Bible Strands
2 Samuel 13:3
Now Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very shrewd man,
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator introduces Jonadab as Amnon’s confidant during Amnon’s paralyzing obsession with his half-sister Tamar. This occurs at the precise moment Amnon’s desire has immobilized him and he is seeking counsel to act on it.
The words — The Hebrew Re.a' (friend) defines Jonadab’s relational position to Amnon, while yo.na.Dav (Jonadab) identifies him as a named historical figure. These terms anchor the narrative in specific personal relationships rather than abstract types.
The thread — The description of Jonadab’s shrewdness echoes the serpent’s craftiness in Genesis 3:1 and the warning that worldly wisdom becomes foolishness in 1 Corinthians 3:19. These references trace a pattern where tactical intelligence operates independently of divine guidance.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize how relational proximity can enable destructive impulses. It demands attention to the specific names and relationships that drive biblical narratives forward.
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
But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 16:9 Next Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, “The LORD has not chosen this one either.”
- 1 Corinthians 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”
- Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’”
- Genesis 38:1 About that time, Judah left his brothers and settled near a man named Hirah, an Adullamite.
- Genesis 38:20 Now when Judah sent his friend Hirah the Adullamite with the young goat to collect the items he had left with the woman, he could not find her.
- Judges 14:20 and his wife was given to one of the men who had accompanied him.
- 2 Samuel 13:32 But Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimeah, spoke up: “My lord must not think they have killed all the sons of the king, for only Amnon is dead. In fact, Absalom has planned this since the day Amnon violated his sister Tamar.
- 2 Samuel 14:2 So Joab sent to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, “Please pretend to be a mourner; put on clothes for mourning and do not anoint yourself with oil. Act like a woman who has mourned for the dead a long time.
- 2 Samuel 14:19 So the king asked, “Is the hand of Joab behind all this?” The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right or to the left from anything that my lord the king says. Yes, your servant Joab is the one who gave me orders; he told your maidservant exactly what to say.
- Esther 5:10 Nevertheless, Haman restrained himself and went home. And calling for his friends and his wife Zeresh,