and made [feigned] himself sick. And when the king was come [And the king came] to see him, [ins. and] Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of 7 cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand. Then [And] David sent home to Tamar [sent to Tamar to the house], saying, Go now [I pray thee] to thy brother 8 Amnon’s house, and dress [prepare] him meat [the food]. So [And] Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he was laid down; and she took flour [the dough] and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes 9 And she took a [the] pan,[FN4] and poured them out before him; but [and] he refused to eat. And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they went out every man from him 10 And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat [food] into the chamber, that I may eat of [at] thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother 11 And when she had brought [And she handed] them unto him to eat, [ins. and] he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me my sister 12 And she answered [said to] him, Nay, my brother, do not force [humble] me, for no such thing ought to be done in Israel; do not thou this folly 13 And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go [shall I carry my reproach]? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now, therefore, I pray thee, speak [And now, speak, I pray thee] unto 14 the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. Howbeit [And] he would not hearken unto her voice, but, being stronger than she, forced her [and he was stronger 15 than she, and humbled her], and lay with her.[FN5] Then [And] Amnon hated her exceedingly [with a very great hate]; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone 16 And she said unto him, There[FN6] is no cause; this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But [And] he would 17 not hearken unto her. Then [And] he called his servant [young man] that ministered[FN7] unto him, and said, Put now [ye] this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her 18 And she had a garment of divers colours [a long-sleeved garment[FN8]] upon her; for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled. Then [And] his servant brought her out, and bolted the door after her 19 And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours [the long-sleeved garment] that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying20[ins. as she went]. And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister [and now, my sister, hold thy peace]; he is thy brother; regard not this thing. So [And] Tamar remained 21 desolate in her brother Absalom’s house. But[FN9] when [And] king David heard of all these things, [ins. and] he was very wroth.
b. Amnon murdered by Absalom. 2 Samuel 13:22-33
22And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad; for Absalom hated Amnon because he had forced [humbled] his sister Tamar 23 And it came to pass after two full years [about[FN10] two years], that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hezer, which is beside Ephraim; and Absalom invited all the king’s sons 24 And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold, now, thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee, and his servants go with thy servant 25 And the king said unto Absalom, Nay, my Song of Solomon, let us not all now [om. now] go, lest we be chargeable unto thee [burdensome to thee]. And he pressed him; howbeit [and] he would not go, but [and he] blessed him 26 Then said Absalom [And Absalom said], If not, I pray thee let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why 27 should he go with thee? But [And] Absalom pressed him, that [and] he let Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him 28 Now Absalom had commanded [And Absalom commanded] his servants, saying, Mark ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when I say unto you, Smite Amnon, then kill him, fear not; have not I commanded you? be courageous and be valiant 29 And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as Absalom had [om. had] commanded. Then [And] all the king’s sons arose, and every man gat him upon his mule and fled 30 And it came to pass, while[FN11] they were in the way, that tidings came to David, saying, Absalom 31 hath slain all the king’s sons, and there is not one of them left. Then [And] the king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the earth; and all his servants stood by with their clothes rent. And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother, 32answered and said, Let not my lord suppose [say] that they have slain all the young men the king’s sons; for Amnon only is dead; for by the appointment of Absalom this hath been determined from the day that he forced [humbled] his sister 33 Tamar. Now therefore [And now] let not my lord the king take the thing to his heart, to think that [saying], All the king’s sons are dead; for Amnon only is dead.
c. Absalom’s flight. 2 Samuel 13:34-39
34But [And][FN12] Absalom fled. And the young man that kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there came much people by the way of the hillside behind[FN13] him 35 And Jonadab said unto the king, Behold, the king’s sons come; as thy servant said, so it Isaiah 36 And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of speaking, that behold the king’s sons came, and lifted up their voice and wept; 37and the king also and all his servants wept very sore. But [And]13Absalom fled and went to Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned 38 for his son every day. So [And]13Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and was 39 there three years. And the soul of king David longed to go forth unto Absalom; for he was comforted concerning Amnon, seeing he was dead.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
2 Samuel 13:1-21. Amnon’s crime.[FN14] 2 Samuel 13:1. sqq. And it came to pass after this—general chronological statement, referring what follows to the time after the Ammonite war. Tamar and Absalom were the children of Maacah, daughter of Talmai king of Geshur, whom David had married after he ascended the throne at Hebron ( 2 Samuel 3:3). Amnon was David’s oldest son; his mother was the Jezreelitess Ahinoam ( 2 Samuel 3:2). The apodosis begins with the words: “and Amnon was so troubled” ( 2 Samuel 13:2), while 2 Samuel 13:1 from and Absalom to the end is explanatory parenthesis.
2 Samuel 13:2. Literally: it was strait to Amnon unto becoming sick, that Isaiah, he was sore troubled, so that he fell sick. Not: “feigned himself sick” (Luther), for he does not feign till 2 Samuel 13:5-6 (where the word is properly so rendered). [Ewald (quoted by Thenius) remarks that Amnon’s character and conduct were doubtless affected by the fact that he was the first-born Song of Solomon, and of a mother apparently not of the noblest birth.—Tr.] We have a picture here of the consuming fire of passionate love, which could not be satisfied, because Tamar was a virgin and it seemed to him impossible to do anything to her, that Isaiah, her maidenly reserve and her inaccessibility [in the harem or women’s apartment] or other difficulties thwarted his designs.
2 Samuel 13:3 sq. By his wicked, crafty cousin Jonadab, the son of his uncle Shimeah (another son of whom, Jonathan, is mentioned 2 Samuel 21:21) Amnon is not only strengthened in his sinful desire, but is shown a way whereby he may attain his end by guile and violence. He becomes “lean,” an appearance all the more striking in a “king’s Song of Solomon,” in whose case there was no reason for it. From morning to morning—his aspect was more wretched in the morning after nights made sleepless by torturing passion. [Thenius: a finely chosen point in the description of his malady, from which also it appears that Jonadab was, if not a house-mate, at least his daily companion. Bib. Com.: he mentions the morning because it was his custom to come to Amnon every morning to his levee.—Tr.] This wretched appearance of his favored the advice to feign himself sick ( 2 Samuel 13:5). To see thee, “seeing” used for visiting the sick ( Psalm 41:7 (6); 2 Kings 8:29). Jonadab’s counsel takes for granted that the father will not refuse the sick son such a request. From the whole account we see that the king’s children dwelt in different households. “Probably each wife with her children dwelt in a separate part of the royal palace” (Keil), and further the grown sons, as appears from 2 Samuel 13:7; 2 Samuel 13:20, had each his separate house. “A couple of cakes;” some solid, distinctly shaped preparation is here meant, since there were “two” of them. Whether it received its name from its heart-like shape, or its heart-strengthening power (Keil), [the word is lebibah, and the Heb. for “heart” is leb], or because it was made from rolled dough,[FN15] is left undecided. Tamar was probably famed for her skilful cooking. [In the East such skill is not unusual, even in women of high rank.—Tr.]
2 Samuel 13:8 sqq. “She took a pan [ 2 Samuel 13:9], so Chald. and Sept. [On the word rendered “pan” see “Text and Gram.;” it seems more probable that it is a name for some preparation of food.—Tr.] “Baked” [ 2 Samuel 13:8]; the Heb. word (בשל) is used for roasting or baking, see Exodus 12:9 comp. with 2 Chronicles 35:13. Amnon’s refusal to eat must have conveyed the impression that he was very sick, and the exclusion of all persons from the room might be easily explained by the fact that he was weakened by his illness. He was as clever an actor as Jonadab a crafty counsellor.
2 Samuel 13:12 sqq. Tamar’s noble conduct in rejecting this wicked proposal is a confirmation of what is said in 2 Samuel 13:2 of the hindrances in Amnon’s way. Such things are not done in Israel, it is against the law and custom of the people of God (as contrasted with the heathen). Comp. Leviticus 20:17 with 2 Samuel 13:7; 2 Samuel 13:26. Tamar repels the wickedness from the highest moral point of view, which is determined by the theocratic-national position and significance of Israel. The word “folly” (נְבָלָה) is here used of unchastity as in 2 Sa34:7. [The same sense is given substantially by the rendering of Eng. A. V.: “not so should it be done in Israel” (as Philippson).—Keil remarks that the expression recalls Genesis 34:7 (where it is a commentary on Shechem’s conduct to Dinah), the words being the same; and Bib. Com. adds that Tamar probably knew the passage in Genesis, and wished to profit by it. But, as this passage is a remark of the Editor of the Pentateuch (as the phrase “in Israel” shows), and it is doubtful whether the Pentateuch in its present shape existed in David’s time, the resemblance between the two passages must be otherwise explained. The phrase in question may have been a common one, or the Editor of Genesis may have taken it from our narrative, as a remark appropriate in his narrative.—Tr.]—Next to the honor of Israel as the people sanctifying itself to the Lord, she adduces her own honor and Amnon’s ( 2 Samuel 13:13); both, she would say, will suffer irreparable shame. Further, in order more certainly to hold him off, she urges him to ask her in marriage of the king, who would not deny his request. This would be in opposition to the law, Leviticus 18:9; Leviticus 20:17; Deuteronomy 27:22, whereby sexual connections between brothers and sisters (those having only one parent in common are especially mentioned) are strictly forbidden. In order to harmonize this apparent contradiction Thenius thinks it not impossible that the prohibitions in Leviticus 18:7-18; Leviticus 20:19-21; Deuteronomy 27:20; Deuteronomy 27:22 referred first to the maintenance of moral purity in family-life, and that they did not wholly forbid real marriages between brothers and sisters (having only one parent in common), particularly where there was special inclination. But this view cannot be well made to accord with the absoluteness of the prohibition and the sharpness of the threat of punishment. The strict prohibition of sexual connection in general must have applied to marriage also. It must be supposed either that the law was not strictly carried out, or that Tamar, knowing the law very well, wished to keep back the passionate advances of Amnon. So Josephus 7, 8, 1]: “this she said, wishing to escape his passion for the present,” and Clericus: “that she might elude him in every way possible, lest, if all hope of marriage were denied, the man should be the more incited to violence.”[FN16]