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2 Samuel 13:3
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Amnon and Tamar

1 After this aAbsalom the son of David had a lovely sister, whose name was bTamar; and cAmnon the son of David loved her.  
2 Amnon was so distressed over his sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was a virgin. And it was improper for Amnon to do anything to her.
3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab athe son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Now Jonadab was a very crafty man.  
4 And he said to him, “Why are you, the king’s son, becoming thinner day after day? Will you not tell me?” Amnon said to him, “I love Tamar, my brother Absalom’s sister.”
5 So Jonadab said to him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend to be ill. And when your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me food, and prepare the food in my sight, that I may see it and eat it from her hand.’ ”
6 Then Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill; and when the king came to see him, Amnon said to the king, “Please let Tamar my sister come and amake a couple of cakes for me in my sight, that I may eat from her hand.”  
7 And David sent home to Tamar, saying, “Now go to your brother Amnon’s house, and prepare food for him.”
8 So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was lying down. Then she took flour and kneaded it, made cakes in his sight, and baked the cakes.
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
<< 2 Samuel 13:2   2 Samuel 13:4 >>

What Does 2 Samuel 13:3 Mean?



2 Samuel 13:1-15

Here we have the story of the lust-driven affair of Amnon, one of David's sons, and Tamar, one of David's daughters, a half-sister of Amnon. Amnon was sick with love for Tamar, but the fruit of the relationship shows it was not love but lust. He greatly desired to take her to bed, so much so that he deceitfully conspired with his cousin Jonadab to arrange matters. He then compounded that sin by lying to his father to be alone with her and raping her when he finally was. The fruit of his shameful deed was further defiled when his feelings for her reversed to a hatred against her that was greater than his former "love." Two years later Amnon was dead at the hand of Absalom, Tamar's full brother.

What piling of sin on sin coveting produced! It destroyed Tamar's virginity and possibly a future marriage. It destroyed the cohesiveness of David's family. It produced burning hatred, and everyone felt great sorrow. All of this blossomed from an uncontrolled desire in the mind of one person. Its effects impacted on David's family for many generations.

John W. Ritenbaugh
The Tenth Commandment (1998)

Related Topics: Amnon and Tamar | Coveting | Covetousness | Incest | Lust | Lust and Hatred | Sexual Immorality | Sexual Sins | Sin Begins as a Thought | Sin Begins in the Heart | Sin Begins in the Mind | Tamar and Amnon | Tenth Commandment | The Tenth Commandment




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing 2 Samuel 13:3:

Ezekiel 23:5
Ezekiel 23:11-12
Ezekiel 23:16-17


 
<< 2 Samuel 13:2   2 Samuel 13:4 >>

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