Thematic Bible: Tamar


Thematic Bible



It happened afterwards that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name [was] Tamar, and Amnon the son of David fell in love with her.


And Tamar his daughter-in-law bore Perez and Zerah to him. The sons of Judah [were] five in all.

And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name [was] Tamar. And Er, the firstborn of Judah, was evil in the eyes of Yahweh, and Yahweh killed him. Then Judah said to Onan, "Go in to the wife of your brother and perform the duty of a brother-in-law to her, and raise up offspring for your brother." read more.
But Onan knew that the offspring would not be for him, so whenever he went in to the wife of his brother he would waste [it] on the ground so as not to give offspring to his brother. And what he did was evil in the sight of Yahweh, so he killed him also. Then Judah said to Tamar, his daughter-in-law, "Stay a widow in your father's house until Shelah my son grows up," for {he feared he would also die} like his brother. So Tamar went and stayed in the house of her father. {And in the course of time} the daughter of Shua, the wife of Judah, died. When Judah was consoled he went up to his sheepshearers, he and his friend Hirah the Adullamite, to Timnah. And it was told to Tamar, saying, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." So she removed the clothes of her widowhood and covered [herself] with the veil and disguised herself. And she sat at the entrance to Eynayim, which [is] on the way to Timnah, for she saw that Shelah was grown but she had not been given to him as a wife. And Judah saw her and reckoned her to [be] a prostitute, for she had covered her face. And he turned aside to her at the roadside and said, "Please come, let me come in to you," for he did not know that she [was] his daughter-in-law. And she said, "What will you give to me that you may come in to me?" And he said, "I will send a kid from the goats of the flock." And she said, "[Only] if you give a pledge until you send [it]." And he said, "What [is] the pledge that I must give to you?" And she said, "your seal, your cord, and your staff that [is] in your hand." And he gave [them] to her and went in to her. And she conceived by him. And she arose and left, and she removed her veil from herself and put on the garments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid from the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite to take [back] the pledge from the hand of the woman, but he could not find her. So he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where [is] that cult prostitute [that was] at Eynayim by the roadside?" And they said, "There is no cult prostitute here." Then he returned to Judah and said, "I could not find her. Morever, the men of the place said, 'There is no cult prostitute here.'" And Judah said, "Let her take [them] for herself, lest we be {laughed at}. Behold, I sent this kid, but you could not find her." And {about three months later} it was told to Judah, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has played the whore, and now, behold, she has conceived by prostitution." And Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned."

And may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah from the offspring that Yahweh will give to you from this young woman."


It happened afterwards that Absalom the son of David had a beautiful sister whose name [was] Tamar, and Amnon the son of David fell in love with her. And Amnon {was so frustrated that he felt ill} because of Tamar his sister, because she [was] a virgin, and it [was] too difficult in Amnon's eyes to do anything with her. Now Amnon had a friend whose name [was] Jonadab the son of Shimeah, the brother of David. (Now Jonadab [was] a very crafty man.) read more.
And he said to him, "Why [are] you so sullen {every morning}, O son of the king? Will you not tell me?" And Amnon said to him, "I [am] in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom." Then Jonadab said to him, "Lie down on your bed and appear ill. If your father comes to see you, you shall say to him, 'Please let Tamar my sister come and give me food to eat, and let her prepare the food before my eyes, in order that I may see it and eat from her hand.'" So Amnon lay down and pretended to be ill, and the king came to see him. Amnon said to the king, "Please let Tamar my sister come, and let her bake two cakes before my eyes that I may eat from her hand." So David sent to the house for Tamar, saying, "Please go to the house of Amnon your brother and prepare food for him." Tamar went to the house of Amnon her brother. Now he [was] lying down, and she took the dough and kneaded [it] and made cakes before his eyes, and she baked the cakes. Then she took the pan and poured it out before him, but he refused to eat. Then Amnon said, "Let all [the] men go out from me." So all [the] men went out from him. Then Amnon said to Tamar, "Bring the food [to] the private room that I may eat from your hand." So Tamar took the cakes which she had made and brought them to Amnon her brother in the private room. When she brought them near to him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, "Come, lie with me, my sister!" Then Tamar said to him, "No, my brother! Do not force me, for such a thing has not been done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing! As for me, where should I take my disgrace? You will be as one of the fools in Israel. So please, speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you." But he [was] not willing to listen to her voice. He [was] stronger than she, and he forced her and lay with her. Then Amnon hated her {very deeply}, for the hatred with which he hated her [was] greater than [the] love with which he had loved her. So Amnon said to her, "Get up [and] go." She said to him, "No, because this evil in sending me away [is] greater than the other you have done to me." But he [was] not willing to listen to her. Then he called his young man who [was] serving him and said, "Please send this woman from me to the outside, and bolt the door behind her!" Now there [was] a long-sleeved robe on her, for so they clothed the daughters of the king who [were] virgins, in robes. His servant put her outside, and he bolted the door behind her. Tamar put ashes on her head, and she tore the long-sleeved robe which [was] on her. She put her hand on her head, and {she went away, crying out as she went}. Absalom her brother said to her, "[Was] Amnon your brother with you? But now, my sister, be quiet; he [is] your brother. {Do not take this matter to heart}." So Tamar remained a desolate woman in the house of Absalom her brother. Now King David heard all these things, and {he became very angry}. Absalom did not speak with Amnon {either bad or good}, for Absalom hated Amnon {over the matter when} he raped Tamar his sister. {About two full years later}, Absalom's shearers were in Baal Hazor, which [is] near Ephraim, and Absalom summoned all the sons of the king. Then Absalom went to the king and said, "Look, here [are] your servant's shearers; please let the king and his servants go with your servant. The king said to Absalom, "No my son, not all of us shall go, so that we not be a burden to you." And he urged him, but he [was] not willing to go, but he blessed him. So Absalom said, "But [will you] not let Amnon my brother go with us?" And the king said to him, "Why should he go with you?" But Absalom pressed him, so he sent Amnon with him and all of the sons of the king. Absalom commanded his servants, saying, "Please watch. At the moment the heart of Amnon [is] {tipsy} with wine, then I shall say to you, 'Strike Amnon down,' and you shall kill him! Don't be afraid. [Is] it not I myself who has commanded you? Be courageous and be {valiant!} So Absalom's servants did to Amnon just as Absalom commanded, and all the sons of the king got up, and each mounted his mule and fled. {While they were on the way}, the message came to David, "Absalom has killed all the sons of the king, and not one of them [was] left." Then the king rose and tore his garments, and he lay on the ground, and all his servants standing by [were] tearing their garments. Then Jonadab the son of Shimeah, the brother of David, responded and said, "My lord should not think that all the young men, the sons of the king, [are] dead, because only Amnon [is] dead. {Absalom was talking about it}, as it was being determined from the day he raped Tamar his sister.

All these [were] the sons of David, besides the sons of the concubines. And Tamar was their sister.


{And on the south side the border} [will run] from Tamar up to the waters [of] Meribot Kadesh [and along] the wadi to the Great Sea. And this [is] {the boundary to the south}.

and next to the territory of Gad, to [the] side of [the] south, {southward}; and [the] territory will be from Tamar [to] the waters of Meribath Kadesh, [toward] the wadi, [on] to the Great Sea.


Three sons [were] born to Absalom and one daughter, whose name [was] Tamar. She [was] a woman beautiful of appearance.


and Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez became the father of Hezron, and Hezron became the father of Aram,