2 Samuel 13:5
in 2 Samuel 13Jonadab told him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare it in my sight so I may watch her and eat it from her hand.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and feign thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, Let my sister Tamar come, I pray thee, and give me bread to eat, and dress the food in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it from her hand.
KJV
And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 13
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Make thyself sick - “Feign thyself to be ill.” (Compare 2Sa 14:2.) That I may see it - He was to feign that he could not fancy anything that came from the kitchen, but that if he saw it cooked he should be able to eat it.
This site's exposition
lean from day to day
on 2 Samuel 13:4-6
Jonadab reads Amnon's sickness at a glance and supplies the whole plan: feign illness, ask for Tamar by name, get her alone in the inner chamber. A counselor's gift used for evil is worse than none, since it hands sin the cunning it lacked on its own. David comes in person to see his sick son, the first unwitting hinge of a plot he does not yet know exists.
This site's exposition
pretend you are ill
Albert Barnes links this feigning to 2 Samuel 14:2, where Joab has a woman feign mourning before the king. Pretense drives both plots. Barnes adds that Amnon was to claim he could eat only food he had watched being made.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Jonadab said unto him,....
Note, The case of those is very miserable whose friends, instead of admonishing and reproving them, flatter them and forward them in their sinful ways, and are their counsellors and contrivers to do wickedly.
The words behind it
27 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לוֹ֙ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| יְה֣וֹנָדָ֔ב | yehonadav | Jonadab | H3082 → | |
| שְׁכַ֥ב | shekhav | lie down | H7901 → | 212 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִשְׁכָּבְךָ֖ | mishkavekha | bed your | H4904 → | 46 times |
| וְהִתְחָ֑ל | vehitchal | and make yourself sick | H2470 → | 76 times |
| וּבָ֧א | uva' | and he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אָבִ֣יךָ | ʾavikha | father your | H1 → | 1212 times |
| לִרְאוֹתֶ֗ךָ | lirotekha | to see you | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֡יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| תָּ֣בֹא | tavo' | let her come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| נָא֩ | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| תָמָ֨ר | tamar | Tamar | H8559 → | 25 times |
| אֲחוֹתִ֜י | ʾachoti | sister my | H269 → | 114 times |
| וְתַבְרֵ֣נִי | vetavreni | and let her cause to eat me | H1262 → | 6 times |
| לֶ֗חֶם | lechem | food | H3899 → | 298 times |
| וְעָשְׂתָ֤ה | veasetah | and she will make | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לְעֵינַי֙ | leeinai | to eyes my | H5869 → | 887 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַבִּרְיָ֔ה | habiryah | the food | H1279 → | 3 times |
| לְמַ֙עַן֙ | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | that | H834 → | 5497 times |
| אֶרְאֶ֔ה | ʾereh | I may see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| וְאָכַלְתִּ֖י | veakhalti | and I will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| מִיָּדָֽהּ׃ | miyadah | from hand her | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לוֹ֙to <the> him
lo
יְה֣וֹנָדָ֔בJonadab
yehonadavH3082 →
שְׁכַ֥בlie down
shekhavH7901 →212 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִשְׁכָּבְךָ֖bed your
mishkavekhaH4904 →46 times
וְהִתְחָ֑לand make yourself sick
vehitchalH2470 →76 times
וּבָ֧אand he will come
uva'H935 →2568 times
אָבִ֣יךָfather your
ʾavikhaH1 →1212 times
לִרְאוֹתֶ֗ךָto see you
lirotekhaH7200 →1300 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֡יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
תָּ֣בֹאlet her come
tavo'H935 →2568 times
נָא֩please
na'H4994 →404 times
תָמָ֨רTamar
tamarH8559 →25 times
אֲחוֹתִ֜יsister my
ʾachotiH269 →114 times
וְתַבְרֵ֣נִיand let her cause to eat me
vetavreniH1262 →6 times
לֶ֗חֶםfood
lechemH3899 →298 times
וְעָשְׂתָ֤הand she will make
veasetahH6213 →2628 times
לְעֵינַי֙to eyes my
leeinaiH5869 →887 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַבִּרְיָ֔הthe food
habiryahH1279 →3 times
לְמַ֙עַן֙so that
lemaanH4616 →
אֲשֶׁ֣רthat
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
אֶרְאֶ֔הI may see
ʾerehH7200 →1300 times
וְאָכַלְתִּ֖יand I will eat
veakhaltiH398 →810 times
מִיָּדָֽהּ׃from hand her
miyadahH3027 →1618 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
Proverbs 19:27If you cease to hear instruction, my son, you will stray from the words of knowledge.
it leads to
- 1 Timothy 6:3–5
If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching,
- Mark 4:24
He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and even more will be added to you.
- Matthew 7:15
Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.
- Proverbs 14:7
Stay away from a foolish man; you will gain no knowledge from his speech.
- 1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- 1 Timothy 6:3–5
Through
2 Samuel 16:21Ahithophel 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…
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 20:3
When David returned to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines he had left to care for the palace, and he placed them in a house under guard. He provided for them,…
- 2 Samuel 20:3
Through
Acts 23:15Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him down to you on the pretext of examining his case more carefully. We are ready to kill him on the way.”
it leads to
- Psalms 37:32–33
Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,
- Isaiah 59:7
Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
- Psalms 37:32–33
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About 2 Samuel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.