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2 Samuel 13 · a question people ask

Tamar said the king "will not withhold me from you" (13:13). What did she mean?

In the text

Here are her words: "Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you." (13:13). The chapter doesn't explain them, and it doesn't say what the king would have done. The Law of Moses speaks to a man and his sister: "You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or born abroad." (Leviticus 18:9), and "You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sister." (Leviticus 18:11). 2 Samuel doesn't set these laws beside Tamar's words, and it doesn't say why she spoke as she did. What the chapter does make plain is what she asked for: that it not be done (13:12), and that he speak to the king (13:13).

The verses

“She answered him, “No, my brother, do not force me! For no such thing ought to be done in Israel. Don’t you do this folly! As for me, where would I carry my shame? And as for you, you will be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you.” However, he would not listen to her voice; but being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her.”
2 Samuel 13:12-14 · World English Bible
““‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, or the daughter of your mother, whether born at home or born abroad.”
Leviticus 18:9 · World English Bible
““‘You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter, conceived by your father, since she is your sister.”
Leviticus 18:11 · World English Bible

From Favor's study of 2 Samuel 13

2 Samuel 13: No such thing in Israel

Tamar answers in words Israel had heard before: "no such thing ought to be done in Israel" and "folly" (13:12) are, in Hebrew, the words of Genesis 34:7, and her "garment of various colors" (13:18) is the Hebrew of Joseph's tunic (Genesis 37:3), whose father also "mourned for his son" (Genesis 37:34).

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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Every answer cites the verses it rests on. What we believe · All Bible questions