2 Samuel 13:3
in 2 Samuel 13Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very shrewd man,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtle man.
KJV
But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 13
Commentary
5 notes on this verseBut Amnon had a friend,.... Though in the issue his friendship proved his ruin: whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother; so that they were own cousins, the same with Shammah, 1Sa 16:9, and Jonadab was a very subtle man; a very penetrating man into the dispositions of men, and could judge by their countenances what they were, and the affections of their minds, and had a talent in forming schemes; he was wise to do evil and was wickedly cunning.
This site's exposition
had a fair sister
on 2 Samuel 13:1-3
The chapter names the two brothers on either side of Tamar in one breath: Absalom, her full brother, and Amnon, David's firstborn by Ahinoam and her half brother only. Amnon's love curdles at once into vexation, a want that cannot be filled without breaking the law of Israel. Jonadab, David's own nephew through his brother Shimeah, enters as a very subtil man, the same word Scripture uses elsewhere for shrewdness bent toward evil.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Shimeah - Called Shamma (marginal reference), was Jesse’s third son. Subtil - literally, wise. The word is generally used in a good sense, but here, and in Job 5:13, it means crafty.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Jonadab, the son of Shimeah--or Shammah (1Sa 16:9). By the counsel and contrivance of this scheming cousin a plan was devised for obtaining an unrestricted interview with the object of his attachment.
Jonadab was a very subtle man - And most diabolic advice did he give to his cousin. We talk of the simplicity and excellence of primitive times! “Say not thou what is the cause that the former days were better than these.” Take them altogether, we may thank God that they are past, and pray him that they may never return.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּלְאַמְנ֣וֹן | uleamnon | and [belonged] to Amnon | H550 → | 28 times |
| רֵ֗עַ | rea' | a friend | H7453 → | 188 times |
| וּשְׁמוֹ֙ | ushemo | and name his | H8034 → | 864 times |
| יֽוֹנָדָ֔ב | yonadav | [was] Jonadab | H3122 → | 7 times |
| בֶּן־ | ben- | [the] son of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| שִׁמְעָ֖ה | shimah | Shimeah | H8093 → | 3 times |
| אֲחִ֣י | ʾachi | [the] brother of | H251 → | 630 times |
| דָוִ֑ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וְי֣וֹנָדָ֔ב | veyonadav | and Jonadab | H3122 → | 7 times |
| אִ֥ישׁ | ʾish | [was] a man | H376 → | 1663 times |
| חָכָ֖ם | chakham | shrewd | H2450 → | 138 times |
| מְאֹֽד׃ | meod | very | H3966 → | 300 times |
וּלְאַמְנ֣וֹןand [belonged] to Amnon
uleamnonH550 →28 times
רֵ֗עַa friend
rea'H7453 →188 times
וּשְׁמוֹ֙and name his
ushemoH8034 →864 times
יֽוֹנָדָ֔ב[was] Jonadab
yonadavH3122 →7 times
בֶּן־[the] son of
ben-H1121 →4930 times
שִׁמְעָ֖הShimeah
shimahH8093 →3 times
אֲחִ֣י[the] brother of
ʾachiH251 →630 times
דָוִ֑דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
וְי֣וֹנָדָ֔בand Jonadab
veyonadavH3122 →7 times
אִ֥ישׁ[was] a man
ʾishH376 →1663 times
חָכָ֖םshrewd
chakhamH2450 →138 times
מְאֹֽד׃very
meodH3966 →300 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
1 Corinthians 3:19For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
it leads to
- Job 5:13
He catches the wise in their craftiness, and sweeps away the plans of the cunning.
- Psalms 141:10
Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.
- 1 Corinthians 1:19–20
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
- Romans 1:21–22
For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.
- Isaiah 44:25
who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
- Job 5:13
Through
Proverbs 19:6Many seek the favor of the prince, and everyone is a friend of the gift giver.
it leads to
- Proverbs 29:26
Many seek the ruler’s favor, but a man receives justice from the LORD.
- Proverbs 18:16
A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men.
- Proverbs 17:8
A bribe is a charm to its giver; wherever he turns, he succeeds.
- Proverbs 29:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.