2 Samuel 14:27
in 2 Samuel 14Three sons were born to Absalom, and a daughter named Tamar, who was a beautiful woman.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
KJV
And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
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This verse in 2 Samuel 14
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Three sons - These probably died in infancy (see the marginal reference). From Tamar must have been born Maachah, the mother of Abijah, and the favorite wife of Rehoboam 1Ki 15:2; 2Ch 11:20-22.
This site's exposition
there was no blemish in him
on 2 Samuel 14:25-27
The narrator pauses on Absalom's beauty and his hair, cut once a year and weighed at two hundred shekels, a detail the story will not let go: this same hair catches him in the oak at his death in chapter eighteen. Henry sets the unblemished body against a mind he calls full of wounds and bruises, the handsome exterior no window into the man. Verse 27 counts three sons and a daughter named Tamar for his ruined sister, and the later record at chapter eighteen has Absalom raise a pillar for want of a son to keep his name, a tension the commentators take up where that chapter's own notes fall.
This site's exposition
a daughter named Tamar
Absalom had three sons and a daughter named Tamar, a beautiful woman who carried the name of his sister. At 18:18 Absalom says he has no son to preserve his name, so the sons likely died young. Tamar is the one child named.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
He cannot do his father a mischief till he is reconciled to him; this therefore is the first branch of his plot; this snake cannot sting again till he be warmed in his father's bosom. He gained this point, not by pretended submissions and promises of reformation, but (would you think it?) by insults and injuries.
5 And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead. 6 And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
And unto Absalom there were born three sons,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Unto Absalom there were born - These children did not survive him; see 2Sa 18:18. Tamar - The Septuagint adds, And she became the wife of Roboam, the son of Solomon, and bare to him Abia; see Mat 1:7. Josephus says the same. This addition is not found in the other versions. 14:27“Absalom had a daughter, whose name was Tamar.”
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּֽוָּלְד֤וּ | vaiyivaldu | and they were born | H3205 → | 496 times |
| לְאַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ | leavshalom | to Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| שְׁלוֹשָׁ֣ה | sheloshah | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| בָנִ֔ים | vanim | sons | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וּבַ֥ת | uvat | and a daughter | H1323 → | 588 times |
| אַחַ֖ת | ʾachat | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| וּשְׁמָ֣הּ | ushemah | and name her | H8034 → | 864 times |
| תָּמָ֑ר | tamar | [was] Tamar | H8559 → | 25 times |
| הִ֣יא | hi' | she | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| הָיְתָ֔ה | hayetah | she was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אִשָּׁ֖ה | ʾishah | a woman | H802 → | 781 times |
| יְפַ֥ת | yefat | beautiful of | H3303 → | 42 times |
| מַרְאֶֽה׃ פ | mareh | appearance | H4758 → | 103 times |
וַיִּֽוָּלְד֤וּand they were born
vaiyivalduH3205 →496 times
לְאַבְשָׁלוֹם֙to Absalom
leavshalomH53 →110 times
שְׁלוֹשָׁ֣הthree
sheloshahH7969 →432 times
בָנִ֔יםsons
vanimH1121 →4930 times
וּבַ֥תand a daughter
uvatH1323 →588 times
אַחַ֖תone
ʾachatH259 →971 times
וּשְׁמָ֣הּand name her
ushemahH8034 →864 times
תָּמָ֑ר[was] Tamar
tamarH8559 →25 times
הִ֣יאshe
hi'H1931 →1879 times
הָיְתָ֔הshe was
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
אִשָּׁ֖הa woman
ʾishahH802 →781 times
יְפַ֥תbeautiful of
yefatH3303 →42 times
מַרְאֶֽה׃ פappearance
marehH4758 →103 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
Jeremiah 22:30This is what the LORD says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 36:30
Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on David’s throne, and his body will be thrown out and exposed to heat by…
- Psalms 94:20
Can a corrupt throne be Your ally— one devising mischief by decree?
- Jeremiah 36:30
Through
2 Samuel 13:1After some time, David’s son Amnon fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of David’s son Absalom.
it leads to
- 1 Chronicles 3:9
These were all the sons of David, besides the sons by his concubines. And Tamar was their sister.
- 2 Samuel 3:2–3
And sons were born to David in Hebron: His firstborn was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel;
- 1 Chronicles 3:2
the third was Absalom the son of Maacah daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; the fourth was Adonijah the son of Haggith;
- 1 Chronicles 3:9
Through
Isaiah 14:22“I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will cut off from Babylon her name and her remnant, her offspring and her posterity,” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Proverbs 10:7
The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.
- Jeremiah 50:29–35
Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has…
- 1 Kings 14:10
Because of all this, behold, I am bringing disaster on the house of Jeroboam: I will cut off from Jeroboam every male, both slave and free, in Israel; I will burn up the house…
- Proverbs 10:7
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); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.