Bible Strands
2 Samuel 13:13
Where could I ever take my shame? And you would be like one of the fools in Israel! Please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Tamar speaks to her half-brother Amnon in his bedroom as he attempts to force himself upon her. She urges him to petition their father David to grant her a legal marriage rather than proceed with a forbidden union.
The words — The Hebrew אָנָה ('A.nah, "where?") and חֶרְפָּתִי (cher.pa.T/i, "my reproach") frame her question about the location and permanence of her disgrace. She uses כְּאַחַד (ke./'a.Chad, "like one of") to warn that Amnon would be publicly branded a fool in Israel.
The thread — This appeal to communal shame and legal intervention parallels the logic found in Genesis 19:8, Judges 19:24, and Genesis 20:12, where speakers invoke family status or public reputation to negotiate safety.
Why it lands — The text records Tamar’s attempt to use social disgrace and royal authority as a barrier to violence. It asks the reader to observe how legal and reputational appeals collapse when physical power operates outside covenant restraint.
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 I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.
Cross-references
- Genesis 19:8 Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them to you, and you can do to them as you please. But do not do anything to these men, for they have come under the protection of my roof.”
- Genesis 20:12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father—though not the daughter of my mother—and she became my wife.
- Judges 19:24 Look, let me bring out my virgin daughter and the man’s concubine, and you can use them and do with them as you wish. But do not do such a vile thing to this man.”