1<\/strong>. Tamar<\/em> ] Tamar and Absalom were the children of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur (ch. 2Sa 3:3<\/span>). Tamar means palm-tree<\/em>. The Arabs still frequently give their daughters the names of trees distinguished for their grace, beauty, or fruitfulness. See Van Lennep’s Bible Lands<\/em>, II. 501.<\/p>\n Amnon<\/em> ] David’s first-born, the son of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess.<\/p>\n The history here, down to the end of 2 Sam. 23<\/span> (excepting a few particulars), is omitted in the Book of Chronicles.<\/P> <\/p>\n 2Sa 13:1-29<\/span><\/p>\n Absalom the son of David had a fair sister.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n The wickedness of Amnon<\/strong><\/p>\n No other book but the Bible dare have inserted such a chronicle as this and yet have hoped to retain the attention and confidence of the whole world through all ages. A chapter of this kind is not to be read in its singularity, as if it stood wholly alone and unrelated to other currents of human history. Coming upon it as an exceptional story, the only possible feeling is one of intense and repugnant disgust. If this chapter, and a few others almost like it, occupied any considerable space in the Bible, without being relieved by a context of a very different quality, they would certainly and properly wreck the fortune of the whole book as a public instructor and guide. Amnon did not represent a human nature different from our own. It must always be considered that such men as Amnon and Judas Iscariot represented the very human nature which we ourselves embody. The difference between the sweet child and the corrupt and infernal Amnon may in reality be but a difference in appearance and form. Time alone can tell what is in every human heart, and not, time only, for circumstances sometimes awaken either our best selves or our worst selves and surprise us by what is little less than a miracle of self-revelation Again and again, therefore, let it be said–for the tediousness is well compensated by the moral instruction–that when we see the worst specimen of human nature we see what we ourselves might have been but for the restraining grace of God. A relieving feature in the whole record is certainly to be found in the anger which was felt in regard to the outrage committed by Amnon. The outrage was not looked upon as a mere commonplace, or as a thing to be passed by a casual remark; it aroused the infinite indignation of Absalom, and in this ease Absalom, as certainly as <\/strong>Amnon, must be taken in a representative capacity. Whilst, therefore, it is right to look upon this most heartrending and discouraging aspect of human nature, it is rights also to remember that those who observed it answered the unholy deed with burning indignations, It is thus that the Spirit of God reveals itself through the spirit of man. This is not the voice of Absalom alone; it is the voice of the Spirit which fills and rules the world. We need men who dare express their angriest and holiest feelings in indignation that cannot be mitigated or turned aside; we need men who have courage to go forth and make their voices heard in moral darkness. Absalom killed Amnon, and killed him in a somewhat cowardly way; yet it would be difficult to blame Absalom for this act of fraternal reprisal and justice. Still, it is just at such critical points that the spirit of Christian civilisation intervenes and undertakes to do for the individual man what the individual man must not be permitted to do for himself. Here is the mystery of society. It would seem a short and easy method for every man who is outraged immediately to cause the criminal to suffer, but on second thoughts it will appear, first, that this is impossible, and, secondly, that it is utterly impracticable: impossible because in many cases the criminal may be stronger than the man who has been outraged, and impracticable because the criminal may by many cunning methods evade the punishment which the righteous man would inflict. These records are written not only for our instruction but for our warning. The most puristic mind may well pause before the record of this chapter and wonder as to his own possibilities of apostasy. Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. Be sure your sin will find you out. What is done in secret is to be proclaimed from the house-tops, and a sudden light is to unveil that which is supposed to be covered by the densest concealment. Society would be rent in twain by the very suspicion that there may be Amnons within its circle, but for the conviction that the Lord reigneth, and that all things make for righteousness and justice under his beneficent rule. (J. Parker, D. D<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Absalom and Amnon<\/strong><\/p>\n A living sorrow, says the proverb, is worse than a dead. The dead sorrow had been very grievous to David; what the living sorrow, of which this chapter tells us, must have been, we cannot conceive. It is a very repulsive picture of sensuality that this chapter presents. One would suppose float Amnon and Absalom had been accustomed to the wild orgies of pagan idolatry. Nathan had rebuked David because he had given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. This in Gods eyes was a grievous offence. Amnon and Absalom are now guilty of the same offence in another form, because they afford a pretext for ungodly men to say that the families of holy men are no better–perhaps that they are worse–than other families. In Scripture some men have very short biographies; Amnon is one of these. And, like Cain, all that is recorded of him has the mark of infamy. We can easily understand that it was a great disaster to him to be a kings son. To have his position in life determined and all his wants supplied without an effort on his part; to be so accustomed to indulge his legitimate feelings that when illegitimate desires rose up it seemed but natural that they too should be gratified; to be surrounded by parasites and flatterers, that would make a point of never crossing him nor uttering a disagreeable word, but constantly encouraging his tastes–all this was extremely dangerous. And when his father had set him the example, it was hardly possible he would avoid the snare. There is every reason to believe that before he is presented to us in this chapter he was already steeped in sensuality. It was his misfortune to have a friend, Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, Davids brother, a very subtil man, who at heart must trove been as great a profligate as himself. For if Jonadab had been anything but a profligate, Amnon would never have confided to him his odious desire with reference to his half-sister, and Jonadab would never have given him the advice that he did. What a blessing to Anmon, at this stage of the tragedy, would have been the faithful advice of an honest friend–one who would have had the courage to declare the infamy of his proposal, and who would have so placed it in the light of truth that it would have shocked and horrified even Amnon himself l In reality, the friend was more guilty than the culprit. The one was blinded by passion; the other was self-possessed and cool. The cool man encourages the heated; the sober man urges on the intoxicated. The plan which Jonadab proposes for Amnon to obtain the object of his desire is founded on a stratagem which he is to practise on his father. He is to pretend sickness, and under this pretext to get matters arranged by his father as he would like. If anything more was needed to show the accomplished villainy of Amnon, it is his treatment of Tamar after he has violently compassed her ruin. It is the story so often repeated even at this day–the ruined victim flung aside in dishonour, and left unpitied to her shame. We think of those men of the olden time as utter barbarians who confined their foes in dismal dungeons, making their lives a continual torture, and denying them the slightest solace to the miseries of captivity. But what shall we say of those, high-born and wealthy men, it may be, who doom their cast-off victims to an existence of wretchedness and degradation which has no gleam of enjoyment, compared with which the silence and loneliness of a prison would he a luxury? Can the selfishness of sin exhibit itself anywhere or anyhow more terribly? If David winked, Absalom did nothing of the kind. Such treatment of his full sister, if the king chose to let it alone, could not be left alone by the proud, indignant brother. He nursed his wrath, and watched for his opportunity. Nothing short of the death of Anmon would suffice him. And that death must be compassed not in open fight but by assassination. And now the first part of the retribution denounced by Nathan begins to be fulfilled, and fulfilled very fearfully–the sword shall never depart from thy house. (W. G. Blaikie, D. D.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Parental failure<\/strong><\/p>\n Every one must have been struck by the remarkable fact that while David was so admirable as a governor of a kingdom, he was so unsuccessful as a ruler of his own house.<\/p>\n 1. <\/strong>First of all, in accounting for the troubles of his house, we have again to notice his plurality of wives–a sure source not only of domestic trouble, but of ungodliness too. The training of the young, and all the more since the Fall, is attended with very great difficulties; and unless father and mother be united, visibly united, in affection, in judgment, and in piety, the difficulty of raising a godly seed is very greatly increased. In Davids house there must have been sad confusion. There could have been no happy and harmonious co-operation between father and mother in training the children, Hence the paramount importance of the apostles exhortation–Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers.<\/p>\n 2. <\/strong>Further, Davids own example, in certain respects, was another cause of the ill-ordered state of his family. A parent may have a hundred good qualities, and but very few bad, but the risk of his children adopting the bad is much greater than the likelihood of their copying the good. The bent of their fallen nature inclines them to the one; only Divine grace can draw them to the other. The character Of David was singularly rich in fine qualities, but it was also marked by a few flaring defects. One was, proneness to animal indulgence; another, the occasional absence of straightforwardness. These were the very defects which his children copied.<\/p>\n 3. <\/strong>A third cause of Davids failure in the government of his family was the excessive, even morbid tenderness of his feelings towards his children–especially some of them. Perhaps a fourth reason may be added for Davids ill success in his family–though of this there is less positive proof than of the rest–he may have thought of his family circle as too exclusively a scene for relaxation and enjoyment–he may have forgot that even there is a call for much vigilance and self-denial. Men much harassed with public business and care are prone to this error. In truth, there is no recreation in absolute idleness, and no happiness in neglect of duty. True recreation lies not in idleness, but in change of employment, and true happiness is found not in neglecting duty, but in its performance. (W. G. Blaikie, D. D<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Amnon and Absalom: Examples of short-circuited lives<\/strong><\/p>\n The wires became crossed; there was a flash, a beautiful pyrotechnic display, and then the machinery that ought to have lasted years longer was still–a mass of inert matter fit only to go to the shop and undergo extensive repairs. She got short-circuited, and burned herself out, was the explanation of the engineer. No one questions that selfish indulgence and sin yield more intense and feverish pleasure than a life of self-control and unselfishness. All normal pleasures are moderate, because it is the wise design of nature to have them often repeated and continued through a long period, culminating at the end. To yield to a desire for immoderate indulgence of any kind, whether it is the pursuit of the pleasures of appetite, or of business successes, or of social excitement, or intellectual dissipation in novel-reading or the play, is simply to short-circuit our lives and burn out in a few fitful flashes the possibilities of enjoyment that should have been extended over a long and happy lifetime.<\/p>\n Vengeance upon the wrongdoer<\/strong><\/p>\n Tarquinius son Sextus, lawless and flagitious, had committed a rape on Lucretia. The dead body of the violated Lucretia was brought into the forum, and Brutus, throwing off his assumed disguise of insanity, appeared the passionate advocate of a just revenge, and the animated orator in the cause of liberty against tyrannical oppression. The people were roused in a moment, and were prompt and unanimous in their procedure. Tarquinius was at this time absent from the city, engaged in a war with the Rutulians. The Senate was assembled, and pronounced a decree which banished forever the tyrant, and at the same time utterly abolished the name and office of king. (Tytlers History.<\/em>)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Purity at all cost<\/strong><\/p>\n Dr. Arnold, of Rugby, finding that two or three of the boys had been guilty of impurity of both speech and action, he promptly dismissed them from the school. The directors, meeting later on, took the Doctor severely to task for the drastic measures he had resorted to, and said at that rate the college would soon be empty. He simply replied that he would rather see the number reduced to twelve, and have purity of thought and action, than bad moral influence to have a foothold. (Newton Jones<\/em>.)<\/p>\n CHAPTER XIII <\/P> Amnon falls in love with his half-sister Tamar, and feigns<\/I><\/P> himself sick, and requests her to attend him<\/I>, 1-6.<\/P> David sends her to him, and he violates her<\/I>, 7-14.<\/P> He then hates her, and expels her from his house<\/I>, 15-17,<\/P> She rends her garments, puts ashes on her head, and goes forth<\/I><\/P> weeping<\/I>, 18, 19.<\/P> She is met by Absalom her brother, who, understanding her case,<\/I><\/P> determines the death of Amnon<\/I>, 20-22.<\/P> Two years after, he invites all his brothers to a<\/I><\/P> sheep-shearing, when he orders his servants to murder Amnon<\/I>,<\/P> 23-29.<\/P> Tidings come to David that Absalom has slain all the king’s<\/I><\/P> sons, which fill him with the bitterest distress<\/I>, 30, 31.<\/P> The rest soon arrive, and he finds that Amnon only is killed<\/I>,<\/P> 32-36.<\/P> Absalom flees to Talmai, king of Geshur, where he remains three<\/I><\/P> years<\/I>, 37, 38.<\/P> David longs after Absalom, having become reconciled to the death<\/I><\/P> of Amnon<\/I>, 39. <\/P> NOTES ON CHAP. XIII<\/P> <\/P> Verse 1<\/span>. Whose name<\/B><\/I> was <\/B>Tamar<\/B><\/I>] Tamar was the daughter of David and Maacah, daughter of the king of Geshur, and the uterine sister of Absalom. Amnon was David’s eldest son by Ahinoam. She was therefore sister to Amnon only by the father’s side, i.e., half-sister<\/I>; but whole sister<\/I> to Absalom.<\/P> <\/p>\n A fair sister; <\/B>his sister by father and mother: see 2Sa 3:3<\/span>. <\/P> <\/p>\n 1. Tamar<\/B>daughter of David byMaachah (2Sa 3:3<\/span>).<\/P><\/p>\n And it came to pass after this<\/strong>,…. After the sin of David with Bathsheba, his repentance for it, and pardon of it, and the birth of Solomon as a token of reconciliation; yet after all this the divine threatenings must take place; they had begun already in the death of the child begotten in adultery, and others here follow:<\/p>\n that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name [was] Tamar<\/strong>; she was his sister both by father and mother’s side; the mother o, f them was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; she was a very comely person, her name signifies a palm tree:<\/p>\n and Amnon the son of David loved her<\/strong>; not in an honourable way, to make her his wife, but in a lustful manner, to make an harlot of her; he was David’s eldest son by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, 2Sa 3:2<\/span>.<\/p>\n Amnon’s Incest. – 2Sa 13:1-14<\/span>. The following occurrences are assigned in a general manner to the times succeeding the Ammonitish war, by the words “And it came to pass after this;”<\/em> and as David did not marry Maacah the mother of Absalom and Tamar till after he had been made king at Hebron (see 2Sa 3:3<\/span>), they cannot well have taken place before the twentieth year of his reign. Amnon<\/em>, the eldest son of David by Ahinoam<\/em> the Jezreelite (2Sa 3:2<\/span>), loved Tamar, the beautiful sister of his step-brother Absalom, so passionately that he became ill in consequence, because he could not get near to her as she was a virgin. 2Sa 13:1<\/span> and 2Sa 13:2<\/span> form one period. is a continuation of ; and the words from to are a circumstantial clause. : literally “it became narrow (anxious) to Amnon, even to making himself ill,” i.e., he quite pined away, not “he pretended to be ill” (Luther), for it was not till afterwards that he did this according to Jonadab’s advice (2Sa 13:5<\/span>). : to make one’s self ill, here to become ill, in 2Sa 13:5<\/span> to pretend to be ill. The clause is to be joined to the one which follows: “because she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to him to do anything to her.”<\/em> The maidenly modesty of Tamar evidently raised an insuperable barrier to the gratification of his lusts.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:3-5<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/strong> Amnon’s miserable appearance was observed by his cousin Jonadab, a very crafty man, who asked him what was the reason, and then gave him advice as to the way in which he might succeed in gratifying his desires. Shimeah<\/em> is called Shammah<\/em> in 1Sa 16:9<\/span>.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:4-5<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/strong> “Why art thou so wasting away <\/em> ( , thin, spare, here equivalent to wasting away, looking miserable), king’s son, from morning to morning?”<\/em> i.e., day by day. “The morning” is mentioned because sick persons look worst in the morning. The advice given in 2Sa 13:5<\/span>, – viz., “Lay thee down upon thy bed, and pretend to be ill; and when thy father comes to visit thee, say to him, May my sister Tamar come to me, and give me to eat?” etc., – was very craftily devised, as Amnon’s wretched appearance would favour his pretence that he was ill, and it might be hoped that an affectionate father would gratify him, since even if the wish seemed a strange one, it might easily be accounted for from the marvellous desires of persons who are ill, particularly with regard to food-desires which it is often very difficulty to gratify.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:6-8<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/strong> Amnon acted upon the advice, and begged his father, when he came to ask him how he was, to allow his sister Tamar to come and bake two heart-cakes for him before his eyes, which she very speedily did. is a denom<\/em>. from , to make or bake heart-cakes. is a heart-strengthening kind of pastry, a kind of pancake, which could be very quickly made. It is evident from these verses that the king’s children lived in different houses. Probably each of the king’s wives lived with her children in one particular compartment of the palace.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:9-11<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/strong> “And she took the pan and shook out (what she had prepared) before him. The . . signifies a frying-pan or sauce-pan, according to the ancient versions. The etymology is uncertain. But Amnon refused to eat, and, like a whimsical patient, he then ordered all the men that were with him to go out; and when this had been done, he told Tamar to bring the food into the chamber, that he might eat it from her hand; and when she handed him the food, he laid hold of her, and said, “Come, lie with me, my sister!” <\/p>\n 2Sa 13:12-13<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/strong> Tamar attempted to escape by pointing to the wickedness of such a desire: “Pray, do not, my brother, do not humble me; for they do not such things in Israel: do not this folly.” The words recall Gen 34:7<\/span>, where the expression “folly” ( nebalah <\/em>) is first used to denote a want of chastity. Such a sin was altogether out of keeping with the calling and holiness of Israel (vid., Lev 20:8<\/span>.). “And I, whither should I carry my shame?”<\/em> i.e., shame and contempt would meet me everywhere. “And thou wouldst be as one of the fools in Israel.”<\/em> We should both of us reap nothing but shame from it. What Tamar still further said, “Now therefore, I pray thee, speak to the king, for he will not refuse me to thee,”<\/em> is no doubt at variance with the law which prohibits marriage between step-brothers and sisters (Lev 18:9<\/span>, Lev 18:11<\/span>; Lev 20:17<\/span>); but it by no means proves that the laws of Leviticus were not in existence at the time, nor does it even presuppose that Tamar was ignorant of any such law. She simply said this, as Clericus observes, “that she might escape from his hands by any means in her power, and to avoid inflaming him still more and driving him to sin by precluding all hope of marriage.”<\/p>\n (Note: Josephus adopts this explanation: “This she said, as desirous to avoid her brother’s violent passion at present” ( Ant<\/em>. viii. 8, 1).)<\/p>\n We cannot therefore even infer from these words of hers, that she really thought the king could grant a dispensation from the existing hindrances to their marriage.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:14<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Amnon would not listen to her, however, but overpowered her, forced her, and lay with her.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:15-22<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/strong> Amnon had no sooner gratified his animal passion, than his love to the humbled sister turned into hatred, which was even greater than his (previous) love, so that he commanded her to get up and go. This sudden change, which may be fully explained from a psychological point of view, and is frequently exemplified still in actual life, furnishes a striking proof that lust is not love, but simply the gratification of the animal passions.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:16<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Tamar replied, “Do not become the cause of this great evil,<\/em> (which is) greater than another that thou hast done to me, to thrust me away,”<\/em> i.e., do not add to the great wrong which thou hast done me the still greater one of thrusting me away. This is apparently the only admissible explanation of the difficult expression , as nothing more is needed than to supply . Tamar calls his sending her away a greater evil than the one already done to her, because it would inevitably be supposed that she had been guilty of some shameful conduct herself, that the seduction had come from her; whereas she was perfectly innocent, and had done nothing but what affection towards a sick brother dictated, whilst it was impossible for her to call for help (as prescribed in Deu 22:27<\/span>), because Amnon had sent the servants away, and Tamar could not in any case expect assistance from them.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:17<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Amnon then called the boy who waited upon him, and ordered him to put out this person (the sister he had humbled), and to bolt the door behind her, so that it had the appearance of her having made a shameful proposal to him.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:18<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Before stating that this command was obeyed, the writer inserts this remark: “She <\/em> (Tamar) wore a long dress with sleeves <\/em> (see Gen 37:3<\/span>); for in this manner did the virgin daughters of the king dress themselves with mantles.”<\/em> is an accusative belonging to , and the meaning is that the king’s daughters, who were virgins, wore long dresses with sleeves as cloaks. The cetoneth passim <\/em> was not an ordinary under-garment, but was worn over the plain cetoneth <\/em> or tunic, and took the place of the ordinary mel<\/em> without sleeves. Notwithstanding this dress, by which a king’s daughter could at once be recognised, Amnon’s servant treated Tamar like a common woman, and turned her out of the house.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:19<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> And Tamar took ashes upon her head, rent her sleeve-dress (as a sign of grief and pain at the disgrace inflicted upon her), laid her hand upon her head (as a sign that a grievous trouble had come upon her, that the hand of God was resting as it were upon her: vid., Jer 2:37<\/span>), and “went going and cried,”<\/em> i.e., crying aloud as she went along.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:20<\/span><\/p>\n <\/strong> Then Absalom said to her, namely when she came home mourning in this manner, “Has Amnon thy brother been with thee?”<\/em> This was a euphemism for what had taken place (cf. Gen 39:10<\/span>), as Absalom immediately conjectures. “And now, my sister, be silent; it is thy brother, do not take this thing to heart.”<\/em> Absalom quieted the sister, because he was determined to take revenge, but wished to conceal his plan of vengeance for the time. So Tamar remained in her brother’s house, “and indeed desolate,”<\/em> i.e., as one laid waste, with the joy of her life hopelessly destroyed. It cannot be proved that ever means single or solitary.<\/p>\n 2Sa 13:21-22<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/strong> When David heard “all these things,” he became very wrathful; but Absalom did not speak to Amnon “from good to evil”<\/em> (i.e., either good or evil, not a single word: Gen 24:50<\/span>), because he hated him for having humbled his sister. The lxx add to the words “he (David) was very wroth,” the following clause: “He did not trouble the spirit of Amnon his son, because he loved him, for he was his first-born.” This probably gives the true reason why David let such a crime as Amnon’s go unpunished, when the law enjoined that incest should be punished with death (Lev 20:17<\/span>); at the same time it is nothing but a subjective conjecture of the translators, and does not warrant us in altering the text. The fact that David was contented to be simply angry is probably to be accounted for partly from his own consciousness of guilt, since he himself had been guilty of adultery; but it arose chiefly from his indulgent affection towards his sons, and his consequent want of discipline. This weakness in his character bore very bitter fruit.<\/p>\n Amnon’s Incest.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/I><\/span><\/P> <\/TD> B. C.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> 1032.<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/P> <\/TD> <\/TR> <\/TABLE> 1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was<\/I> Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. 2 And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was<\/I> a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her. 3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was<\/I> Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was<\/I> a very subtle man. 4 And he said unto him, Why art<\/I> thou, being<\/I> the king’s son, lean from day to day? 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 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, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it,<\/I> and eat it<\/I> at her hand. 6 So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king, I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand. 7 Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon’s house, and dress him meat. 8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, and kneaded it,<\/I> and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes. 9 And she took a pan, and poured them<\/I> out before him; but 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 into the chamber, that I may eat of thine hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them<\/I> into the chamber to Amnon her brother. 11 And when she had brought them<\/I> unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. 12 And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force 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? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. 14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her. 15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was<\/I> greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone. 16 And she said unto him, There is<\/I> no cause: this evil in sending me away is<\/I> greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her. 17 Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman<\/I> out from me, and bolt the door after her. 18 And she had<\/I> a garment of divers colours upon her: for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were<\/I> virgins apparelled. Then 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 that was<\/I> on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying. 20 And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my sister: he is<\/I> thy brother; regard not this thing. So Tamar remained desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.<\/P> We have here a particular account of the abominable wickedness of Amnon in ravishing his sister, a subject not fit to be enlarged upon nor indeed to be mentioned without blushing, that ever any man should be so vile, especially that a son of David should be so. Amnon’s character, we have reason to think, was bad in other things; if he had not forsaken God, he would never have been given up to these vile affections. Godly parents have often been afflicted with wicked children; grace does not run in the blood, but corruption does. We do not find that David’s children imitated him in his devotion; but his false steps they trod in, and in those did much worse, and repented not. Parents know not how fatal the consequences may be if in any instance they give their children bad examples. Observe the steps of Amnon’s sin.<\/P> I. The devil, as an unclean spirit, put it into his heart to lust after his sister Tamar. Beauty is a snare to many; it was so to her. She was fair, and therefore Amnon coveted her, v.<\/I><\/span> 1<\/span>. Those that are peculiarly handsome have no reason, on that account, to be proud, but great reason to stand upon their watch. Amnon’s lust was, 1. Unnatural in itself, to lust after his sister, which even natural conscience startles at and cannot think of without horror. Such a spirit of contradiction there is in man’s corrupt nature that still it desires forbidden fruit, and the more strongly it is forbidden the more greedily it is desired. Can he entertain the thought of betraying that virtue and honour of which, as a brother, he ought to have been the protector? But what wickedness so vile as not to find admittance into an unsanctified unguarded heart, left to itself? 2. It was very uneasy to him. He was so vexed that he could not gain an opportunity to solicit her chastity (for innocent converse with her was not denied him) that he fell sick,<\/I> v.<\/span> 2<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Fleshly lusts are their own punishment, and not only war against the soul,<\/I> but against the body too, and are the rottenness of the bones.<\/I> See what a hard master sinners serve, and how heavy his yoke is.<\/P> II. The devil, as a subtle serpent, put it into his head how to compass this wicked design. Amnon had a friend (so he called him, but he was really an enemy to him), a kinsman, that had in him more of David’s blood (for he was his nephew) than of David’s spirit, for he was a subtle man, cunning to carry on any bad design, especially an intrigue of this nature, v.<\/I><\/span> 3<\/span>.<\/P> 1. He took notice that Amnon looked ill, and, being a subtle man, concluded that he was love-sick (v.<\/I><\/span> 4<\/span>), and asks him, “Why art thou, being the king’s son, lean from day to day?<\/I> Why dost thou pine, being the king’s eldest son, and heir to the crown. Being the king’s son,<\/I>” (1.) “Thou hast the pleasures of the court to divert thee; take those pleasures then, and with them drive away the sorrow, whatever it is.” Content and comfort are not always to be found in royal palaces. With much more reason may we ask dejected and disconsolate saints why they, who are the children of the King of kings and heirs of the crown of life, are thus lean from day to day.<\/I> (2.) “Thou hast the power of a prince to command what thou wantest and wishest for; use that power therefore, and gratify thyself. Pine not away for that which, lawful or unlawful, thou, being the king’s son, mayest have. Quicquid libet licet–Your will is law.<\/I>” Thus Jezebel to Ahab in a like case (1 Kings xxi. 7<\/span>), Dost not thou govern Israel?<\/I> The abuse of power is the most dangerous temptation of the great.<\/P> 2. Amnon having the impudence to own his wicked lust, miscalling it love (I love Tamar<\/I>), Jonadab put him in a way to compass his design, v.<\/I><\/span> 5<\/span>. Had he been what he pretended (Amnon’s friend), he would have startled at the mention of such horrid wickedness, would have laid before him the evil of it, what an offence it was to God and what a wrong to his own soul to entertain such a vile thought, of what fatal consequence it would be to him to cherish and prosecute it; he would have used his subtlety to divert Amnon from it, by recommending some other person to him, whom he might lawfully marry. But he seems not at all surprised at it, objects not either the unlawfulness or the difficulty, the reproach or so much as his father’s displeasure, but puts him in the way to get Tamar to his bed-side, and then he might do as he pleased. Note, The case of those is very miserable whose friends, instead of admonishing and reproving them, flatter them and forward them in their sinful ways, and are their counsellors and contrivers to do wickedly. Amnon is already sick, but goes about; he must take upon him to be so ill (and his thin looks will give colour enough to the pretence) as not to be able to get up, and to have no appetite to any thing but just that which pleases his fancy. Dainty meat is abhorred, Job xxxiii. 20<\/span>. The best dish from the king’s table cannot please him; but, if he can eat any thing, it must be from his sister Tamar’s fair hand. This is what he is advised to.<\/P> 3. Amnon followed these directions, and thus got Tamar within his reach: He made himself sick,<\/I> v.<\/span> 6<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. Thus he lieth in wait secretly, as a lion in his den, to catch the poor,<\/I> and to draw them into his net,<\/I> Ps. x. 8-10<\/I><\/span>. David was always fond of his children, and concerned if any thing ailed them; he no sooner hears that Amnon is sick than he comes himself to visit him. Let parents learn hence to be tender of their children and compassionate towards them. The sick child commonly the mother<\/I> comforteth (Isa. lxvi. 13<\/span>), but let not the father<\/I> be unconcerned. We may suppose that when David came to see his sick son he gave him good counsel to make a right use of his affliction, and prayed with him, which yet did not alter his wicked purpose. At parting, the indulgent father asks, “Is there any thing thou hast a mind to, that I can procure for thee?” “Yes, Sir,” says the dissembling son, “my stomach is weak, and I know not of any thing I can eat, unless it be a cake of my sister Tamar’s making, and I cannot be satisfied that it is so unless I see her make it, and it will do me the more good if I eat it at her hand.” David saw no reason to suspect any mischief intended. God hid his heart from understanding in this matter. He therefore immediately orders Tamar to go and attend her sick brother, v.<\/I><\/span> 7<\/span>. He does it very innocently, but afterwards, no doubt, reflected upon it with great regret. Tamar as innocently goes to her brother’s chamber, neither dreading any abuse (why should she from a brother, a sick brother?) nor disdaining, in obedience to her father and love to her brother (though but her half-brother), to be his nurse, 2Sa 13:8<\/span>; 2Sa 13:9<\/span>. Though she was a king’s daughter, a great beauty (v.<\/I><\/span> 1<\/span>), and well dressed (v.<\/I><\/span> 18<\/span>), yet she did not think it below her to knead cakes and bake them, nor would she have done this now if she had not been used to it. Good house-wifery is not a thing below the greatest ladies, nor ought they to think it a disparagement to them. The virtuous woman, whose husband sits among the elders, yet works willingly with her hands,<\/I> Prov. xxxi. 13<\/I><\/span>. Modern ages have not been destitute of such instances, nor is it so unfashionable as some would make it. Preparing for the sick should be more the care and delight of the ladies than preparing for the nice, charity more than curiosity.<\/P> 4. Having got her to him, he contrives to have her alone; for the adulterer<\/I> (much more so vile an adulterer as this) is in care that no eye see him,<\/I> Job xxiv. 15<\/I><\/span>. The meat is ready, but he cannot eat while he is looked at by those about him; they must all be turned out, v.<\/I><\/span> 9<\/span>. The sick must be humoured, and think they have a privilege to command. Tamar is willing to humour him; her chaste and virtuous soul has not the least thought of that which his polluted breast is full of; and therefore she makes no scruple of being alone with him in the inner chamber,<\/I> v.<\/span> 10<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. And now the mask is thrown off, the meat is thrown by, and the wicked wretch calls her sister,<\/I> and yet impudently courts her to come and lie with him,<\/I> v.<\/span> 11<\/span><\/U><\/I><\/span>. It was a base affront to her virtue to think it possible to persuade her to consent to such wickedness when he knew her behaviour to be always exemplarily modest and virtuous. But it is common for those that live in uncleanness to think others such as themselves, at least tinder to their sparks.<\/P> III. The devil, as a strong tempter, deafens his ear to all the reasonings with which she resisted his assaults and would have persuaded him to desist. We may well imagine what a surprise and terror it was to the young lady to be thus attacked, how she blushed and how she trembled; yet, in this great confusion, nothing could be said more pertinently, nor with greater strength of argument, than what she said to him. 1. She calls him brother,<\/I> reminding him of the nearness of the relation, which made it unlawful for him to marry her, much more to debauch her. It was expressly forbidden (Lev. xviii. 9<\/span>) under a severe penalty, Lev. xx. 17<\/span>. Great care must be taken lest the love that should be among relations degenerate into lust. 2. She entreats him not to force her, which intimates that she would never consent to it in any degree; and what satisfaction could he take in offering violence? 3. She lays before him the great wickedness of it. It is folly;<\/I> all sin is so, especially uncleanness. It is wickedness of the worst kind. Such abominations ought not to be committed in Israel, among the professing people of God, that have better statutes than the heathen have. We are Israelites; if we do such things, we are more inexcusable than others, and our condemnation will be more intolerable, for we reproach the Lord,<\/I> and that worthy name by which we are called.<\/I> 4. She represents to him the shame of it, which perhaps might influence him more than the sin of it: “For my part, Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n