2 Samuel 13:10 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food into the chamber, that I may eat from your hand." And Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.

NIV: Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food here into my bedroom so I may eat from your hand." And Tamar took the bread she had prepared and brought it to her brother Amnon in his bedroom.

NASB: Then Amnon said to Tamar, 'Bring the food into the bedroom, so that I may eat from your hand.' So Tamar took the pastries which she had made and brought them into the bedroom to her brother Amnon.

CSB: "Bring the meal to the bedroom," Amnon told Tamar, "so I can eat from your hand." Tamar took the cakes she had made and went to her brother Amnon’s bedroom.

NLT: Then he said to Tamar, 'Now bring the food into my bedroom and feed it to me here.' So Tamar took his favorite dish to him.

KJV: And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother.

NKJV: Then Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food into the bedroom, that I may eat from your hand.” And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to Amnon her brother in the bedroom.

Jonadab was David's nephew, the son of David's brother Shimeah. Jonadab had seen his friend and cousin, Amnon, in torment. Amnon is obsessed with his half-sister Tamar but can't figure out how to get to her. She's a virgin: a young woman preparing to be engaged. And she's been raised in another house. There's nothing he can do to get her alone (2 Samuel 13:1–4).

Jonadab comes up with a plan, and it's working. Amnon pretended to be even sicker than he is. David visited and agreed to Amnon's request to send Tamar to cook Amnon dumplings. The food is ready. Amnon—perhaps pretending to be too weak to feed himself—tells the servants to leave (2 Samuel 13:5–9). Now, he tells Tamar to come nearer, to his sleeping chamber, and hand-feed him. The writer emphasizes once more that this is "Amnon her brother." Their relationship is the context of what happens next. She comes near. He grabs her, and asks her to have sex with him (2 Samuel 13:11).

Tamar will respond at first by trying to shame Amnon into letting her go. Scripture records two other events which are blatant acts of rape: Dinah (Genesis 34:1–2) and the Levite's concubine (Judges 19:25). Bathsheba was at least taken advantage of by David (2 Samuel 11:2–4). None of these women have their words recorded. But Tamar speaks, first to shame and then seeking a delay (2 Samuel 13:12–13). Proving that he is, indeed, a fool, Amnon takes her, anyway (2 Samuel 13:14)

Proving that she's right—he is a fool—he takes her, anyway (2 Samuel 13:14).

Second Samuel 13:7–19 explains how Amnon makes himself a fulfillment of a curse God placed on David (2 Samuel 12:10—11). Using the ruse of being sick, Amnon has his half-sister Tamar alone and vulnerable (2 Samuel 13:1–6). She tries to reason with him, but he's far stronger. Once he's satisfied himself at her expense, he finds her disgusting and sends her away in shame. To her, the rejection is even more painful than the is a crime worse than the rape: she has been violated and will never marry or have children. Her brother Absalom will avenge her by murdering the rapist (2 Samuel 13:22, 28).

In this chapter, God's curse that the sword will strike David's house (2 Samuel 12:10) begins to emerge. David's firstborn son Amnon lusts over half-sister Tamar. Tamar fights back, but Amnon first rapes her and then rejects her. David is angry but does nothing. Two years later, Tamar's full brother Absalom murders Amnon. Three years after that, Absalom returns and becomes the enemy in David's house who takes his wives in public (2 Samuel 12:11–12; 15:1–16; 16:21–23).

This begins fulfillment of some of God's curses against David (2 Samuel 12:10), and sets the scene for others (2 Samuel 12:11–12). David's oldest son, Amnon, rapes his own half-sister, Tamar. Her full brother Absalom murders Amnon, starting a five-year campaign of vengeance against David. By the end, two of David's sons will be dead, his daughter will be desolate, and David will be deeply humbled (2 Samuel 14—19).

Second Samuel continues the story of David, who will become king over Judah. The other tribes of Israel are resistant, eventually sparking a civil war. David wins and makes Jerusalem his capital. Early success is followed by moral failure and controversy in David's house. The book of 1 Kings will begin by detailing David's decline and death.