2 Samuel 13:1

And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(1) It came to pass after this.—This formula applies to the narrative which follows as a whole: not, of course, to the fact immediately afterwards mentioned, that Absalom’s sister was Tamar. This may illustrate the use of the same phrase in other places.

Absalom and Tamar were children of Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur, and the former, at least, had been born during David’s reign at Hebron (2Samuel 3:3). It is probable that the events here narrated occurred soon after the war with the Ammonites and David’s marriage with Bath-sheba.

Amnon was David’s first-born son (3:2).

Benson Commentary

2 Samuel 13:1. Absalom, the son of David, had a fair sister — His sister by both father and mother. For they were both born of Maacah, the daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. Now began another part of Nathan’s prophecy, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, to be awfully fulfilled On David; and the sad scene of domestic troubles to be opened which were to befall his family. And it is probable he had not been long returned to Jerusalem, from the taking of Rabbah, before they began to take place and multiply upon him.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

13:1-20 From henceforward David was followed with one trouble after another. Adultery and murder were David's sins, the like sins among his children were the beginnings of his punishment: he was too indulgent to his children. Thus David might trace the sins of his children to his own misconduct, which must have made the anguish of the chastisement worse. Let no one ever expect good treatment from those who are capable of attempting their seduction; but it is better to suffer the greatest wrong than to commit the least sin.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The history here, down to the end of 2 Samuel 23 (excepting a few particulars), is omitted in the Book of Chronicles.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 13

2Sa 13:1-5. Amnon Loves Tamar.

1. Tamar—daughter of David by Maachah (2Sa 3:3).Ammon loveth his sister Tamar; ravisheth her; then hateth and driveth her away, 2 Samuel 13:1-19. Absalom entertaineth and revengeth her with Amnon’s death, 2 Samuel 13:20-29. David is grieved: Absalom fleeth to Geshur, 2 Samuel 13:30-39.

A fair sister; his sister by father and mother: see 2 Samuel 3:3.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And it came to pass after this,.... After the sin of David with Bathsheba, his repentance for it, and pardon of it, and the birth of Solomon as a token of reconciliation; yet after all this the divine threatenings must take place; they had begun already in the death of the child begotten in adultery, and others here follow:

that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; she was his sister both by father and mother's side; the mother o, f them was Maacah, the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur; she was a very comely person, her name signifies a palm tree:

and Amnon the son of David loved her; not in an honourable way, to make her his wife, but in a lustful manner, to make an harlot of her; he was David's eldest son by Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, 2 Samuel 3:2.

Geneva Study Bible

And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David had a fair sister, whose name was {a} Tamar; and Amnon the son of David loved her.

(a) Tamar was Absalom's sister both by father and mother, and Amnon's only by father.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

1. Tamar] Tamar and Absalom were the children of Maacah daughter of Talmai king of Geshur (ch. 2 Samuel 3:3). Tamar means palm-tree. The Arabs still frequently give their daughters the names of trees distinguished for their grace, beauty, or fruitfulness. See Van Lennep’s Bible Lands, II. 501.

Amnon] David’s first-born, the son of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 1. - After this. This phrase, as we have seen on 2 Samuel 10:1, has little chronological force, but the date of the sad event which formed the second stage in David's punishment can be settled with considerable certainty. Tamar was the daughter of Maacah, a princess of Geshur, and David's marriage with her, while still at Hebron, is mentioned as a proof of his growing power, and consequently some time must have elapsed after his appointment as king before this alliance took place. As Absalom was apparently older than Tamar, if she were now fifteen or sixteen years of age. David would have been king of all Israel at least thirteen or fourteen years, and would have reached the summit of his glory. His wars would be over, Rabbah captured, and his empire firmly established. For twenty more years he must sit upon his throne, but as a culprit, and bear the many sorrows resulting from his sin. Amnon was David's firstborn, the son of Ahinoam of Jezreel; and probably he would never have committed his shameless crime had not David's own sin loosed the bonds of parental authority. As it was, he hesitated, but was encouraged to it by his cousin, who was too subtle a man not to weigh David's character well before coming to the conclusion that Amnon might safely gratify his lusts. The name Tamar means "palm tree," and both she and Absalom were remarkable for their personal beauty. 2 Samuel 13:1

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Amnon's Incest. - 2 Samuel 13:1-14. The following occurrences are assigned in a general manner to the times succeeding the Ammonitish war, by the words "And it came to pass after this;" and as David did not marry Maacah the mother of Absalom and Tamar till after he had been made king at Hebron (see 2 Samuel 3:3), they cannot well have taken place before the twentieth year of his reign. Amnon, the eldest son of David by Ahinoam the Jezreelite (2 Samuel 3:2), loved Tamar, the beautiful sister of his step-brother Absalom, so passionately that he became ill in consequence, because he could not get near to her as she was a virgin. 2 Samuel 13:1 and 2 Samuel 13:2 form one period. ויּצר is a continuation of אהרי־כן ויהי; and the words from וּאבשׁלום to בּן־דּוד are a circumstantial clause. ויּצר: literally "it became narrow (anxious) to Amnon, even to making himself ill," i.e., he quite pined away, not "he pretended to be ill" (Luther), for it was not till afterwards that he did this according to Jonadab's advice (2 Samuel 13:5). התהלּות: to make one's self ill, here to become ill, in 2 Samuel 13:5 to pretend to be ill. The clause היא בתוּלה כּי is to be joined to the one which follows: "because she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to him to do anything to her." The maidenly modesty of Tamar evidently raised an insuperable barrier to the gratification of his lusts.