2 Samuel 13:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So Tamar went to her brother Amnon 's house, where he was lying down. And she took dough and kneaded it and made cakes in his sight and baked the cakes.

NIV: So Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was lying down. She took some dough, kneaded it, made the bread in his sight and baked it.

NASB: So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he was lying in bed. And she took dough, kneaded it, made pastries in his sight, and baked the pastries.

CSB: Then Tamar went to his house while Amnon was lying down. She took dough, kneaded it, made cakes in his presence, and baked them.

NLT: When Tamar arrived at Amnon’s house, she went to the place where he was lying down so he could watch her mix some dough. Then she baked his favorite dish for him.

KJV: So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes.

NKJV: So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was lying down. Then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.

Amnon, David's oldest son, seems to be so ill he can't get out of bed. David is concerned and goes to see him. Amnon suggests that Tamar, David's daughter by another mother, could come to his house and feed him bread he watches her make. Perhaps that will make him feel better (2 Samuel 13:6).

Much like David sent for Bathsheba to come to his house, he sends Tamar to Amnon's. He doesn't know that Amnon is obsessed with Tamar; he's infatuated that his lust has made him sick. Nor does David know that his nephew Jonadab came up with the plot for Amnon to play up his condition, to convince David to send Tamar. It's the only way they could think to get Tamar alone with Amnon (2 Samuel 13:1–5).

The text doesn't say why David so easily accepts Amnon's request that Tamar fix him bread while he watches. Members of the royal family were vulnerable to poisoning; that's why Pharaoh had a chief cupbearer (Genesis 40:9–15). But poison isn't mentioned in the Israelite historical books and doesn't seem to have been a noteworthy issue.

In any case, Tamar obeys her father and arrives to serve her supposedly sick brother. She uses a special pan to make the dough and knead it together. Though the English text says she "baked" it, the Hebrew word more often means "boil" or "fry." Some scholars believe she made dough balls and boiled them like dumplings. Such bread might be easier on sick people's digestion.

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.