2 Samuel 13:1-22

Jim Butler2 Samuel 13:1–22

The rape of Tamar by her half-brother Amnon (2 Samuel 13:1–22) is examined as the beginning of God's covenantal judgment on David's house, fulfilling the word of Nathan the prophet in 2 Samuel 12. Before entering the narrative, the study clears apparent contradictions in the Mosaic legislation on rape and incest (Deuteronomy 22; Leviticus 18; 20), demonstrating that the Pentateuch treats rape as equivalent in gravity to murder and that the disputed passage in Deuteronomy 28–29 describes consensual seduction, not rape. The passage is then worked through under four headings — Amnon's lust, Jonadab's counsel, the act itself, and its aftermath — with sustained attention to what each character reveals about the nature of sin, the failure of justice, and the sovereignty of God even in sordid judgment.