For our lesson of Tamar 2 Samuel 13:1 – 22, here are some important points. The points do not directly answer the questions on pages 103-106 of the text, but may help you in our discussion of the Saturday Bible Study 08/23/2014.
1. There were three (3) women named Tamar found in my research: The daughter-in-law of Judah, the daughter of David, and Absalom’s only daughter. (1. pp. 517-518) Our study will be restricted to Tamar, David’s daughter.
2. Her mother was Maacah daughter of Talmai. David’s marriage to Maacah undoubtedly had political implications. With Talmai as an ally on ish-Bosheth’s northern border. David flanked the northern kingdom both south and north.(2. 2 Samuel 3:3, NIV, footnote).
3. Daughter of David, sister of Absalom (2 Samuel 13:1).
4. Her name means, ” Date Tree or “Palm Tree.”(Text, pg. 103.)
5. Her character: Tamar shared her father David’s good looks. Young and innocent, she was naïve to the danger that threatened from her own family. (Text, pg. 103).
6. Raped by her half-brother Amnon. (2 Samuel 13:2-21).
7. Then Amnon hated her with an intense hatred. In fact, he hated her more than he had loved her. Amnon said to her, “Get up and get out!”. The rape was avenged by Absalom, her full-brother (2 Samuel 13:23-33).
8. Tamar put ashes on her head and tore the ornamented robe she was wearing. She put hand on her head and went away weeping aloud as she went. (2 Samuel 13:19)
9 . Tamar lived in her brother Absalom’s house, a desolate woman. (2 Samuel 13:20).
10. Her sorrow: That her half-brother saw her only as an object for his lust, destroying her future as a result, and that her father, the king, did nothing to protect her. (Text pg. 185)
Text: Women of the Bible, 52 Bible Studies for individuals and Groups, Jean E. Syswerda, Zondervan, 1999.
Other references:
1. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volume Four, In Four Volumes, Abingdon Press, New York 1962.
2. The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan, 1995.
3. Women of the Bible, One Year Devotional Study of Women in Scripture, Ann Spangler and Jean E. Syswerda, Zondervan, 2007.
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