Bible Strands
2 Samuel 13:5
Jonadab told him, “Lie down on your bed and pretend you are ill. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Please let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare it in my sight so I may watch her and eat it from her hand.’”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jonadab addresses Amnon immediately after Amnon admits his obsessive desire for Tamar. The exchange occurs at the precise moment Amnon seeks a practical scheme to act on his lust.
The words — The verb וְ/הִתְחָ֑ל (ve./hit.Chal) literally means "make yourself sick" or "feign illness," commanding a deliberate deception. The imperative שְׁכַ֥ב (she.Khav) directs Amnon to "lie down" on his bed as the physical setup for this ruse.
The thread — This pattern of using staged vulnerability to manipulate authority appears in 2 Samuel 16:21 and the manipulative inquiry of Mark 6:24. It aligns with the warning in Psalm 50:18 about befriending those who enable sin.
Why it lands — The text records Jonadab’s explicit instructions to fabricate illness and orchestrate a private meeting, prior to any commentary on the moral failure. It forces the reader to confront how trusted figures can design schemes that bypass ethical boundaries under the appearance of care.
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 Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed, and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come, and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I may see it, and eat it at her hand.
Cross-references
- Mark 6:24 Then she went out and asked her mother, “What should I request?” And her mother answered, “The head of John the Baptist.”
- 2 Samuel 16:21 Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to take care of the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”
- Psalms 50:18 When you see a thief, you befriend him, and throw in your lot with adulterers.
- Proverbs 19:27 If you cease to hear instruction, my son, you will stray from the words of knowledge.
- Acts 23:15 Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him down to you on the pretext of examining his case more carefully. We are ready to kill him on the way.”