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2 Samuel 13:19

in 2 Samuel 13

And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her robe. And putting her hand on her head, she went away crying bitterly.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colors that was on her; and she laid her hand on her head, and went her way, crying aloud as she went.

KJV

And Tamar put ashes on her head, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.

This verse in 2 Samuel 13

Commentary

5 notes on this verse
And Tamar put ashes on her head,.... In token of sorrow and distress; see Jos 7:6, and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her; signifying that her virginity was rent from her in a forcible manner, or that she was ravished: and laid her hand on her head; through grief and shame; see Jer 2:37, and went on crying; from Amnon's house to her brother Absalom's, as one abused and injured.

This site's exposition

Tamar was wearing a robe of many colors

on 2 Samuel 13:18-19

Tamar was wearing “a robe of many colors, because this is what the king’s virgin daughters wore”. The phrase occurs in one other place in Scripture, the robe Jacob made for Joseph at Genesis 37:3. She tore the robe herself, “put ashes on her head”, and went away crying bitterly.

This site's exposition

put ashes on her head

Tamar put ashes on her head, tore the robe that marked a virgin daughter of the king, and went away crying bitterly. John Gill compares the hand on the head to Jeremiah 2:37 as a sign of shame. Her grief was public.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

(2.) She retired to her brother Absalom's house, because he was her own brother, and there she lived in solitude and sorrow, in token of her modesty and detestation of uncleanness.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Laid her hand on her head - To hold on the ashes (see the marginal references). Went on crying - i. e. “went away, crying out as she went.”

The words behind it

17 Hebrew words

Every Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

  • וַתִּקַּ֨חand she took

    vatikachH3947 →966 times

  • תָּמָ֥רTamar

    tamarH8559 →25 times

  • אֵ֙פֶר֙ash[es]

    ʾeferH665 →

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • רֹאשָׁ֔הּhead her

    roshahH7218 →599 times

  • וּכְתֹ֧נֶתand [the] long garment of

    ukhetonetH3801 →29 times

  • הַפַּסִּ֛יםthe palms and soles

    hapasimH6446 →

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • עָלֶ֖יהָ[was] on her

    ʾaleihaH5921 →5755 times

  • קָרָ֑עָהshe tore

    karaahH7167 →63 times

  • וַתָּ֤שֶׂםand she put

    vatasemH7760 →584 times

  • יָדָהּ֙hand her

    yadahH3027 →1618 times

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • רֹאשָׁ֔הּhead her

    roshahH7218 →599 times

  • וַתֵּ֥לֶךְand she went

    vatelekhH1980 →1546 times

  • הָל֖וֹךְcontinuously <to go>

    halokhH1980 →1546 times

  • וְזָעָֽקָה׃and she cried out

    vezaakahH2199 →73 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Joshua 7:6

    Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.

    it leads to

    • Genesis 37:29

      When Reuben returned to the pit and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his clothes,

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Genesis 37:34

      Then Jacob tore his clothes, put sackcloth around his waist, and mourned for his son many days.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 1:11

    Then David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 13:31

      Then the king stood up, tore his clothes, and lay down on the ground; and all his servants stood by with their clothes torn.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 2 Samuel 3:31

      Then David ordered Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn before Abner.” And King David himself walked behind the funeral bier.

  • Through

    Esther 4:1

    When Mordecai learned of all that had happened, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the middle of the city, wailing loudly and bitterly.

    it leads to

    • Daniel 9:3

      So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.

    • 2 Samuel 1:11

      Then David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and all the men who were with him did the same.

    • Ezekiel 27:30–31

      They will raise their voices for you and cry out bitterly. They will throw dust on their heads and roll in ashes.

  • Through

    2 Samuel 1:2

    On the third day a man with torn clothes and dust on his head arrived from Saul’s camp. When he came to David, he fell to the ground to pay him homage.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 4:12

      That same day a Benjamite ran from the battle line all the way to Shiloh, with his clothes torn and dirt on his head.

Where this verse is studied

About 2 Samuel

David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Mourns the Death of Absalom, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.