Bible Strands
2 Samuel 13:21
When King David heard all this, he was furious.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — King David receives the report of Amnon’s violation of Tamar and Absalom’s quiet containment of the situation. The narrative places this moment immediately after Tamar is left desolate in her brother’s house.
The words — The Hebrew uses שָׁמַע (sha.Ma') to state that David literally heard the report, followed by וַ/יִּ֥חַר (va/i.Yi.char), which literally means “and it burned.” This phrasing records David’s visceral reaction before any action is taken.
The thread — This pattern of hearing a grievance and reacting with fury appears in Genesis 34:7 when Jacob’s sons hear of Shechem’s violation, and in 1 Samuel 2:22 when Eli hears of his sons’ corruption. The text links David’s response to a broader biblical motif of righteous anger upon hearing of covenant breach.
Why it lands — The passage demands attention to the gap between a leader’s internal reaction and his external response. It leaves the reader to observe how silence follows fury, setting the stage for the next narrative turn.
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The Hebrew words
King James Version
But when king David heard of all these things, he was very wroth.
Cross-references
- Genesis 34:7 When Jacob’s sons heard what had happened, they returned from the field. They were filled with grief and fury, because Shechem had committed an outrage in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter—a thing that should not be done.
- 1 Samuel 2:22 Now Eli was very old, and he heard about everything his sons were doing to all Israel and how they were sleeping with the women who served at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.
- 1 Samuel 2:29 Why then do you kick at My sacrifice and offering that I have prescribed for My dwelling place? You have honored your sons more than Me by fattening yourselves with the best of all the offerings of My people Israel.’
- 2 Samuel 3:28 Afterward, David heard about this and said, “I and my kingdom are forever guiltless before the LORD concerning the blood of Abner son of Ner.
- 2 Samuel 12:5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan: “As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die!
- 2 Samuel 12:10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’
- Psalms 101:8 Every morning I will remove all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off every evildoer from the city of the LORD.