2 Samuel 13:14

But Amnon refused to listen to her, and being stronger, he violated her and lay with her.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Amnon acts against Tamar after she pleads for mercy and proposes they ask their father David for permission. He overrides her verbal request and uses his physical advantage to commit the act.

The words — The Hebrew verb עָנָה (ʿānâ) literally means "to humble" or "to afflict," describing his coercive action. The phrase קוֹלָהּ (qôlâh) refers to "her voice," marking the specific appeal Amnon willfully ignores.

The thread — This dynamic of overpowering and violating a woman appears in the legal precedent of Deuteronomy 22:25 and the narrative of Judges 20:5. It also fulfills the prophetic warning in 2 Samuel 12:11 regarding adversity rising from within the king’s own house.

Why it lands — The verse records the factual sequence of refusal, physical dominance, and violation without moral commentary. It requires the reader to observe how power is exercised to silence a plea and how the narrative immediately traces the resulting relational rupture.

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

וְלֹ֥אve./Lo'and/ not אָבָ֖ה'a.Vahhe was willing לִשְׁמֹ֣עַli/sh.Mo.a'to/ listen בְּקוֹלָ֑הּbe./ko.La/hto/ voice/ her וַיֶּחֱזַ֤קva/i.ye.che.Zakand/ he was strong מִמֶּ֙נָּה֙mi.Me./nahmore than/ her וַיְעַנֶּ֔הָva/y.'a.Ne./haand/ he humbled/ her וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖בva/i.yish.Kavand/ he lay with אֹתָֽהּ׃'o.Ta/hwith <the>/ her

King James Version

Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 12:11 This is what the LORD says: ‘I will raise up adversity against you from your own house. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to another, and he will lie with them in broad daylight.
Deuteronomy 22:25 But if the man encounters a betrothed woman in the open country, and he overpowers her and lies with her, only the man who has done this must die.
Judges 20:5 And during the night, the men of Gibeah rose up against me and surrounded the house. They intended to kill me, but they abused my concubine, and she died.
Esther 7:8 Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?” As soon as the words had left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.