Advised by his shrewd and manipulative friend, Jonadab, Amnon pretended to be ill, asking for his sister to come and care for him. We can speculate on what might have happened if David had punished Amnon for raping Tamar. Tamar and Judah later bore twin boys named Perez and Zerah. Both deal with the spiritual blindness of father figures and the spiritual corruption and moral failure of young men. Ask God to give you discernment to know what is true love and lust so you want fall victim to the latter. Joel Ryan is an LA-based children’s and young adult author who teaches writing and communications at Life Pacific University. 133, 183), a young woman typically married into her husband’s extended family household. The rest of David's sons quickly escaped on their mules. Thus, is the story of one Tamar in my family. The search for Biblical Tamar (Ezek 48) Tamar, Tamdar Syria, Hazazon-tamar and Tamara/Thamara and the southern border of Israel "The south side toward the south shall extend from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the brook of Egypt and to the … Difficulty: Average. Perhaps David was not as outraged as he should have been at Amnon's lust. Would it have prevented Amnon's murder? When she came near the bed, he seized her and raped her. Tamar Plays The Harlot. Eventually, Absalom returned to Jerusalem and over time reconciled with his father. Absalom then fled to Geshur and was gone for three years (2 Samuel 13:34-38). Because he hadn’t kept his word, Tamar dressed up like a prostitute in order to trick Judah into getting her pregnant. So instead of conceiving a child with Tamar, Onan “wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother.” It was a vile act that displeased the Lord, and so, “He (the Lord) took his life also” (Genesis 38:10). In Genesis chapter 38, Tamar is first described as marrying Er, the eldest son of Judah; according to the text, God killed Er because he was wicked (although it doesn't give any further details), and so Judah asked his second son, Onan, to have sex with Tamar, so that the offspring could be declared Er's heir. Genesis 38 intersects the Joseph narrative with an absolutely bizarre story regarding one of Joseph’s brothers, Judah, and his relationship with his daughter-in-law Tamar. Jonadab, Amnon’s conspiring cousin, suggested that Amnon pretend to be ill in order to call for his half-sister to attend him. Tamar was the daughter-in-law of Judah and the mother of his two children Perez and Zerah. The Bible is silent about Tamar's genealogy. When their oldest son Er came of age, Judah and Shua found him a wife named Tamar. For even the most flawed and sinful of men can be used and blessed by God, not because of their merit, but because of His grace and the power of repentance. Is it Important to Remember John the Baptist at Christmas? The first Tamar we read about in Scripture was the widow of Er and Onan, sons of Judah, Jacob’s fourth-born son. One Tamar, the beautiful daughter of Absalom, is only mentioned in passing in 2 Samuel 14:27; this Tamar became the mother of Queen Maacah, who married King Rehoboam. He sinned in doing so. At any rate, the story shows sin has unforeseen and long-ranging consequences. As he hung there helpless, an enemy soldier thrust three javelins into his heart. “For Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar” (2 Samuel 38:22). Tamar, whose story is embedded in the ancestor narratives of Genesis, is the ancestress of much of the tribe of Judah and, in particular, of the house of David.She is the daughter-in-law of Judah, who acquires her for his firstborn son, Er. TAMAR ’ S ROLE IN SCRIPTURE. This is testament to God’s prevailing mercy. What Is the Significance of the Star of Bethlehem? Question: "Why did Amnon rape Tamar? Tamar was the name of two unique women whose unusual stories can be found in the Old Testament. “Amnon hated her with a very great hatred; for the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her... now throw this woman out of my presence and lock the door behind her” (2 Samuel 13:15,17). In the first episode, Judah did not live up to the law of levirate marriage, which required a man's unmarried brother to marry his widow, with their firstborn son the legal heir of the dead brother, to carry on his line. But in both unusual accounts, the grace of God is on display for those willing to confess and repent from their sin. During a battle, Absalom's long hair got caught in the branches of a tree, pulling him off his horse. He invited King David and all his sons to attend. Tamar’s name means date palm or palm tree. When Judah slept with a woman he assumed was a prostitute, he sinned as well, compounded by the fact that she was his daughter-in-law. Many people say “I love you” to have their lusts satisfied and forcefully take what they want. Tamar is accused of promiscuity. Who Was Who in the Bible?Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999. How much do you know about her? Understandably, when Absalom found out that Amnon had raped his sister, he was furious. 2 Samuel 13:10 Meaning 11 And when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister. In this case, the responsibility fell to Onan, Er’s younger brother. Amnon was the half-brother of Tamar, as they shared the same father, David.Tamar is described as a virgin and “beautiful,” and Amnon was highly attracted to her (2 Samuel 13:1–2). June 1, 2017 Leave a comment. many earlier translators failed to describe Tamar as other than "prostitute." In mourning, she tore her robe and put ashes on her head. He took her into his home. He had failed to honor his duty to provide Shelah as Tamar's husband. Average score for this quiz is 7 / 10. However, Scripture says Er was "wicked in the sight of the Lord," so God put him to death. Even so, God used the sinfulness of man. Tamar later had two sons with Judah and became one of the women listed in the genealogy of Jesus. The second was the sister of Absalom and daughter of King David who was raped by her half-brother Amnon. Which Tamar? Exodus 6:23 | View whole chapter | See verse in context And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and I thamar. God forgives sin, but its after-effects can be terrible. Answer: The sordid story of Amnon and Tamar is part of the disintegration of David’s family after his sin with Bathsheba. Tamar saw the cord, seal and staff in quite a different way: they symbolised the son she intended to have, the son who might succeed Judah. She named the firstborn Perez and the second Zerah. Now although Onan took Tamar as his wife, he refused to bear a child that he would not be able to call his own. She was married to a man named Er, who was the son of Judah, one of the 12 sons of Jacob. Have you ever wanted something so much that you went after it, regardless of the consequences? And Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.” – Genesis 38:11. This famous incident has been recorded by a number of painters; see Bible Art: Tamar for their work. Genesis 38:20-26 When Tamar learned that Judah was traveling to Timnah to have his sheep sheared, she intercepted him on the way. Would that have satisfied Absalom's anger? His arrogance grew until he led a rebellion against King David. In this story, Amnon, Tamar’s half-brother, was consumed by lust for his sister. With the second Tamar, the situation got worse and worse, ending in more grief for King David. Later, their descendants would leave Ireland and migrate through England up into the land of the Picts of Northern Scotland. He led a tribe of Israelites named after him. Two stories of rape and one of fornication. Perez carried the Messiah's bloodline and his mother, Tamar, was one of only five women mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Genesis 38:1-5. Three months later, when Judah learned that Tamar was pregnant, he insisted Tamar be punished. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. In the story, Judah, the fourth-born son of Jacob (Israel), had left his father and brothers and married a Canaanite woman named Shua. The second Tamar of the Old Testament was the beautiful daughter of David and sister of Absalom. Played 390 times. There are two other women named Tamar in the Bible. 1 At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. It grows from within instead of without. Would it have prevented the rebellion and Absalom's death? In 2 Samuel 13, she is raped by her half-brother Amnon. As Carol Meyers explains ( Discovering Eve: Ancient Israelite Women in Context , 1988, pp. In doing so, David failed his daughter and further failed to temper Absalom’s rage. Scripture says that David mourned for his sons (2 Samuel 13:37), but in failing to confront Amnon for his sin, he had opened the door for Absalom to avenger Tamar and sin also. Six months later, Tamar gave birth to twins, who were called Perez and Zerah. Genesis 38 tells the story of Tamar, her two husbands, Er and Onan, and her father-in-law Judah. As a former youth pastor, he has a heart for children and young adults and is passionate about engaging youth through film, literature, and theater. 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