Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 26 Jun. 2022
The end of 2 Sam chronicles the decline of David’s house, starting with David’s adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah, an echo of which is seen in David’s children in this chapter, one of the creepiest chapters in the Bible:
Read 2 Samuel 13:1-22 in NAW: Now, it happened to be after this that David’s son Absalom had a sister who was good-{looking} – her name was Tamar, and David’s son Amnon was in love with her. But this was distressing for Amnon, such that he made himself sick on account of Tamar his sister, since she was single, yet it was off-limits in Amnon’s eyes to instigate anything in relation to her. Now, Amnon had a friend – his name was Jonadab, son of David’s brother Shimeah, and Jonadab was a very shrewd man. And he said to him, “Why are you, a son of the king, being wanton like this from morning to morning? Won’t you tell me?” And Amnon said to him, “It’s Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom, that I’m in love with.” Then Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and make yourself sick. Then, when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please have my sister Tamar come and feed me some food – and have her make this special food before my eyes in order that I may watch and eat from her hand.’” So Amnon laid down and made himself sick. And the king came to see him, and Amnon said to the king, “Please have my sister Tamar come {to me} and make dumplings before my eyes – two dumplings, so I may partake from her hand.” So David sent a commission to Tamar at her house to say, “Please go to the house of your brother Amnon, and make his special food for him!” And Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he was lying down, so she took the dough and kneaded it and made dumplings before his eyes and boiled the dumplings. Then she took the pot and poured a serving before his face, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, “Make everybody go out from around me.” So {they made} everybody go out from around him. And Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the special food to my bedroom, and I will partake from your hand.” So Tamar took the dumplings which she had made and brought them to her brother Amnon. Yet when she brought them close to him to eat, he got a strong grip on her and said to her, “Come, lie down with me, my sister!” But she said to him, “No, my brother! Don’t take advantage of me, for it should not be done this way in Israel. Don’t do this foolisness! And as for me, how would I remove my stigma? And as for you, you would become like one of the fools in Israel. Instead, please speak to the king now, for he will not withhold me from you!” But he was not willing to give heed to her voice, and he was stronger than her, so he took advantage of her and laid down with her. Then Amon hated her with a very intense hatred, such that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her, so Amnon said to her, “Get up! Be gone!” But {Tamar} said to him, “{No, my brother}, {for} this outcome of sending me off is an escalation of the wrong which you have done to me!” But {Amnon} was not willing to give heed to her {voice}, instead, he called his servant-boy who attended to him and he said, “Please send this woman away from me to the street, and lock the door behind her.” (Now, she had on her a long tunic, for that was how the virgin daughters of the king dressed in tunics.) So his attendant ushered her out to the street and locked the door behind her. So Tamar took some ashes {and put them} on her head, then she tore the long tunic which she had on her, and she put her hand{s} on her head and went, walking and cry{ing}. Then her brother Absalom said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? Well, my sister, keep quiet now. He is your brother; don’t find a place for this matter in your heart. So Tamar settled down and was desolate at her brother Absalom’s house. Presently, David the king heard all these things and got really hot about it, {but he did not cause hardship to the spirit of Amnon his son because he loved him since he was his firstborn.} Meanwhile Absalom did not speak with Amnon for ill or for good, because Absalom hated Amnon on account of the matter in which he had taken advantage of his sister Tamar.
Amnon was David’s first son born in Hebron when he was king of Judah. His mom was Achinoam. Often first-born sons were given extra privileges and allowed to do just about whatever they wanted.
In v.2 we read of the problem that Amnon worked himself into. He is infatuated with his half-sister Tamar, the daughter of his father by marriage to Maacah, and Amnon wants to marry Tamar.
She is a virgin – that is, she is single and available to marry, but by the same token, kept more protected and secluded.
Amon also sees that it would be too far out-of-the-ordinary to marry a sister. The Hebrew word translated “hard/impossible” in most English versions is not the usual word for “hard/difficult” but rather the word for something that is out-of-the-ordinary, that is, not the norm.
Amnon is indulging in a longing to marry her, but he doesn’t think he can marry her, and he gets so frustrated that he gets sick.
This is a form of the sin of coveting: that is, indulging in a longing for something which you are not allowed to have.
Back in the time of Adam and Eve’s children, God apparently allowed brothers and sisters to marry because there was no one else to marry, and the human genome was robust enough to resist birth defects then, but by the time of Moses, God had instituted laws against incest. Leviticus and Deuteronomy say in multiple places that we must not marry a sibling or even a half-sibling:
Leviticus 18:6 “…y'all may not come near to any family-member [who is] of [your] flesh to uncover nakedness. I am Yahweh…. 9 Regarding the nakedness of your sister – the daughter of your father or the daughter of your mother (born into the household or born outside): you must not uncover her nakedness… 11 Regarding the nakedness of the daughter of your father's wife, born of your father: she is your sister; you may not uncover her nakedness… 24 You must not make yourselves unclean by means of any of these, for it was by means of all these that the nations which I am thrusting out before your faces became unclean, and the land became unclean, so I brought accountability upon it for its iniquity, so that the land vomited out its residents. So as for y'all, you must keep my statutes and my judgments, and y'all (the native as well as the visitor visiting among you) must not act out any of these abominations...” (NAW)
Deut. 27:22 “Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother...” (NKJV)
The family home should be a safe place for a child, a place where relationships are not sexualized, where there is no fear of being taken advantage of. God’s law underscores this as very important.
Now, when God tells us we can’t do something that we want to do, we have a choice:
We can submit to God and turn our thoughts away from desiring what He has forbidden and cultivate contentment in what God has given us, and we can experience joy and peace through exercising faith in God in that way.
Or we can do what Amnon did and chafe against God’s commands and cultivate discontent in what God had given us and fill our minds with thoughts about what we want but can’t have, and we can drive ourselves crazy like Amnon did.
Amnon was not a victim. He made himself sick by his own rebellion against God’s law. Yet he saw himself as a victim.
When his buddy asks him what’s wrong in v.4, the first word out of his mouth in the Hebrew text is “Tamar.” He tells his buddy that Tamar is the problem, when, in actuality, the problem is his own choice to covet.
He should have said, “I’m having trouble forsaking these fantasies that I keep having about my sister Tamar. Can you pray for me and help me to think on what is pure and lovely and of good repute instead? The problem is in my heart and mind rebelling against God, and I want to have a sound mind instead!”
By framing the problem as Tamar instead of his own covetous heart, he is led to frame the solution in terms of controlling and manipulating Tamar instead of controling his own lust.
Unfortunately, it gets worse.
In v.3, Amnon’s cousin Jonadab1 is mentioned as being his “friend” and being a “shrewd/subtil/cunning/crafty man.
Jonadab was probably older than Amnon, since his dad was third-born whereas Amnon’s dad was the seventh-born. Also, Amnon’s mom was about the fourth wife David married, so he was born later in David’s life.
At any rate, this shrewd cousin Jonadab notices that something is eating at Amnon – he’s haggard/depressed/lean/wanton, but instead of encouraging his friend to seek the Lord for help, he takes the angle that since Amnon is the “king’s son,” Amnon deserves to have everything he wants – his status obligates the world to cater to him. “You’re the king’s son, next-in-line to be king, so, just tell me what you want, and I’ll help you come up with a way to get it!” he says, in effect. This is humanistic thinking, opposed to living by faith in God, but Amnon takes this idea from his buddy and runs with it, to his own detriment.
We need to choose our buddies carefully and avoid the influence of those who do not point us to Jesus and the Bible.
Psalm 1:1-2 says, “Oh the blessings of the man who didn't walk in the counsel of the wicked, didn't stand in the path of sinners, and didn't sit in the bench of the scornful; because his delight was in the law of Yahweh, And he meditated in the law of Him day and night.” (NAW)
In our day and age, the Internet and social media are full of people who are not accountable to God – not accountable to the Bible or to a local church – and who would love to give you advice, but all-too-often, that advice that will mess you up if you follow it.
Anyway, Jonadab says, “Make yourself sick” (He uses the same verb that occurs in v.2 – he has already seen Amnon make himself sick).
This gives us a little window into David’s family life. Whether David checked in with each of his children at the house of their mom at periodic intervals, or whether he came by only when he heard one of them was sick, Jonadab knew David would stop by to see Amnon on his sickbed.
And Jonadab’s plan depended on David’s naivete and compassion in order to spring a trap on Tamar. Let this be a reminder that we need to be compassionate and not too knowledgeable about sin, but we also need to be careful that other people don’t use our compassion and naievete to bring harm to others.
I once had an accountability partner who depended upon my naievete to avoid true accountability because he knew it wouldn’t occur to me to suspect the sin that was really entangling him. He is dead now, and I suspect that the sin that he hid was ultimately the cause of his untimely death.
There’s also the classic example of the beggar on the streetcorner who depends upon the compassion of naive passers-by to donate money, which he will turn around and spend on drugs to support his habit. Of course not every beggar is being disingenuous, but, in my experience, about 99% of them are. Often you can sort out the frauds by offering to buy them some food – not a failsafe method, but if they suddenly lose interest in you and focus on asking someone else for money instead, that’s a pretty good indicator.
At any rate, David would have done well to ask around a little more – maybe talk with Amnon’s mom and get the fuller story before using his influence to lead Tamar into a trap.
Amnon’s request didn’t seem wrong on the face of it – to have his sister make him a sick-meal. But there were odd things about the request:
Why does it have to be Tamar?
Why does she have to “come” to him?
Why does he emphasize “seeing” her? (“Have her make this special food before my eyes in order that I may see and eat from her hand.”)
Well, we know why. He just wanted to feed his lust by staring at her.
It takes wisdom to know when to be accomodating to those who are weak and when to stop and ask questions and not just let odd things go unchallenged.
But when people start making out-of-the-ordinary demands, usually there’s something fishy going on. I think of the time someone phoned our church asking if it would be possible to attend our worship service without seeing a member of the opposite sex. At first I tried to help them be a part of our church, but the more time I invested in this person, the wierder it got, until they left in a huff. So, ask God for wisdom before responding to requests. David should have done that.
Jonadab’s trap also depended on Tamar’s trust in David. If he could get David to tell Tamar to do something, she would more readily do it than if Amnon or Jonadab suggested it to her. This manipulation of authority is also something to watch out for.
In my previous career, I met a guy who had an amazing knack for getting up next-to well-known Christian leaders and getting them to give him an endorsement. He went to one after another, showing the endorsements he had collected so far and getting more Christian leaders to add to his credibility. It was unbelievable how many big names he got to back up his cause, but he also he came after me, and I wrote an endorsement for him, but after a while, I realized that nobody was willing to work closely with him for very long, and that a lot of the things he said were unverifiable, and that there was a growing list of people whom he had taken advantage of, some of whom he had even physically assaulted.
If you have integrity, that is valuable capital, and other people who know they can’t be trusted themselves will try to piggyback on your good reputation. Be careful about using your reputation or your authority to benefit agendas that you haven’t carefully investigated. David would have done well to take more time with his son rather than just doing the quickest, easiest thing. Make sure you aren’t aiding and abetting someone like Amnon.
In v.8, Tamar shows up at Amnon’s house and finds him lying on a couch, apparently in the living room, so she gets busy cooking up a special meal for a sick person. I get the impression it was some kind of dumplings2 boiled in a broth – like matzoh balls. (At my house we make something similar – chicken noodle soup – for sick folks.) She “pours” a serving into a bowl and brings it to him on the couch.
But then Amon starts acting strange. He won’t eat it. He tells his servants to kick everybody who had been attending to him out of the house, then he retreats into his bedroom, demanding that Tamar come into his bedroom to serve him there.
At this point, Tamar has fulfilled her mission. She had done what her Dad asked her to do. She has served a sick meal to Amnon. If he wouldn’t eat it, it wasn’t her fault. She has gone out of her way to serve him, and he has been rude to her by refusing to eat it. At this point, she does not have to feel guilty about going home. Everyone else is leaving, and she could have taken her leave along with them.
If you are in a relationship where you have done a reasonable kindness and fulfilled your obligations but they are complaining that you haven’t done enough and demanding that you do more, it’s probably best to extricate yourself from that situation, because you will probably just be taken advantage of.
Notice that isolation is a key strategy for perpetrators.
Amnon doesn’t want any witnesses to his act of violence against his sister, so he sends everybody out of the house.
We read in Psalm 10:8-10 that “A wicked man... sits in ambush... In hiding-places... his eyes single out the weakest... He nabs a weak person by drawing them into his net, and the weakest crumple... by his powers. (NAW)
It’s generally not a good idea to be very alone; that makes us more vulnerable to a wicked men who are looking for an isolated individual to take advantage of.
God’s word recommends that we have companions with us:
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up... And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him...” (NASB)
For similar reasons, Jesus sent his disciples out in ministry teams, not as individuals, and the Apostle Paul made sure he had travelling companions like Barnabas and Silas and others.
But Tamar was apparently naive about this, so she followed Amnon into his private bedroom with her get-well soup.
That’s when Amnon began to use physical force.
Tamar did the right thing by protesting against being forced to do something immoral. She says “no” three times and tries to remind Amnon of the consequences – both to her and to him – of doing what is shameful. She even suggests a way to legally obtain what he wants: “Ask the king for my hand in marriage; he’ll probably allow it, and then we can properly conduct ourselves like husband and wife3.”
But Ammon’s lust-crazed mind was not open to reason, and he violated her.
But sinning does not satisfy us, even if we get what we want. And sexual sin destroys healthy relationships. So, predictably, what Amnon did, did not result in warm fuzzies between him and his sister. He suddenly found her repulsive (probably because his guilty conscience started looking for someone else to hate besides himself since he knew that he had done a despicable thing), and, despite her protests, he ordered her out of his house without any consideration of how he had just ruined her life.
This is a clear indication that Amnon never actually loved Tamar in the first place, he was just acting out of self-centered lust. He thought it was love, and he may have told her it was love, but love’s most defining characteristic Biblically is that the one who loves lays down his life for the well-being of the beloved. Don’t be fooled by someone who tells you they love you, but who won’t make personal sacrifices that benefit you for the long term.
Sadly, the tragedy doesn’t stop here; it continues in...
The picture is painted vividly of Tamar thrown out in the street in her brautiful, long-sleeved, ankle-length princess dress, tearing rents in her dress, throwing grey ashes on her beautiful hair, and slogging down the street with her hands on her head, wailing. She had been terribly wronged, and it was right to grieve after what had been done to her. It was also right to call public attention to this injustice. In doing so, she was asking for the authorities to pay attention to her case and bring justice.
Tamar’s father was also the king, so he was naturally the one who should see that justice was done.
What does the Bible say should be done, and therefore what should David have done?
If, after due process, a couple was convicted of incest, they were to be either removed from the country of Israel or put to death. Leviticus 18:29 “...the lives of the ones who do so will then be cut off from proximity to their people... 20:17 And a man who marries his sister... must be cut off from the eyes of the children of their people.” (NAW)
But in an aggravated case where it wasn’t consentual; if the man forced the woman and she cried out against it, the man would be put to death if it was a married or betrothed woman, and the women would not be considered to have done anything wrong. If, on the other hand, she was available to marry, then he had to pay about half a year’s wages to the dad, and, if the father and the woman consented, he would have to marry her and could never divorce her.4
So is this what David did?
No. David merely got angry at the perpetrator, but failed to pursue justice. David was not willing to put his firstborn son to death or to banish him to exile. He didn’t even make Amnon marry her, and there is no indication that he made Amnon pay anything either. This was a terrible breach of justice.
All the oldest Hebrew, Greek, and Latin manuscripts of 2 Samuel add an explanation that, “David did not cause hardship to the spirit of Amnon his son because he loved him since he was his firstborn.” That is a warped kind of love which refuses to punish evil and leaves victims to suffer unjustly (much like Amnon’s so-called “love” of Tamar was a warped kind of love).
Tamar’s brother Absalom did only a little better.
He realized that she was not marriageable any more and would be a dependent for the rest of her life, so he took his older sister into his own household and provided for her needs. This was a very considerate thing to do.
But he also failed to pursue justice. He told Tamar to “keep silent and don’t take it to heart” – as if to say, “There’s nothing that can be done about it; it’s just the way the cookie crumbles, so you’ll just have to get over it.” (What does that do to a girl when the men who should be insuring justice for her, act as though nothing bad happened and let the wicked man get off without consequences?)
God’s word says to go to the one who has offended you and confront them (Mt. 18); God’s word also says that it is righteous to go to the authorities to get justice on behalf of the oppressed. Absalom’s suppressed anger and silent treatment of Amnon was the wrong way to deal with it, and as we’ll see in the rest of the chapter, it resulted in more problems, but we’ll save that for another time.
David’s son Amnon was a wicked man, and God wants us to know that there are wicked people like him that we may have to deal with, and we need to be wise in the way we do so.
At another level, this wicked man was David’s son. Amnon acted out in some of the same patterns of lust and sexual sin which his father had done. This story reminds that our sins – even the ones we have repented of and been forgiven of – do not stand in isolation. Our sins have ripple effects that we need to be careful to address in subsequent generations.
The Bible tells us that our sins affect our children unless the bondage of sin is broken.
In Exodus 34:7 God says that He “keeps mercy for thousands [of generations], forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation.” (NKJV)
and we read of how that worked out in history in places like 1 Kings 15:1-5 “...Abijam became king over Judah... And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him; his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. Nevertheless for David's sake the LORD his God gave him a lamp in Jerusalem, by setting up his son after him and by establishing Jerusalem; because David did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and had not turned aside from anything that He commanded him all the days of his life, except in the matter of Uriah the Hittite.” (NKJV)
Denny Kennaston, an influential mentor in my life on parenting, said something to the effect that parents who tolerate moderate sins in their lives will find that their children take those same sins to extremes.
David committed adultery, now his son commits incest, taking his father’s sin to a more shameful degree.
If you are a secret porn user, don’t be surprised if more-open sexual sin starts showing up in your children.
Better to get free of those secret sins now than to ignore them and then experience the grief of watching them sprout up all over your children’s and grandchildren’s lives in the years to come!
But there is also a mercy in this. If you are faithfully fighting sin in your life, then, even though your children may find those same sins tempting, you now have experience in how to overcome those particular sins, so you can share your strategies and successes with your children to help them not be enslaved by the sins that they are most likely to face.
1 Thess. 4:1-7 “Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness...” (ESV)
LXX |
Brenton |
DRB |
KJV |
NAW |
MT |
1 Καὶ ἐγενήθη μετὰ ταῦτα καὶ τῷ Αβεσσαλωμ υἱῷ Δαυιδ ἀδελφὴ καλὴ [τῷ εἴδει σφόδρα], καὶ ὄνομα αὐτῇ Θημαρ, καὶ ἠγάπησεν αὐτὴν Αμνων υἱὸς Δαυιδ. |
1 And it happened after this that Abessalom the son of David had a [very] beautiful sister, and her name was Themar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. |
1 And it came to pass after this that Ammon the son of David loved X X X the sister of Absalom the son of David, [who was very] beautiful, and her name was Thamar. |
1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her. |
1 Now, it happened to be after this that David’s son Absalom had a sister who was good-{looking} – her name was Tamar, and David’s son Amnon was in love with her. |
1 וַיְהִי אַחֲרֵי-כֵן וּלְאַבְשָׁלוֹם בֶּן-דָּוִד אָחוֹת יָפָהB וּשְׁמָהּ תָּמָר וַיֶּאֱהָבֶהָ אַמְנוֹן בֶּן-דָּוִד: |
2 καὶ ἐθλίβετο Αμνων ὥστε ἀρρωστεῖν διὰ Θημαρ τὴν ἀδελφὴν αὐτοῦ, ὅτι παρθένος ἦν αὐτή, καὶ ὑπέρογκον ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς Αμνων τοῦ ποιῆσαί τι αὐτῇ. |
2 And Amnon was distressed even to sickness, because of Themar his sister; for she was a virgin, and it seemed [very] difficult for Amnon to do anything to her. |
2 And he was exceedingly fond of her, so that he fell sick for the love of her: for as she was a virgin, he thought it hard to do any thing [dishonestly] with her. |
2 And Amnon was so vexed, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hardC for him to do any thing to her. |
2 But this was distressing for Amnon, such that he made himself sick on account of Tamar his sister, since she was single, yet it was off-limits in Amnon’s eyes to instigate anything in relation to her. |
2 וַיֵּצֶר לְאַמְנוֹן לְהִתְחַלּוֹת בַּעֲבוּר תָּמָר אֲחֹתוֹ כִּי בְתוּלָה הִיא וַיִּפָּלֵא בְּעֵינֵי אַמְנוֹן לַעֲשׂוֹת לָהּ מְאוּמָה: |
3 καὶ ἦν τῷ Αμνων ἑταῖρος, καὶ ὄνομα αὐτῷ Ιωναδαβ υἱὸς Σαμαα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Δαυιδ· καὶ Ιωναδαβ ἀνὴρ σοφὸς σφόδρα. |
3 And Amnon had a friend, and his name was Jonadab, the son of Samaa the brother of David: and Jonadab was a very cunning man. |
3 Now Ammon had a friend, X X named Jonadab the son of Semmaa the brother of David, a very wise man: |
3 But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man. |
3 Now, Amnon had a friend – his name was Jonadab, son of David’s brother Shimeah, and Jonadab was a very shrewd man. |
3 וּלְאַמְנוֹן רֵעַ וּשְׁמוֹ יוֹנָדָבD בֶּן-שִׁמְעָה אֲחִי דָוִד וְיוֹנָדָב אִישׁ חָכָםE מְאֹד: |
4 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Τί σοι ὅτι σὺ οὕτως ἀσθενής, υἱὲ τοῦ βασιλέως, τὸ πρωὶ πρωί; οὐκ ἀπαγγελεῖς μοι; καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Αμνων Θημαρ τὴν ἀδελφὴν Αβεσσαλωμ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ μου ἐγὼ ἀγαπῶ. |
4 And he said to him, What ails thee that thou art thus weak? O son of the king, morning by morning? wilt thou not tell me? and Ammon said, I love Themar the sister of my brother Abessalom. |
4 And he said to him: Why dost thou grow so lean from day to day, O son of the king? why dost thou not tell me the reason of it? And Ammon said to him: I am in love with Thamar the sister of my brother Absalom. |
4 And he said unto him, Why art thou, being 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. |
4 And he said to him, “Why are you, a son of the king, being wanton like this from morning to morning? Won’t you tell me?” And Amnon said to him, “It’s Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom, that I’m in love with.” |
4 וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ מַדּוּעַ אַתָּה כָּכָה דַּל בֶּן-הַמֶּלֶךְ בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר הֲלוֹא תַּגִּיד לִי וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ אַמְנוֹן אֶת- תָּמָר אֲחוֹת אַבְשָׁלֹם אָחִי אֲנִי אֹהֵב: |
5
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ
Ιωναδαβ Κοιμήθητι
ἐπὶ τῆς κοίτης
σου καὶ μαλακίσθητι,
καὶ εἰσελεύσεται
ὁ πατήρ σου τοῦ
ἰδεῖν σε, καὶ
ἐρεῖς πρὸς
αὐτόν Ἐλθέτω
δὴ Θημαρ ἡ ἀδελφή
μου καὶ ψωμισάτω
με X
καὶ
ποιησάτω κατ᾿
ὀφθαλμούς
μου βρῶμα,
ὅπως ἴδω καὶ
φάγω ἐκ τῶν χειρ |
5 And Jonadab said to him, Lie upon thy bed, and make thyself sick, and thy father shall come in to see thee; and thou shalt say to him, Let, I pray thee, Themar my sister come, and feed me with morsels, and let her prepare food before my eyes, that I may see and eat at her handsF. |
5
And Jonadab said to him: Lie down upon thy bed, and feign thyself
sick: and when thy father shall come to |
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, and eat it at her hand. |
5 Then Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and make yourself sick. Then, when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please have my sister Tamar come and feed me some food – and have her make this special food before my eyes in order that I may watch and eat from her hand.’” |
5 וַיֹּאמֶר לוֹ יְהוֹנָדָב שְׁכַב עַל-מִשְׁכָּבְךָ וְהִתְחָל וּבָא אָבִיךָ לִרְאוֹתֶךָ וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו תָּבֹא נָא תָמָר אֲחוֹתִיG וְתַבְרֵנִי לֶחֶם וְעָשְׂתָה לְעֵינַיH אֶת- הַבִּרְיָהI לְמַעַן אֲשֶׁר אֶרְאֶה וְאָכַלְתִּי מִיָּדָהּ: |
6 καὶ ἐκοιμήθη Αμνων καὶ ἠρρώστησεν, καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ὁ βασιλεὺς ἰδεῖν αὐτόν, καὶ εἶπεν Αμνων πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Ἐλθέτω δὴ Θημαρ ἡ ἀδελφή μου [πρός με] καὶ κολλυρισάτω ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς μου δύο κολλυρίδας, καὶ φάγομαι ἐκ τῆς χειρὸς αὐτῆς. |
6 So Ammon lay down, and made himself sick; and the king came in to see him: and Amnon said to the king, Let, I pray thee, my sister Themar come [to me], and make a couple of cakes in my sight, and I will eat them at her hand. |
6 So Ammon lay down, and made [as if] he were sick: and when the king came to visit him, Ammon said to the king: I pray thee let my sister Thamar come, and make in my sight two little messes, that I may eat 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. |
6 So Amnon laid down and made himself sick. And the king came to see him, and Amnon said to the king, “Please have my sister Tamar come {to me} and make dumplings before my eyes – two dumplings, so I may partake from her hand.” |
6 וַיִּשְׁכַּב אַמְנוֹן וַיִּתְחָל וַיָּבֹא הַמֶּלֶךְ לִרְאֹתוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר אַמְנוֹן אֶל-הַמֶּלֶךְ תָּבוֹא-נָאJ תָּמָר אֲחֹתִי וּתְלַבֵּבK לְעֵינַי שְׁתֵּי לְבִבוֹת וְאֶבְרֶה מִיָּדָהּ: |
7 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Δαυιδ πρὸς Θημαρ εἰς τὸν οἶκον λέγων Πορεύθητι δὴ εἰς τὸν οἶκον Αμνων τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου καὶ ποίησον αὐτῷ X βρῶμα. |
7 And David sent to Themar to the house, saying, Go now to thy brother X's house, and dress him food. |
7
Then David sent X
home
to Thamar, saying: X
Come
to the house of thy brother Ammon, and make him |
7 Then David sent X home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's house, and dress him meat. |
7 So David sent a commission to Tamar at her house to say, “Please go to the house of your brother Amnon, and make his special food for him!” |
7 וַיִּשְׁלַח דָּוִד אֶל-תָּמָר הַבַּיְתָה לֵאמֹר לְכִי נָא בֵּית אַמְנוֹן אָחִיךְ וַעֲשִׂי-לוֹ הַבִּרְיָה: |
8 καὶ ἐπορεύθη Θημαρ εἰς τὸν οἶκον Αμνων ἀδελφοῦ αὐτῆς, καὶ αὐτὸς κοιμώμενος. καὶ ἔλαβεν τὸ σταῖς καὶ ἐφύρασεν καὶ ἐκολλύρισεν κατ᾿ ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἥψησεν τὰς κολλυρίδας· |
8 And Themar went to the house of her brother Amnon, and he was lying down: and she took the dough and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes. |
8
And Thamar came to the house of Ammon her brother: but he was laid
down: and she took meal
and tempered
it: and |
8 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. |
8 And Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house, and he was lying down, so she took the dough and kneaded it and made dumplings before his eyes and boiled the dumplings. |
8 וַתֵּלֶךְ תָּמָר בֵּית אַמְנוֹן אָחִיהָ וְהוּא שֹׁכֵב וַתִּקַּח אֶת-הַבָּצֵקL וַתָּלוֹשׁM וַתְּלַבֵּב לְעֵינָיו וַתְּבַשֵּׁל אֶת-הַלְּבִבוֹת: |
9 καὶ ἔλαβεν τὸ τήγανον καὶ κατεκένωσεν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησεν φαγεῖν. καὶ εἶπεν Αμνων Ἐξαγάγετε πάντα ἄνδρα ἐπάνωθέν μου· καὶ ἐξήγαγον πάντα ἄνδρα ἀπὸ ἐπάνωθεν αὐτοῦ. |
9 And she took the frying pan and poured [them] out before him, but he would not eat. And Amnon said, Send out every man from about me. And they removed every man from about him. |
9 And taking what she had boiled, she poured it out, and set it before him, but he would not eat: and Ammon said: Put out all persons from me. And when they had put all persons out, |
9 And she took a pan, and poured them 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. |
9 Then she took the pot and poured a serving before his face, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, “Make everybody go out from around me.” So {they made} everybody go out from around him. |
9 וַתִּקַּח אֶת- הַמַּשְׂרֵתN וַתִּצֹק לְפָנָיו וַיְמָאֵןO לֶאֱכוֹל וַיֹּאמֶר אַמְנוֹן הוֹצִיאוּ כָל- אִישׁ מֵעָלַי וַיֵּצְאוּP כָל- אִישׁ מֵעָלָיו: |
10 καὶ εἶπεν Αμνων πρὸς Θημαρ Εἰσένεγκε τὸ βρῶμα εἰς τὸ ταμίειον, καὶ φάγομαι ἐκ τῆς χειρός σου. καὶ ἔλαβεν Θημαρ τὰς κολλυρίδας, ἃς ἐποίησεν, καὶ εἰσήνεγκεν τῷ Αμνων ἀδελφῷ αὐτῆς εἰς τὸν κοιτῶνα |
10 And Amnon said to Themar, Bring in the food into the closet, and I will eat of thy hand. And Themar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them to her brother Amnon into the chamber. |
10 Ammon said to Thamar: Bring the mess into the chamber, that I may eat at thy hand. And Thamar took the little messes which she had made, and brought them in to her brother Ammon in the chamber. |
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 into the chamber to Amnon her brother. |
10 And Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the special food to my bedroom, and I will partake from your hand.” So Tamar took the dumplings which she had made and brought them to her brother Amnon. |
10 וַיֹּאמֶר אַמְנוֹן אֶל- תָּמָר הָבִיאִי הַבִּרְיָה הַחֶדֶר וְאֶבְרֶה מִיָּדֵךְ וַתִּקַּח תָּמָר אֶת- הַלְּבִבוֹת אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂתָה וַתָּבֵא לְאַמְנוֹן אָחִיהָ הֶחָדְרָה: |
11 καὶ προσήγαγεν αὐτῷ τοῦ φαγεῖν, καὶ ἐπελάβετο αὐτῆς καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ Δεῦρο κοιμήθητι μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ, ἀδελφή μου. |
11 And she brought them to him to eat, and he caught hold of her, and said to her, Come, lie with me, my sister. |
11
And when she had presented him |
11 And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. |
11 Yet when she brought them close to him to eat, he got a strong grip on her and said to her, “Come, lie down with me, my sister!” |
11 וַתַּגֵּשׁ אֵלָיו לֶאֱכֹל וַיַּחֲזֶק-בָּהּ וַיֹּאמֶר לָהּ בּוֹאִי שִׁכְבִי עִמִּי אֲחוֹתִי: |
12 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Μή, ἄδελφέ μου, μὴ ταπεινώσῃς με, διότι οὐ ποιηθήσεται οὕτως ἐν Ισραηλ· μὴ ποιήσῃς τὴν ἀφροσύνην ταύτην· |
12 And she said to him, Nay, my brother, do not humble me, for it ought not to be so done in Israel; do not this folly. |
12 X She answered him: [Do] not so, my brother, do not force me: for no such thing must be done in Israel. Do not thou this folly. |
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. |
12 But she said to him, “No, my brother! Don’t take advantage of me, for it should not be done this way in Israel. Don’t do this foolisness! |
12 וַתֹּאמֶר לוֹ אַל-אָחִי אַל-תְּעַנֵּנִי כִּי לֹא-יֵעָשֶׂה כֵן בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל אַל-תַּעֲשֵׂה אֶת-הַנְּבָלָה הַזֹּאת: |
13 καὶ ἐγὼ ποῦ ἀποίσω τὸ ὄνειδός μου; καὶ σὺ ἔσῃ ὡς εἷς τῶν ἀφρόνων ἐν Ισραηλ·
καὶ νῦν λάλησον δὴ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα, ὅτι οὐ [μὴ] κωλύσῃ με ἀπὸ σοῦ. |
13 And I, whither shall I remove my reproach? and thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. And now, speak, I pray thee, to the king, for [surely] he will not keep me from thee. |
13 For I shall not be able to bear my shame, and thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel:
but
|
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. |
13
And as for me, how would I remove
my stigma? And as for you, you would
become like one of the fools in Israel. |
13 וַאֲנִי אָנָה אוֹלִיךְ אֶת-חֶרְפָּתִי וְאַתָּה תִּהְיֶה כְּאַחַד הַנְּבָלִים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַתָּה דַּבֶּר- נָא אֶל- הַמֶּלֶךְ כִּי לֹא יִמְנָעֵנִי מִמֶּךָּ: |
14 καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησεν [Αμνων] τοῦ ἀκοῦσαι τῆς φωνῆς αὐτῆς καὶ ἐκραταίωσεν ὑπὲρ αὐτὴν καὶ ἐταπείνωσεν αὐτὴν καὶ ἐκοιμήθη μετ᾿ αὐτῆς. |
14 But [Amnon] would not hearken to her voice; and he prevailed against her, and humbled her, and lay with her. |
14
But he would not hearken to her |
14 Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, X forced her, and lay with her. |
14 But he was not willing to give heed to her voice, and he was stronger than her, so he took advantage of her and laid down with her. |
14 וְלֹא אָבָה לִשְׁמֹעַ בְּקוֹלָהּ וַיֶּחֱזַק מִמֶּנָּה וַיְעַנֶּהָ וַיִּשְׁכַּב אֹתָהּQ: |
15 καὶ ἐμίσησεν αὐτὴν Αμνων μῖσος μέγα σφόδρα, ὅτι μέγα τὸ μῖσος, ὃ ἐμίσησεν αὐτήν, ὑπὲρ τὴν ἀγάπην, ἣν ἠγάπησεν αὐτήν. καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῇ Αμνων Ἀνάστηθι [καὶ] πορεύου. |
15 Then Amnon hated her with very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her, for the last wickedness was greater than the first: and Amnon said to her, Rise, [and] be gone. |
15 Then Ammon hated her with an exceeding great hatred: so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her [before]. And Ammon said to her: Arise, [and] get thee gone. |
15 Then Amnon hated her exceedingly X X; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone. |
15 Then Amon hated her with a very intense hatred, such that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her, so Amnon said to her, “Get up! Be gone!” |
15 וַיִּשְׂנָאֶהָ אַמְנוֹן שִׂנְאָה גְּדוֹלָה מְאֹד כִּי גְדוֹלָה הַשִּׂנְאָה אֲשֶׁר שְׂנֵאָהּ מֵאַהֲבָה אֲשֶׁר אֲהֵבָהּ וַיֹּאמֶר- לָהּ אַמְנוֹן קוּמִי לֵכִי: |
16
Rκαὶ
εἶπεν αὐτῷ
[Θημαρ]
Μή,
|
16
And |
16
X
She
answered him X
X:
|
16 And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst unto me. But he would not hearken unto her. |
16 But {Tamar} said to him, “{No, my brother}, {for} this outcome of sending me off is an escalation of the wrongwhich you have done to me!” But {Amnon} was not willing to give heed to her {voice}, |
16 וַתֹּאמֶר לוֹS Tאַל- אוֹדֹתU הָרָעָה הַגְּדוֹלָה הַזֹּאת מֵאַחֶרֶת אֲשֶׁר-עָשִׂיתָ עִמִּי לְשַׁלְּחֵנִי וְלֹא אָבָה לִשְׁמֹעַ לָהּV: |
17
καὶ ἐκάλεσεν
τὸ παιδάριον
αὐτοῦ τὸν προεστηκότα
τοῦ |
17
And he called his servant who had charge
of |
17 But calling the servant[s] that ministered to him, X he said: Thrust this woman out from me: and shut the door after her. |
17 Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her. |
17 instead, he called his servant-boy who attended to him and he said, “Y’all, please send this woman away from me to the street, and lock the door behind her.” |
17 וַיִּקְרָא אֶת-נַעֲרוֹ מְשָׁרְתוֹ וַיֹּאמֶר שִׁלְחוּ-נָא אֶת-זֹאתW מֵעָלַי הַחוּצָה וּנְעֹלX הַדֶּלֶת אַחֲרֶיהָ: |
18 καὶ ἐπ᾿ αὐτῆς ἦν χιτὼν καρπωτός, ὅτι οὕτως ἐνεδιδύσκοντο αἱ θυγατέρες τοῦ βασιλέως [αἱ] παρθένοι τοὺς ἐπενδύτας [αὐτῶν]· καὶ ἐξήγαγεν αὐτὴν ὁ λειτουργὸς αὐτοῦ ἔξω καὶ ἀπέκλεισεν τὴν θύραν ὀπίσω αὐτῆς· |
18 And she had on her a variegated robe, for so were the king's daughters [that] were virgins attired in [their] apparel: and his servant led her forth X, and shut the door after her. |
18
And she was clothed with a long
robe: for the king's daughters [that]
were virgins, |
18
And she
had
a garment of
divers colours
upon her: for with such robes
were the king's daughters that
were
virgins apparelled. Then his servant |
18 (Now, she had on her a long tunic, for that was how the virgin daughters of the king dressed in tunics.) So his attendant ushered her out to the street and locked the door behind her. |
18 וְעָלֶיהָ כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּיםY כִּי כֵן תִּלְבַּשְׁןָ בְנוֹת-הַמֶּלֶךְ הַבְּתוּלֹת מְעִילִים וַיֹּצֵא אוֹתָהּ מְשָׁרְתוֹ הַחוּץ וְנָעַל הַדֶּלֶת אַחֲרֶיהָ: |
19 καὶ ἔλαβεν Θημαρ σποδὸν [καὶ ἐπέθηκεν] ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτῆς καὶ τὸν χιτῶνα τὸν καρπωτὸν τὸν ἐπ᾿ αὐτῆς διέρρηξεν καὶ ἐπέθηκεν τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπορεύθη πορευομένη καὶ κράζουσα. |
19 And Themar took ashes[, and put them] on her head; and she rent the variegated garment that was upon her: and she laid her hands on her head, and went crying continually. |
19
And |
19
And Tamar |
19 So Tamar took some ashes {and put them} on her head, then she tore the long tunic which she had on her, and she put her hand{s} on her head and went, walking and cry{ing}. |
19 וַתִּקַּח תָּמָר אֵפֶרZ עַל-רֹאשָׁהּ וּכְתֹנֶת הַפַּסִּים אֲשֶׁר עָלֶיהָ קָרָעָה וַתָּשֶׂם יָדָהּAA עַל- רֹאשָׁהּ וַתֵּלֶךְ הָלוֹךְ וְזָעָקָהAB: |
20 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὴν Αβεσσαλωμ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτῆς Μὴ Αμνων ὁ ἀδελφός σου ἐγένετο μετὰ σοῦ; καὶ νῦν, ἀδελφή μου, κώφευσον, [ὅτι] ἀδελφός σού ἐστιν· μὴ θῇς τὴν καρδίαν σου [τοῦ λαλῆσαι] εἰς τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο. καὶ ἐκάθισεν Θημαρ X χηρεύουσα ἐν οἴκῳ Αβεσσαλωμ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτῆς. |
20
And Abessalom her brother said to her, Has thy brother Amnon been
with thee? now then, my sister, be
silent,
[for]
he is thy brother: be not |
20
And Absalom her brother said to her: Hath thy brother Ammon |
20
And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath Amnon thy brother been
with thee? but hold
now thy
peace,
my sister: he is
thy brother; |
20 Then her brother Absalom said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? Well, my sister, keep quiet now. He is your brother; don’t find a place for this matter in your heart. So Tamar settled down and was desolate at her brother Absalom’s house. |
20 וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלֶיהָ אַבְשָׁלוֹם אָחִיהָ הַאֲמִינוֹןAC אָחִיךְ הָיָה עִמָּךְ וְעַתָּה אֲחוֹתִי הַחֲרִישִׁי אָחִיךְ הוּא אַל- תָּשִׁיתִי אֶת- לִבֵּךְ לַדָּבָר הַזֶּה וַתֵּשֶׁב תָּמָר וְשֹׁמֵמָהAD בֵּית אַבְשָׁלוֹם אָחִיהָ: |
21 καὶ ἤκουσεν ὁ βασιλεὺς Δαυιδ πάντας τοὺς λόγους τούτους καὶ ἐθυμώθη σφόδρα· [καὶ οὐκ ἐλύπησεν τὸ πνεῦμα Αμνων τοῦ υἱοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἠγάπα αὐτόν, ὅτι πρωτότοκος αὐτοῦ ἦν.] |
21 And king David heard of all these things, and was very angry[; but he did not grieve the spirit of his son Amnon, because be loved him, for he was his first-born]. |
21 And when king David heard of these things he was exceedingly grieved[: and he would not afflict the spirit of his son Ammon, for he loved him, because he was his firstborn]. |
21 But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth. |
21 Presently, David the king heard all these things and got really hot about it, {but he did not cause hardship to the spirit of Amnon his son because he loved him since he was his firstborn.} |
21 וְהַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד שָׁמַע אֵת כָּל-הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַיִּחַר לוֹ מְאֹדAE: |
22
καὶ οὐκ ἐλάλησεν
Αβεσσαλωμ
μετὰ Αμνων |
22
And Abessalom spoke not to Amnon, X
good
or X
bad,
because Abessalom hated Amnon, on account |
22 But Absalom spoke not to Ammon neither X good nor X evil: for Absalom hated Ammon because X X he had ravished his sister Thamar. |
22 And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither X good nor X bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because X X he had forced his sister Tamar. |
22 Meanwhile Absalom did not speak with Amnon for ill or for good, because Absalom hated Amnon on account of the matter in which he had taken advantage of his sister Tamar. |
22 וְלֹא-דִבֶּר אַבְשָׁלוֹם עִם- אַמְנוֹן לְמֵרָע וְעַד- טוֹב כִּי-שָׂנֵא אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֶת-אַמְנוֹן עַל-דְּבַר אֲשֶׁר עִנָּה אֵת תָּמָר אֲחֹתוֹ: פ |
1The oldest-known manuscript of this passage spells “Jonadab” as “Jonathan,” so he may be the same son of Shimea who killed a giant in battle later on against the Philistines in ch.21 (v.21).
2Tsumura agreed, noting that the story implies a rapid preparation without time for a leavened bread to rise.
3There are many opinions on this suggestion. Gill summarizes well: “[T]his she said, either as ignorant of the law, which forbids such marriages, or as supposing the king had a power to dispense with it… [or] to put him off of his wicked design for the present, holding then she should be delivered from him [the position taken by Josephus, Willett, Jamieson, and Keil & Delitzsch]… [T]he Jews say [she] was born of a captive woman before she was proselyted and married to David, and so was free for Amnon (Maimon. Hilchot Melacim, c. 8. sect. 8. Kimchi in 2 Sam. xiii. 1); and others say (R. Moses Kotzensis, pr. affirm. 122) she was the daughter of Maacah by a former husband, and not by David. Christian commentators don’t seem to buy that, though. Note that even in marriage, physical intimacy should be something mutually agreed-upon, not selfishly forced against the will of the spouse.
4"If a man finds a young woman who is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out, then the man who lay with her shall give to the young woman's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife because he has humbled her; he shall not be permitted to divorce her all his days.” Deut. 22:28-29 NKJV
AMy
original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in
footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB,
or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not
in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use
of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different
from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far
from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout.
And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I
insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between
the various editions and versions when there are more than two
different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea
Scroll containing 2 Samuel 13 is 4Q51Samuela, which
contains fragments of vs. 1-6 & 13-39, and which has been dated
between 50-25 B.C. Where the DSS is legible and in agreement with
the MT, the MT is colored purple. Where
the DSS supports the LXX (or Vulgate) with omissions or text not in
the MT, I have highlighted with
yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I
have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with
{pointed brackets}.
BThe LXX and Vulgate add “to see” here. The Targums agree with the MT, and the Syriac omits the fact that she was “beautiful” altogether. The DSS is obliterated at this point, but since it contains plenty of room for an extra word (such as מראה), that weighs in favor of the LXX and Vulgate.
CNKJV = “improper”
DThe DSS [/tnwhy] and the Lucian Rescription of the LXX spell this name “Jonathan,” but all the other versions read “Jonadab.”
EThis is the first time in the Bible that the adjective “wise” is used in a negative way to mean “cunning.”
FLXX and Syriac are plural, but MT and Vulgate and Targums are singular. Only the Syriac is plural at the end of the next verse. It doesn’t really make a difference in meaning, though.
GThis part of the verse is obliterated in the DSS, but there is room for a couple more words than what is contained in the MT. The ancient versions, however, do not seem to suggest any extra words.
HSyriac and Vulgate omit “eyes,” but it is in the LXX, and, although it is in an obliterated section of the DSS, there are already not enough words in the MT to fill the text space in the DSS, so it seems unlikely that this word would also be omitted there.
IThis word for “select food” does not occur in the Hebrew Bible outside of its three uses in this chapter.
JThe DSS has space for about 7 more characters before “Tamar,” perhaps supporting the extra phrase “to me” in the LXX (although that would only account for two letters and one space in Hebrew).
KLXX translates “cake-bake… two cakes,” Targums read “mix up... two dumplings,” and Syriac reads “serve up... לבותא” Strong indicates that the root word means to “enclose” whereas BDB describes it as “encourage.” Gill calls them “heart-[shaped] cakes” and then “fritters.” K&D comment: “a heart-strengthening kind of pastry, a kind of pancake,” and Tsumura opts for “dumplings.” The three instances in this chapter are the only times the noun form of this word show up in the Hebrew Bible, and the only two times the verb form shows up outside of this chapter, it is translated entirely differently: Job 11:12 “For vain man would be wise…” and Song 4:9 “Thou hast ravished my heart...”
LThis word only occurs here and Exod. 12:34&39; Jer. 7:18; and Hos. 7:4.
MQere suggests reducing the long holem vowel to a qametz hatuf, essentially shortening a long “o” to a short “o” vowel וַתָּלָשׁ, which would bring it in line with the spelling of 1 Samuel 28:24 “Now, the woman had a calf from the feed-lot at her house, so she hurried and slaughtered it. Then she took some flour and kneaded it and baked unleavened bread.” (NAW) The root also occurrs in Genesis 18:6; Jeremiah 7:18; and Hosea 7:4.
NHapex Legomenon. Apparently meaning “dented/hollowed out.”
Ocf. Saul’s “refusal” to eat in 1 Sam. 28:23
PThis verb is plural, whereas “every man” is singular, so it would be irregular to interpret this “every man went out.” The LXX and Vulgate read “they sent every man out,” and the the Targums and Syriac seem to support this.
QDSS supports the MT, but some Hebrew manuscripts and ancient versions (Targums, Syriac, and, by extention, LXX) use the practically-synonymous preposition עם.
RThe
first half of this verse is significantly different in the
Vaticanus:
Rahlfs LXX: Kαὶ εἶπεν
αὐτῷ [Θημαρ] Μή,
ἄδελφε,
[ὅτι] μεγάλη ἡ
κακία X ἡ ἐσχάτη
[ὑπὲρ τὴν πρώτην]...
Vaticanus:
Και ειπεν
αυτω [Θημαρ]
X περι της
κακιας της
μεγαλης ταυτης
‘υπερ ετεραν…
Square
brackets indicate additional text not in the MT, and capital X
indicates text in the MT omitted in Greek.
SAll the oldest-known manuscripts (DSS, LXX, Vaticanus) insert Tamar’s name here. Without it, she is still assumed to be the speaker, however.
TMultiple Hebrew manuscripts (also Targums) read על. DSS is obliterated at this point. It probably doesn’t change the meaning.
UThe MT word here is a rare one for “occasion/turn/cause” found only here and Gen. 21:11&25, Gen. 26:32, Exod. 18:8, Num. 12:1; 13:24, Josh. 14:6, Jdg. 6:7, and Jer. 3:8. The DSS reads אחי (“my brother”) which matches the LXX (although not the Vaticanus, which follows the MT reading). The grammar is odd, but Tsumura explains it in terms of aposiopesis “the sentence stopped before the main clause begins.”
VLXX (including Vaticanus) adds “Amnon” as the subject and “voice” as the object. The DSS, although obliterated at this point has space for about 9 more characters than appear in the MT, which would be just enough space to add the Hebrew words for “Amnon” and for “voice.” This makes no difference to the meaning of the text, though. Although the DSS and Vaticanus are the oldest manuscripts, the more terse reading in the MT, is still pretty ancient because it is in the Vulgate, Syriac, and Targums.
WGoldman notes the “deep contempt” Amnon expresses by saying literally, “put this out from on top of me,” as though “dismissing one whose presence was obnoxious.” His action had the appearance of righteous indignation at some wrong thing she had done, as though she were the guilty party instead of him! (K&D)
XRare word, only found elsewhere in Judges 3:23-24 (where the action is clearly distinguished from “closing” the door); and Canticles 4:12 (although a word with the same spelling appears in Ezek. 16:10 and 2 Chr. 28:15 that means “put on sandals”). This command is in the singular, addressed to his servant-boy, whereas the first command “put out” is plural, perhaps because it would take more than one servant to eject her, or perhaps, as Tsumura suggested, to “spread the responsibility around” to salve his reluctant conscience in doing this wrong.
YThe only other place the kitona passim is mentioned is the “coat of many colors” which Jacob gave Joseph in Gen. 37. Kitona, by itself just means “a tunic,” and is also used to describe the priestly garments in Exodus and Leviticus. Passim literally means the “palm” of the hand or foot, so it could mean that it was long in the skirt as well as in the sleeves. My guess is that it served two purposes, first to preserve the modesty of the unmarried women because it covered so much of the body and secondly to symbolize that they were not of the working class, for long skirts and sleeves would get in the way of doing menial work. Older commentators maintained that it meant multicolored or embroidered.
ZLXX adds “and put them,” and, although the DSS is obliterated at this point, there is too much space in the DSS for the reading of the MT, so the DSS seems to support the extra word in the LXX.
AALXX, Old Latin, Syriac, and Vulgate make “hands” plural instead of the MT’s singular, and the extra space in this obliterated section of the DSS supports adding the extra letter to pluralize it. Jamieson suggested that raising her hands to her head was to cover her face and make up for the loss of her veil.
ABAthough the MT is a regular imperfect verb, the LXX, old Latin, Vulgate, Syriac, and Targums spell it as a participle.
ACKimchi suggested that Absalom purposefully mispronounced the name in Hebrew with an extra “i” in the middle to show contempt.
ADSyriac and Targums support the “and” before this participle, but it’s not in the old Latin, Vulgate, or LXX. The DSS is obliterated at this point.
AEDSS adds ולוא עצב את רוח אמנון בנו כי אהבו כי בכורו הוא (“And he would not cause hardship to the spirit of Amnon his son because he loved him since he was his firstborn.”)(Grey letters are in an obliterated section and reconstructed from the LXX and Vulgate to fit the available space in the DSS.)