2 Samuel 13:24 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And Absalom came to the king and said, "Behold, your servant has sheepshearers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant."

NIV: Absalom went to the king and said, "Your servant has had shearers come. Will the king and his attendants please join me?"

NASB: And Absalom came to the king and said, 'Behold now, your servant has sheepshearers; may the king and his servants please go with your servant.'

CSB: Then he went to the king and said, "Your servant has just hired sheepshearers. Will the king and his servants please come with your servant?"

NLT: He went to the king and said, 'My sheep-shearers are now at work. Would the king and his servants please come to celebrate the occasion with me?'

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Then Absalom came to the king and said, “Kindly note, your servant has sheepshearers; please, let the king and his servants go with your servant.”

In this culture, any harvest is an opportunity for celebration (Ruth 3:1–7). David's third son, Absalom, is ready to shear his sheep, and he wants to throw a party. First, he asks David and his servants if they will come.

David declines. Between the king, his bodyguards, the courtiers, the servants, and the family, that's way too many people for one young man to feed and house. Absalom presses him; if the king won't come, surely his firstborn can be his representative (2 Samuel 13:25–26). That should have raised danger signals in David's mind. In most situations, it would be a reasonable request. But two years prior, David's firstborn son, Amnon, raped and humiliated Absalom's sister (2 Samuel 13:14–17, 23). David did nothing to discipline Amnon. Absalom now feels personally responsible for avenging his sister's honor. David is torn. After more discussion, David sends Amnon and several of Absalom's other brothers (2 Samuel 13:27).

The entire story is a glimpse into the honor / shame culture of that era. David honors his sons by trusting that they are transparent and good people. Tamar is honorable by offering to marry her brother so he won't rape her and dishonor herself and him. Absalom's honor is more cultural and less godly. Amnon dishonored his sister and therefore himself. Absalom's honor insists that he kill Amnon. Meanwhile, Amnon has no honor at all. Tamar's right to call him a fool (2 Samuel 13:13).

Second Samuel 13:20–29 depict Tamar as desolate, David as furious, and Absalom as calculating. David's oldest son, Amnon, raped his own half-sister Tamar and threw her out into the street. Tamar's full brother Absalom tries to comfort her with thoughts of familial loyalty but secretly plots his revenge. Meanwhile, David is angry but seems to make no move to punish his son. Two years later, Absalom completes his plot to ambush and murder Amnon.

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.