2 Samuel 13:14
in 2 Samuel 13But Amnon refused to listen to her, and being stronger, he violated her and lay with her.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice; but being stronger than she, he forced her, and lay with her.
KJV
Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 13
Commentary
6 notes on this verseHowbeit, he would not hearken unto her voice,.... His lust was so inflamed and enraged, that he could not attend to any arguments, though ever so forcible, that were offered to him: but being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her; whether she cried out or not, as the law directs in such cases, Deu 22:25; is not said; she might, and nobody hear her and come to her assistance; or she might not choose to expose her brother to his servants.
This site's exposition
no such thing ought to be done in Israel
on 2 Samuel 13:12-14
Tamar's plea moves past emotion into law: she calls what he intends folly, warns it will leave him as one of the fools in Israel, then offers marriage to the king as her last hope of escape. Albert Barnes reads that offer as a bid to get free of the room rather than proof such marriages were lawful, since the law already forbade them. Amnon will not hear her. He simply overpowers her, and the narrator states the fact without ornament: forced her, and lay with her.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
As if to show that near relationship is no safeguard, Amnon burned with illicit passion for his sister Tamar.
The Medieval Church1 voice
No man shall rely upon chastity in the past, for none whose hearts are tainted by women can become holier than David or wiser than Solomon. That none may assume that his chastity is safe in the presence of a woman related to him, let …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
It is to be feared that Amnon, though young, had long lived a lewd life, which his father either knew not or punished not; for a man could not, of a sudden, arrive at such a pitch of wickedness as this. But is this his love to Tamar? Is this the recompence he gives her for her readiness to attend him in his sickness?
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In bidding him, however, "speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from thee," it is probable that she urged this as her last resource, saying anything she thought would please him, in order to escape for the present out of his hands.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Because he will not keep me from you. I am permitted to you because my mother became pregnant with me when she was still a gentile, pretty woman. The laws concerning the taking of gentile woman during war is discused in Devorim begginning in:10.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
Amnon hated her. Our Rabbis say she tied a hair for him [in his genital area] and caused him to have a severed organ. 6 One who is so injured is prohibited from marrying a Jewish woman as related in Devorim:2. This interpretation of our verse is in Sanhedrin 21a.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery 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.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָבָ֖ה | ʾavah | he was willing | H14 → | 54 times |
| לִשְׁמֹ֣עַ | lishmoa' | to listen | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| בְּקוֹלָ֑הּ | bekolah | to voice her | H6963 → | 506 times |
| וַיֶּחֱזַ֤ק | vaiyechezak | and he was strong | H2388 → | 291 times |
| מִמֶּ֙נָּה֙ | mimenah | more than her | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| וַיְעַנֶּ֔הָ | vayaneha | and he humbled her | H6031 → | 82 times |
| וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב | vaiyishkav | and he lay with | H7901 → | 212 times |
| אֹתָֽהּ׃ | ʾotah | with <the> her | H854 → | 929 times |
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
אָבָ֖הhe was willing
ʾavahH14 →54 times
לִשְׁמֹ֣עַto listen
lishmoa'H8085 →1159 times
בְּקוֹלָ֑הּto voice her
bekolahH6963 →506 times
וַיֶּחֱזַ֤קand he was strong
vaiyechezakH2388 →291 times
מִמֶּ֙נָּה֙more than her
mimenahH4480 →1188 times
וַיְעַנֶּ֔הָand he humbled her
vayanehaH6031 →82 times
וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖בand he lay with
vaiyishkavH7901 →212 times
אֹתָֽהּ׃with <the> her
ʾotahH854 →929 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach 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
2 Samuel 12:11This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 16:21–22
Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who…
- Deuteronomy 28:30
You will be pledged in marriage to a woman, but another man will violate her. You will build a house but will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard but will not…
- 2 Samuel 15:6
Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for justice. In this way he stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
- 2 Samuel 13:28–29
Now Absalom had ordered his young men, “Watch Amnon until his heart is merry with wine, and when I order you to strike Amnon down, you are to kill him. Do not be afraid.…
- 2 Samuel 15:10
Then Absalom sent spies throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom reigns in Hebron!’”
- 2 Samuel 16:21–22
Through
Esther 7:8Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I…
it leads to
- Esther 1:6
Hangings of white and blue linen were fastened with cords of fine white and purple material to silver rings on the marble pillars. Gold and silver couches were arranged on a mosaic pavement of…
- Esther 6:12
Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.
- Esther 1:6
Through
Judges 20:5And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died.
it leads to
- Judges 19:22
While they were enjoying themselves, suddenly the wicked men of the city surrounded the house. Pounding on the door, they said to the old man who owned the house, “Bring out the man who…
- Judges 19:22
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Fructuosus of Braga, GENERAL RULE FOR MONASTERIES 17; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, LETTER 22.12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.