Bible Strands
2 Samuel 13:11
And when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said, “Come lie with me, my sister!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Amnon speaks to his half-sister Tamar in his private bedroom immediately after she delivers a platter of cakes. He shifts from a request for service to a direct command following her arrival.
The words — The Hebrew וַ/יַּֽחֲזֶק־ (va/i.ya.cha.zek) literally means "and he took hold," describing a physical seizure that precedes his speech. The imperative שִׁכְבִ֥י (shikh.Vi) translates directly as "lie down," specifying a sexual act rather than a casual rest.
The thread — The narrative structure of an isolated chamber and a coercive advance mirrors the account in Genesis 39:11, where a similar setting enables a violation of hospitality. Both passages place a vulnerable party alone with an aggressor to highlight the breach of kinship and moral boundaries.
Why it lands — The text records a coercive command masked by familial address and delivered after a gesture of care. It asks the reader to recognize how language and setting are used to bypass consent without offering moral justification.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Genesis 39:11 One day, however, Joseph went into the house to attend to his work, and not a single household servant was inside.