2 Samuel 13:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us." And the king said to him, "Why should he go with you?"

NIV: Then Absalom said, "If not, please let my brother Amnon come with us." The king asked him, "Why should he go with you?"

NASB: Then Absalom said, 'If not, please have my brother Amnon go with us.' But the king said to him, 'Why should he go with you?'

CSB: "If not," Absalom said, "please let my brother Amnon go with us." The king asked him, "Why should he go with you?"

NLT: Well, then,' Absalom said, 'if you can’t come, how about sending my brother Amnon with us?' 'Why Amnon?' the king asked.

KJV: Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should he go with thee?

NKJV: Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?”

Absalom is deftly using his native honor / shame culture to kill his brother. His sheep are ready to be sheared; it's a time of great celebration. He approaches his father, King David, and asks him to bring his servants and come to a feast. David honors him by not refusing outright. Instead, he insists that Absalom shouldn't be responsible to feed that many people (2 Samuel 13:24–25). Having refused a request, David is somewhat in Absalom's debt. So Absalom asks for what he really wants: for Amnon to come.

Amnon is David's oldest son and Absalom's half-brother. Two years prior, Amnon raped Absalom's full sister, Tamar, and refused to marry her as he ought to have. David did nothing. Absalom has been quietly plotting (2 Samuel 13:14–17, 21–23).

It's not clear how much David suspects about the situation. Sending Amnon outside the protection of the city, amid the servants of Absalom, put him in great danger. His question here may be a sign that David senses a plot. He questions Absalom. Absalom has barely even spoken to or of Amnon this whole time (2 Samuel 13:22). Why would he invite his brother now? Is Amnon to be David's representative? Or is Absalom planning something?

Absalom pivots slightly and asks that all his brothers come. At this point, David may think that Absalom just wants all his brothers. He may assume that Absalom would never attempt violence with so many witnesses. Either way, he's wrong, but he sends his sons to Absalom's celebration (2 Samuel 13:27).

Such family celebrations seem to be part of the culture. Job's sons held feasts on their birthdays and invited their sisters (Job 1:4). But such gatherings can lead to tragedy, too. Abimelech, Gideon's son by his concubine, hired his mother's relatives to follow him to where his seventy brothers were gathered. They killed all but one brother and made Abimelech king (Judges 9:1–5).

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).