| Tamar | |
|---|---|
| Princess of Israel | |
 Thamar and Absalon (1875) byAlexandre Cabanel[1] | |
| Born | c. 1000 BCE Judah,Kingdom of Israel |
| Died | Unknown |
| Hebrew | תָּמָר |
| Dynasty | House of David |
| Father | David ben Yishai |
| Mother | Maacah bat Talmai |
Tamar (Hebrew:תָּמָר) was anIsraelite princess. Born toDavid andMaacah, who was fromGeshur, she was the only full sibling ofAbsalom. She is described in theHebrew Bible as being exceptionally beautiful, as is her brother. In the narrative of2 Samuel 13, she is raped by her paternal half-brotherAmnon (born to David andAhinoam, who was fromJezreel) before fleeing with torn robes to Absalom's house; David is angered by the incident, but does nothing, as Amnon is hisheir apparent. Absalom, infuriated by the rape and David's inaction, keeps Tamar in his care and later assassinates Amnon to avenge her, subsequently fleeing to Geshur, which is ruled by his and Tamar's maternal grandfatherTalmai. Three years later, he returns toIsrael and leads an armed revolt against theHouse of David, but is killed by David's nephew and army commanderJoab during theBattle of the Wood of Ephraim. Tamar is described as being left "a desolate woman in her brother's house" and the sole guardian of her orphaned niece, who is alsonamed Tamar.
Tamar's motherMaacah was the daughter ofTalmai, who was the king ofGeshur. Her only full sibling wasAbsalom. TheBible does not speak of Tamar's early life; however, in2 Samuel 13, she is wearing a "richly ornamental robe [...] for this is how the virgin daughters ofthe king were clothed in earlier times."[2] Her half-brotherAmnon, by whom she was raped, was the son ofAhinoam, who was fromJezreel.
During Tamar's teenage years,Amnon becomes extremely obsessed with her. Having devised a ruse, he acts on the advice of his cousinJonadab and feigns illness, askingDavid to call Tamar to prepare a meal for him. In David's absence, when she comes into Amnon's room, he sends his servants away and beginspressing her for sex. She refuses, citingthe Law, but as "he was stronger than she,he raped her." Afterintercourse, Amnonbecomes angry with Tamar andassaults her. She pleads thathe marry her to preserve her reputation, but he forces her out. A hysterical Tamar tears her robes and leaves crying, and news of the rape begins spreading throughoutDavid's royal household.
When David hears of Tamar's rape, he is angered, but does nothing, as Amnon is hisheir apparent, owing to his status as David's first-born son.[3]Absalom, receiving his sister at his house, is infuriated when she informs him of her rape at the hands of Amnon. He comforts her and keeps her at his house, vowing to avenge her.
Two years after Tamar's rape, Absalom invites all of David's other sons to a grand feast, subsequently ordering his servants to murder Amnon once he is drunk.[4] Following Amnon's death, Absalom flees toGeshur, where his maternal grandfatherTalmai is reigning as king.[5] Tamar continues to stay at Absalom's house while he is in exile.
Three years later, Absalom returns toIsrael and begins rallying popular support against David inJerusalem. A war ensues as Absalom's rebels mobilize atHebron and begin fighting David's army in an attempt to overthrow him. However, the revolt fails when Absalom is killed by David's army commanderJoab during theBattle of the Wood of Ephraim.
Upon the death of her brother, Tamar becomes the sole guardian of her niece, who is also named Tamar. TheBible mentions that Tamar was left "a desolate woman in her brother's house"; she wasgrieved and traumatized by her rape.[6] Nothing is known of her later life and death.
Thesages of the Mishnah point out that Amnon's love for Tamar, his half-sister, did not arise from true affection but lust. After having attained his desire, he immediately "hated her exceedingly." "All love which depends upon some particular thing ceases when that thing ceases; thus was the love of Amnon for Tamar" (Ab. v. 16). Amnon's love for Tamar was not, however, such a transgression as is usually supposed: for, although she was a daughter of David, her mother was a prisoner of war, who had not yet become Jewish; consequently, Tamar also had not entered the Jewish community (Sanh. 21a). The sages utilized the incident of Amnon and Tamar as affording justification for their rule that a man must on no account remain alone in the company of a woman, not even of an unmarried one (Sanh. l.c. et seq.).[7]
According to theBabylonian Talmud, Amnon hated Tamar because, as he raped her, Tamar tied one of her hairs around Amnon'spenis and used it tocastrate him.[8] The Babylonian Talmud also asserts that Amnon's death was a punishment from the Lord for Amnon's "lewdness".[9]
The sages of Israel are quick to point out that Tamar was born from David's union with abeautiful captive woman, and that her mother conceived of her during the first act of copulation, in which case, the mother had not yet converted to Judaism and the child born was considered a non-Jew and required aconversion to the Jewish religion.[10][11] Although Amnon and Tamar had the same biological father, they were not consideredbona-fide siblings and could actually marry each other, as she was aproselyte to the Jewish religion. For this reason, Tamar insisted that their father would not withhold her from him(2 Samuel 13:13).[12]
Michael D. Coogan attributes the placement of therape of Tamar narrative, coming soon after theBathsheba narrative, as a way for the narrator to compare Amnon to David. As David wronged Bathsheba, so too will Amnon wrong Tamar, "like father like son."[14] Mark Gray, however, disagrees with Coogan on this point, arguing that "the rape of Tamar is an act of such horrific defilement that it is marked off as distinct from David's encounter with Bathsheba."[15]
Mary J. Evans describes Tamar as a "beautiful, good-hearted, obedient, righteous daughter who is totally destroyed by her family."[16] After the rape, Amnon attempted to send Tamar away. She responded "No, my brother; for this wrong in sending me away is greater than the other that you did to me" (2 Samuel 13:15–16).
In Biblical law, it was unlawful for a man to have intercourse with his sister.Rav says that Tamar was not, by Biblical law, David's daughter, nor Amnon's sister. Tamar was the earlier born daughter of David's wife, and thus not biologically related to David, nor Amnon.[17] Coogan says that, according to the Bible, it was possible for Amnon tomarry Tamar.[18]Kyle McCarter suggests that either the laws are not in effect at this time or will be overlooked by David, or they do not apply to the royal family.[19]
Coogan, in his section on women in 2 Samuel, describes Tamar as a "passive figure" whose story is "narrated with considerable pathos." Coogan also points out the poignancy of the image at the end of the narrative story where Tamar is left as a "desolate woman in her brother Absalom's house" (2 Samuel 13:20). It is thought that this ending verse about Tamar is meant to elicit compassion and pity for her.[14]
Adrien Bledstein says the description of Tamar as wearing a "richly ornamented robe" may have been meant to signify that she was a priestess or interpreter of dreams, likeJoseph with hiscoat of many colors.[20]
There are many stories which have taken a look at the sad story of Tamar, through different perspectives: that of David, that of her brother Absalom, that of the servants, and most of all, that of Tamar herself.
Absalom comforts his devastated sister while he vows to avenge her rape. In the background is her distraught servant.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "amnon".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.god and sex.
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