Bible Strands
2 Samuel 13:22
And Absalom never said a word to Amnon, either good or bad, because he hated Amnon for violating his sister Tamar.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Absalom withholds all speech from Amnon, neither offering comfort nor rebuke, immediately following Amnon’s violation of Tamar and King David’s furious response. This silence occurs in the interval between David’s anger and Absalom’s two-year wait before the Baal-hazor sheepshearing event.
The words — The Hebrew construction לְמֵרָע וְעַד טוֹב (le-mērāʿ wəʿaḏ ṭôḇ) literally means "from bad to good," paired with the verb דִּבֶּר (dibbēṯ), "he spoke." The text states Absalom’s deliberate refusal to utter either word before inferring his concealed hatred.
The thread — The narrative places Absalom’s silent hostility alongside God’s warning to Laban in Genesis 31:24 to say nothing to Jacob, and contrasts with Leviticus 19:17’s prohibition against harboring hatred in the heart. It also mirrors Genesis 24:50, where recognized divine intervention halts human speech.
Why it lands — The verse states that silence can function as active concealment of hatred rather than neutral peace. It requires the reader to confront whether unaddressed wrongs are being stored for retaliation instead of resolved.
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 Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because he had forced his sister Tamar.
Cross-references
- Genesis 31:24 But that night God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream and warned him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
- Leviticus 19:17 You must not harbor hatred against your brother in your heart. Directly rebuke your neighbor, so that you will not incur guilt on account of him.
- Genesis 24:50 Laban and Bethuel answered, “This is from the LORD; we have no choice in the matter.
- 1 John 2:11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness. He does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
- 1 John 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that eternal life does not reside in a murderer.
- Genesis 31:29 I have power to do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me, ‘Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’
- Proverbs 10:18 The one who conceals hatred has lying lips, and whoever spreads slander is a fool.
- Proverbs 25:9 Argue your case with your neighbor without betraying another’s confidence,
- Proverbs 26:24 A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
- Proverbs 27:4 Wrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?