Thematic Bible: Tamar


Thematic Bible



Sometime after this, David's son Amnon fell in love with David's other son Absalom's beautiful sister Tamar.


Judah's daughter-in-law Tamar also bore him Perez and Zerah, so Judah had five sons in all.

Judah found a wife for his oldest son Er. Her name was Tamar. But the LORD considered Er, Judah's oldest son, to be wicked so he put him to death. So Judah instructed Onan, "You are to have sexual relations with your dead brother's wife, performing the duty of a brother-in-law with her, and have offspring for your brother." read more.
But Onan knew that the offspring wouldn't be his own heir, so whenever he had sexual relations with his brother's wife, he would spill his semen on the ground to avoid fathering offspring for his brother. The LORD considered what Onan was doing to be evil, so he put him to death, too. After this, Judah told his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Go live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up." But he was really thinking, ""otherwise, Shelah might die like his brothers." So Tamar left and lived in her father's house. Some years later, Shua's daughter (that is, Judah's wife) died. As Judah was grieving, he visited the shearers of his flock in Timnah, accompanied by his Adullamite friend Hirah. "Look!" somebody reported to Tamar, "Your father-in-law is going to Timnah to shear his sheep." So she took off her mourning apparel, covered herself with a shawl, and concealed her outward appearance. Then she went out and sat at the entrance of Enaim, which is on the way to Timnah, because she knew that even though Shelah had grown up, she wasn't being given to him as his wife. When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, since she had concealed her face. So on the way, he turned aside, approached her, and said, "Come on! Let's have some sex!" But he didn't realize that he was talking to his own daughter-in-law. "What will you give me," she asked, "in order to have sex with me?" "I'll send you a young goat from the flock," he responded. But she pressed him, asking, "What security will you put up until you've sent it?" Then he asked, "What pledge do you want me to give you?" "Your signet ring, cord, and the staff in your hand," she suggested. So he gave them to her, had sex with her, and she became pregnant by him. Then she got up and left. Later, she took off her shawl and put on her mourning clothes. Later on, Judah sent his Adullamite friend to take her a young goat, intending to retrieve what he had put up as security from the woman, but he could not find her. He asked the men who lived in that area, "Where's that temple prostitute who was sitting alongside the road at Enaim?" But they replied, "There's been no temple prostitute here." So he returned to Judah and said, "I haven't found her. Also, the men who are from there said, "There's been no prostitute here.'" Then Judah said, "Let her have those things. Otherwise, we'll become contemptible. I sent this young goat, but you didn't find her." Three months later, it was reported to Judah, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution! And look! She's pregnant because of it!" "Bring her out," Judah responded. "Let's burn her to death!"

Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore for Judah, from the offspring that the LORD gives you from this young woman."


Sometime after this, David's son Amnon fell in love with David's other son Absalom's beautiful sister Tamar. Amnon became so emotionally distressed that he fell sick over his half-sister Tamar. She was a virgin, and Amnon found it difficult to do anything to her. Meanwhile, Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, who was the son of David's brother Shimeah. Now Jonadab was a very shrewd man. read more.
"Why are you so depressed these past few mornings," Jonadab asked Amnon, "since you're a son of the king? Why not tell me?" Amnon replied, "I'm in love with my brother Absalom's sister Tamar." Jonadab advised him, "Lie down and pretend to be sick. When your father visits you, ask him, "Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat that she prepares especially for me, and after she makes dinner for me, let her feed it to me personally.'" So Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. When the king came to visit him, Amnon asked the king, "Please let my sister Tamar come and make some of her bread especially for me, so she can feed it to me personally." So David sent for Tamar back at the palace, telling her, "Please go to your brother Amnon's home and prepare some food for him." Tamar went to her brother Amnon's home, where he was lying down. She brought along some dough, kneaded it, prepared some cakes especially for him, baked them, and emptied the baking skillet just for him, but he refused to eat. "Send everybody out of here," Amnon said. So everyone left the room. Amnon told Tamar, "Bring the food into my private bedroom, so I can eat it with you personally." So Tamar took the cakes she had prepared and brought them into the private bedroom for her brother Amnon. But as soon as she brought them near him to eat, he overpowered her and told her, "Come here and have sex with me, my sister!" "No, my brother!" she kept telling him. "Don't humiliate me like this! This just isn't done in Israel! Don't do this utterly foolish thing! And what about me? Where will I go to escape this disgrace? And as for you, you'll be known as one of Israel's greatest fools! So please talk to the king, because he won't withhold me from you!" But he was unwilling to listen to what she was saying. Since he was stronger than she was, he forced her into having sex with him. Afterwards, though, Amnon hated her very intensely. As a result, his hatred for her exceeded the love that he had previously for her. So Amnon told her, "Get up! Leave!" Even so, she tried to tell him, "No! After all, it's more wrong to send me away than what you just did to me!" But he was unwilling to listen to her. So he called out to a young man who was serving him, and told him: "Send this woman away from me and lock the door after her." Now she was clothed in a long sleeved, multi-colored ornamental tunic, commonly worn by the king's virgin daughters. When Amnon's servant threw her out and locked the door after her, Tamar rubbed her head with ashes, tore her tunic that she was wearing, put her hand to her head, and ran off, crying aloud as she went away. Later, her brother Absalom asked her, "Has Amnon, that brother of yours, raped you? Then keep quiet about your half-brother for now, my sister. Stop taking this so personally." From that time on, Tamar lived in continuous desolation within her brother Absalom's house. When King David heard all about these developments, he flew into a rage over it. But Absalom never said a word, either good or bad, to Amnon. Nevertheless, he hated Amnon because he had humiliated his sister Tamar. Two full years later, Absalom took some men to Baal-hazor near Ephraim to shear his sheep. He also invited all of the king's sons to come. Absalom had gone to the king to ask him, "I've brought some men to shear the sheep. Won't you please come and join me, along with your senior staff?" But King David declined, saying to Absalom, "No, my son, we won't all go, since that would be too much trouble for you." Although Absalom begged David, he would not go, even though he did give his blessing. So Absalom responded, "If you aren't coming, please allow my brother Amnon to accompany us." The king asked, "Why should he go with you?" But Absalom kept begging David until he sent Amnon and all of David's sons to accompany Absalom. Then Absalom instructed his young men, "Please keep watching Amnon until he's drunk. Then I'll tell you, "Attack Amnon!' As soon as I do, kill him and don't be afraid! You have your orders, so be strong and brave!" So Absalom's young men did to Amnon just as they had been ordered, but the rest of David's sons jumped up, mounted their mules, and escaped. While they were still on the road, this rumor came to David: "Absalom has struck down all of the king's sons and none of them has survived." David arose, ripped his clothes in anguish, and collapsed to the ground while all of his staff stood by with their own clothes torn. But David's brother Shimeah's son Jonadab reported, "Your majesty, don't assume they've killed all of the young men the king's sons only Amnon has died, since that was Absalom's intention from the day Amnon raped his sister Tamar.

All these were David's sons, besides children born to his mistresses. Tamar was their sister.


"You are to determine the southern extremity running from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then from there proceeding to the Wadi, and then to the Mediterranean Sea. This is to be the southern perimeter.

Adjacent to the border of Gad to the south and extending toward the south, the border is to proceed from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, then to the Wadi of Egypt, and from there to the Mediterranean Sea.


Absalom fathered three sons and one daughter, whom he named Tamar. She was a beautiful woman, both in form and appearance.


Judah fathered Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez fathered Hezron, Hezron fathered Aram,


International Standard Version Copyright © 1996-2008 by the ISV Foundation.