TAMAR

EPISODE 1: BEFORE THE CRIME – this episode one presents the characters and their circumstances.
Read 2 Samuel 13:1-3

o At the beginning come three children of David.

• First named is Absalom, David’s third son, whose presence hovers over the
entire tale
• Last named in verse 1 is Amnon, David’s firstborn and the heir to the throne,
whose desire initiates the action
• Between these two males stands Tamara, the female who relates to each of
them and also has her own identity. Her two identities are: 1) Sister to Absalom
2) Object of desire to Amnon
o In verse 1 we see Tamar written as the object of lust of Amnon. In verse 2, Tamar receives the
designation “his sister”.
o Verse 2: Tamar is, in accordance to the culture of their time, a virgin and was considered
protected property, inaccessible to males, including her brother.
o Verse 3: Though Amnon finds it “impossible to do to her anything”, a perspective and a plan
come from someone else. Jonadab is that person. Jonadab is a cousin in the royal family. Like
the king’s sons, he relates explicitly to David and thus acquires a status never granted Tamar the
daughter. His entrance gives Amnon the friend he needs to surmount the “impossible”
o Verse 4 – by focusing the royalty of Amnon, the Heir to the throne, Jonadab craftily breeds
confidence to Amnon. Surely the next king, the heir to the throne, need not be weak, thin,
haggard, or impoverished.
▪ Amnon’s answer to Jonadab is interesting. He said, “I love Tamar, my brother
ABSALOM’s SISTER”. This implies that according to Amnon, Absalom – not virginity –
stands between the object and his desire. If this other male can be removed, the female
becomes inaccessible.
o Verse 5 – “Lie upon your bed and act ill”. This verse exploits Amnon’s condition. Though he has
made himself genuinely ill on account of Tamar, Jonadab recommends that he feign illness to
provoke a visit from his father David. Surely King David will be concerned enough if the heir to
the throne becomes sick. He will surely go to check up on him. Through Jonadab’s crafty plan,
Amnon should use the coming of his father to request the coming of his sister, not Absalom’s
sister.
o Verses 6 – 9: From Jonadab to Amnon to David to Tamar the story develops, with increasing
speed and varying nuances, from advice to request to command to obedience.
o Verse 8: This verse let’s us delve into the eyes of sin. Amnon here “was lying down” and now we
see the event unfold through the eyes of Amnon: She took the dough and she kneaded it and
she made bread before his eyes; and she baked the bread and she took the pan and she served
before him.
EPISODE 2: THE CRIME

o Verse 9: Though all witnesses apparently leave, the narrator remains to see evil unfold and
record its aftermath for the reader. Amnon’s power to banish all has its limits.
o Verse 10: Alone with Tamar, the prince addresses her for the first time but fails to use her name.
What his eyes have possessed, his hand seeks to hold.
o Verse 11: At this point in the story, we see Tamar has not spoken a single word. Three main
verbs describe her actions: take, bring, and give
o Verse 12: By using his authority as the heir to the throne, Amnon has used all his power to give a
series of orders in which everyone else obeyed. All of this to manipulate the occasion to feed his
lust. This time, however, the royal command meets objection. In the presence of a rapist, Tamar
panics not. In fact, she claims her voice. Unlike Amnon’s brisk commands, her deliberations slow
the movement of the plot, though they are unable to diver it in the end. If Amnon used his
words to try to seduce her, she returns it to summon him to sense: “No, my brother.”
o Verse 13: Unrestrained, Amnon’s desire means disaster for them both. Hence, Tamar seeks an
alternative. The solution lies with David, the highest human authority in the realm. Referring to
him as monarch, Tamar sets the distance between father and daughter.
o Verse 14: The words of Tamar fall on deaf ears. A lot of feminists are angry at this verse because
it speaks of the powerlessness of a female compared to males. The Bible, not only this verse, is
full of stories where males abuse their “perceived power” over females and that’s why many
feminist groups refer to the Bible as paternalistic.
o Verse 16: She has become for him solely a disposable object.
o Verse 17: At the start, Amnon wanted the servants out and Tamar in; at the close, he wants the
servants in and Tamar out.
o Verse 18: Sadly, what the robe proclaims Tamar is no longer. The word virgin applies no more.
Tamar is a victim of shame that her clothes cannot hide.

EPISODE 3: AFTER THE CRIME

o Verse 19: Tears have now replaced her voice of wisdom.

o Verse 20: Now emerges the other male. Absalom is to her what Jonadab was to Amnon. In
urging Amnon to “act ill”, Jonadab counseled pretense for a specific time and purpose. Now
Absalom proceeds to give a word of advice to his now defiled sister Tamar: “Be quiet, do not
take to heart.” One can feel the anger in this statement. It reeks of a plan for revenge. Absalom
explicitly introduces this speech with “Now”, or “for the time being”; “For the present, my sister,
lie quiet.”
▪ The “desolate” connotes being destroyed by an enemy (Lamentations 1:16) or being
torn to pieces by an animal (Lamentations 3:11).
▪ Unlike the earlier conversation between Jonadab and Amnon, the meeting between
Tamar and Absalom fails to culminate in an appeal to David.
o Verse 21: Is David angry at Amnon for what he has done, or is David angry for what has
happened to the heir to his throne? He was supposed to be the next king of Israel. Did you
notice that the story never refers to David and Tamar as father and daughter? The father
identifies with the son; the adulterer supports the rapist.
A lot of tough stories are written in the Bible, and these allow to come into light the violence and abuse
so many women experience today. Conversations like these must not be dusted off. In her recent study
on rape texts in the Hebrew Bible, Susanne Scholz contends that one of the benefits of having these
stories in the Bible is that we can use them to speak up – and speak out – about rape. As these difficult
stories are read and reflected upon, members of our communities are not only made aware of this issue
of sexual abuse and domestic violence, victims are also encouraged to tell their own stories of abuse.

The Bible includes stories of violence against women to remember them and the wrongs committed
against them. We remember the stories of violence, injustice, and oppression in order to learn from
them and keep them from happening again. It is the goal of reading this to remember the injustices in
our society today, and in remembering we say, “Never again.”