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Amnon's Crime
v. 1. And it came to pass after this that Absalom, the son of David, 2Sa_3:3, had a fair sister, a full sister to him, who was a very beautiful young woman, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon, the son of David, her half-brother by another of David's wives, loved her.
v. 2. And Amnon was so vexed, his passion preyed on him to such an extent, that he fell sick for his sister Tamar, for she was a virgin; and Amnon thought it hard for him to do anything to her, literally, "it was difficult to accomplish in the eyes of Amnon," he found it impossible to gratify his passion because of Tamar's maidenly reserve and her inaccessibility in the harem.
v. 3. But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother, his own cousin; and Jonadab was a very subtle man, known for his craftiness.
v. 4. And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king's son, in whose case there was no apparent reason for such a condition, lean from day to day? He looked more wretched from one morning to the next, since his nights were made sleepless by his torturing passion, Wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.
v. 5. And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed and make thyself sick, feigning illness; and when thy father cometh to see thee, to visit the son who had been reported sick, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come and give me meat, prepare food, and dress them eat in my sight, make ready some special dish for the sick, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand. He intimated that the sight of the food in such circumstances would give him an appetite. Evidently every wife of the king with her children occupied her own apartments in the royal palace, but the intercourse between the children was fairly free.
v. 6. So Amnon, following the advice of his shrewd cousin with all that it implied, 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, whose skill in cooking was evidently well known, come and make me a couple of cakes in my sight, two heart-cakes, made of rolled dough, something on the order of pancakes, considered very strengthening for the heart, that I may eat at her hand.
v. 7. Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy brother Amnon's house, who apparently occupied apartments of his own, and dress him meat, prepare him some strengthening food.
v. 8. So Tamar went to her brother Amnon's house; and he was laid down. And she took flour, a mixture or paste of dough, and kneaded it, and made cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes, used the batter to bake the special cakes for which he had asked.
v. 9. And she took a pan, or the cakes prepared by her, and poured them out before him, served them for him to eat; but he refused to eat. And Amnon said, have out all men from me, he ordered all his attendants to leave the room. And they went out, every man, from him.
v. 10. And Amnon said unto Tamar, Bring the meat in to the chamber, the inner room where his couch was, that I may eat of thine hand. He acted like a capricious patient. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and brought them in to the chamber to Amnon, her brother.
v. 11. And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, throwing aside all his feigned weakness, and said unto her, Come, lie with me, my sister.
v. 12. And she, in the attempt to save her honor, answered him, Nay, my brother, do not force me, humbling her by this crime; for no such thing ought to be done in Israel, it was strictly in opposition to the Law, Lev_18:9; Lev_20:17; Deu_27:22; do not thou this folly. Cf Gen_34:7, the passage which Tamar probably had in mind.
v. 13. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? Disgrace and contempt would be sure to strike her wherever she would go. And as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel, a person who foolishly and to his own condemnation committed a heinous transgression. Now, therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee. She did not hold out an actual hope that the king would sanction the forbidden marriage, but spoke in the height of her fear, wishing to escape his passion for the present, trying to put him off by the prospect that he might be able to gratify his passion with a show of right, if he would but wait.
v. 14. Howbeit, he would not hearken unto her voice; but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her, gratified his passionate lust. Such is the power of sin if it is not kept in check by the fear of God or by love toward the Lord.