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Nach YomiII Samuel · שמואל ב׳Chapter 13

II Samuel 13

שמואל ב׳ פרק י״ג

Section: נביאים · נביאים ראשונים | Book: II Samuel | Chapter: 13 of 24 | Day: 89 of 742

Date: May 11, 2026

קלאוד על הנ״ך

The thirteenth chapter of II Samuel inaugurates the bitter harvest of Nathan’s prophecy delivered at the close of chapter twelve. The sword that the prophet declared would never depart from David’s house (לא תסור חרב מביתך) now begins its grim labor within the king’s own family, and Radak makes the connection explicit at verse 15: this entire chain of events, he writes, was the punishment for the affair with Bathsheba and Uriah, since through that sin David’s house received both incest and bloodshed in measure for measure (זמה וחרב הכל מדה כנגד מדה). The narrator’s opening words, “and it was after this” (ויהי אחרי כן), bind the rape of Tamar directly to David’s earlier transgression, framing the chapter not as random tragedy but as fulfilled judgment.

The literary parallels between Amnon and his father are devastating. Where David saw Bathsheba bathing and sent for her, Amnon is consumed by what he sees of his half-sister and engineers a meal-bringing pretext through his cunning cousin Yonadav, whom Rashi pointedly calls “wise for evil” (חכם לרשעה). David used Joab and the army to kill an inconvenient husband; Amnon uses a servant to expel an inconvenient victim. Where David sent Uriah away with food (וישלח לו דוד משאת), Amnon orders his servant to bar the door behind Tamar after he has sent her away. The son acts out the father’s sin in escalated form: what David did discreetly through messengers and engineered death, Amnon does crudely through brute force and cruel rejection.

Tamar’s protest is one of the great moral cries of Tanakh. Her plea — “such things are not done in Israel” (לא יעשה כן בישראל) — invokes the same formula used elsewhere in scripture for outrages so grave they threaten the covenantal identity of the nation. Her tearing of the ketonet passim, the ornamented tunic worn by the unmarried daughters of the king, deliberately echoes the tearing of Joseph’s identical garment in Bereishit 37, signaling that another house of Israel is being torn apart by sibling violence. The Sages, as Radak records, took her solitary mourning so seriously that the rabbinic court of David enacted at that hour the prohibition against secluding oneself with an unmarried woman (איסור ייחוד הפנויה) — if the daughters of kings could be violated, then certainly stricter safeguards were needed for all of Israel.

Then comes Absalom’s two-year silence — a silence Metzudat David identifies as the calculated patience of a man storing hatred to strike at the opportune moment (ושמר האיבה בלבו להנקם בו לעת מצוא). The Baal Hatzor sheep-shearing trap is constructed with chilling competence: a festive occasion, a respectful invitation to the king (correctly declined), then the wedge — “let Amnon at least come” — pressed until David yields. Absalom’s order to his servants (“when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, strike him down; do not fear, for it is I who command you”) mirrors with terrible precision David’s own letter dispatching Uriah to his death. Engineered killing by proxy, exploiting trust and intoxication, is now turned by son against son.

The chapter closes with the doubled notice that Absalom fled (ויברח אבשלום appears twice, in verses 34 and 37–38), framing his three-year exile in Geshur with his maternal grandfather Talmai. David’s response is mournful paralysis: he weeps for Amnon “all the days,” then his soul pines toward the absent Absalom, with Rashi reading ותכל דוד as “David’s soul yearned” — a king who has lost the capacity to act, frozen between grief for the dead son and longing for the murderer. The sword has only begun its work; the next chapters will show it cutting deeper still.

פרק י״ג · Chapter 13

פסוק א׳ · Verse 1

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֣י אַחֲרֵי־כֵ֗ן וּלְאַבְשָׁל֧וֹם בֶּן־דָּוִ֛ד אָח֥וֹת יָפָ֖ה וּשְׁמָ֣הּ תָּמָ֑ר וַיֶּאֱהָבֶ֖הָ אַמְנ֥וֹן בֶּן־דָּוִֽד׃

English:

This happened sometime afterward: Absalom son of David had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and Amnon son of David became infatuated with her.

The chapter opens with the same formula (ויהי אחרי כן) used to bind narratives to a preceding judgment, signaling that what follows flows directly from Nathan's prophecy in chapter 12. Rashi clarifies that Tamar was Absalom's full sister (sharing the same mother), which sharpens the wound when the violation comes from a half-brother. Metzudat David and Radak record the well-known halachic explanation: Tamar's mother Ma'achah was a captive yefat to'ar from Geshur, conceived before her conversion, so Tamar was technically permitted to Amnon by the law of the captive woman.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וּלְאַבְשָׁלוֹם אָחוֹת יָפָה. שֶׁהָיְתָה בַּת אִמּוֹ:
Avsholom had a pretty sister. That was the daughter of his mother.

פסוק ב׳ · Verse 2

Hebrew:

וַיֵּ֨צֶר לְאַמְנ֜וֹן לְהִתְחַלּ֗וֹת בַּֽעֲבוּר֙ תָּמָ֣ר אֲחֹת֔וֹ כִּ֥י בְתוּלָ֖ה הִ֑יא וַיִּפָּלֵא֙ בְּעֵינֵ֣י אַמְנ֔וֹן לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת לָ֖הּ מְאֽוּמָה׃

English:

Amnon was so distraught because of his [half-]sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was a virgin,ashe was a virgin And thus well protected. and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her.

Amnon's lust is so consuming that he becomes physically ill, and the verse identifies the cause of his frustration: Tamar was a virgin (בתולה), and Rashi explains this to mean she was modest and stayed indoors, making any access to her impossible. Radak notes that Yonadav's intervention is foreshadowed precisely here — the verse's description of Amnon's helplessness (ויפלא בעיני אמנון) sets the stage for a man wise in evil to engineer a way around her seclusion.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
לְהִתְחַלּוֹת. עַד שֶׁנֶּחֱלָה: כִּי בְתוּלָה הִיא. צְנוּעָה בַּבַּיִת וְאֵינָהּ יוֹצֵאת לַחוּץ, לְפִיכָךְ וַיִּפָּלֵא בְּעֵינֵי אַמְנוֹן וְגוֹ׳, נִכְסֶה וְנֶעְלָם מִמֶּנּוּ מָה תּוֹאֲנָה יָכוֹל לְבַקֵּשׁ וְיִשְׁכַּב עִמָּהּ, כְּמוֹ (דברים יז:ח): ,כִּי יִפָּלֵא מִמְּךָ״, ״אֲרֵי יִתְכַּסֵּי מִמָּךְ״:
To [the point of] sickness. Until he became sick. Because she was a virgin. She was modest [and stayed] in the house and did not go outside therefore, "It was hidden from the eyes of Amnon… It was covered and hidden from him. What excuse he could seek [in order] to lay with her.1According to Rashi, the words in our verse, "because she was a virgin" do not tell us why Amnon was desirous of her. The reason for his desire was because she was pretty. Rashi consequently explains that these words are telling us why she was inaccessible to Amnon and are connected to the words that follow, "it was hidden in the eyes of Amnon" to find a way to lay with her. Similar to "When it is concealed from you",2Devorim 17:8. [which] Onkelus translates: "When it is hidden from you."

פסוק ג׳ · Verse 3

Hebrew:

וּלְאַמְנ֣וֹן רֵ֗עַ וּשְׁמוֹ֙ יֽוֹנָדָ֔ב בֶּן־שִׁמְעָ֖ה אֲחִ֣י דָוִ֑ד וְי֣וֹנָדָ֔ב אִ֥ישׁ חָכָ֖ם מְאֹֽד׃

English:

Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimah; Jonadab was a very clever man.

Yonadav is introduced as Amnon's cousin (David's nephew through Shimah) and described as איש חכם מאד — very clever. Rashi and Metzudat David both gloss this as חכם להרע, wise specifically for wickedness, alerting the reader that the wisdom about to be deployed will serve evil ends. The narrator's pointed compliment is itself the indictment.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אִישׁ חָכָם. לְרִשְׁעָה:
Smart man. For wickedness.

פסוק ד׳ · Verse 4

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ מַדּ֣וּעַ אַ֠תָּ֠ה כָּ֣כָה דַּ֤ל בֶּן־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ בַּבֹּ֣קֶר בַּבֹּ֔קֶר הֲל֖וֹא תַּגִּ֣יד לִ֑י וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ אַמְנ֔וֹן אֶת־תָּמָ֗ר אֲח֛וֹת אַבְשָׁלֹ֥ם אָחִ֖י אֲנִ֥י אֹהֵֽב׃

English:

He asked him, “Why are you so dejected, O prince, morning after morning? Tell me!” Amnon replied, “I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom!”

Yonadav presses Amnon to disclose his trouble, and Amnon names Tamar pointedly as 'the sister of my brother Absalom' rather than 'my sister' — a phrasing Metzudat David reads as Amnon's halachic self-justification, distancing himself from full-sibling status by appealing to Tamar's pre-conversion conception. Radak notes that the morning-after-morning emaciation reflects Amnon's nocturnal obsession destroying his sleep and showing in his face by day.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
דַּל. כָּחוּשׁ, כְּמוֹ (בראשית מא:יט): ״דַּלּוֹת וְרָעוֹת תֹּאַר״:
Weak. Weak as [we find] "weak and bad [in] appearance".3Bereishis 41:19.

פסוק ה׳ · Verse 5

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ יְה֣וֹנָדָ֔ב שְׁכַ֥ב עַל־מִשְׁכָּבְךָ֖ וְהִתְחָ֑ל וּבָ֧א אָבִ֣יךָ לִרְאוֹתֶ֗ךָ וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֵלָ֡יו תָּ֣בֹא נָא֩ תָמָ֨ר אֲחוֹתִ֜י וְתַבְרֵ֣נִי לֶ֗חֶם וְעָשְׂתָ֤ה לְעֵינַי֙ אֶת־הַבִּרְיָ֔ה לְמַ֙עַן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶרְאֶ֔ה וְאָכַלְתִּ֖י מִיָּדָֽהּ׃

English:

Jonadab said to him, “Lie down in your bed and pretend you are sick. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in front of me, so that I may look on, and let her serve it to me.’”

Yonadav supplies the script: feign illness, summon Tamar through David, watch her prepare food, and eat from her hand. Metzudat David hints that the closing words 'and you will eat from her hand' carry an unspoken further instruction — once she is alone in your chamber, do as your hand finds. The plot weaponizes both David's paternal solicitude and Tamar's filial obedience.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אֶת הַבִּרְיָה. אֶת הַסְּעוּדָה:
The meal. The meal.

פסוק ו׳ · Verse 6

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁכַּ֥ב אַמְנ֖וֹן וַיִּתְחָ֑ל וַיָּבֹ֨א הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ לִרְאוֹת֗וֹ וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אַמְנ֤וֹן אֶל־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ תָּבוֹא־נָ֞א תָּמָ֣ר אֲחֹתִ֗י וּתְלַבֵּ֤ב לְעֵינַי֙ שְׁתֵּ֣י לְבִב֔וֹת וְאֶבְרֶ֖ה מִיָּדָֽהּ׃

English:

Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. The king came to see him, and Amnon said to the king, “Let my sister Tamar come and prepare a couple of cakes in front of me, and let her bring them to me.”

Amnon executes the plan flawlessly, requesting specifically that Tamar prepare לביבות, heart-shaped cakes — a detail Radak (citing Targum) identifies as a kind of dough scalded in boiling water, a delicacy requiring visible preparation. The very name לבב (heart) heightens the perversity of the scene: he asks her to prepare hearts for a heart he claims is sick.

פסוק ז׳ · Verse 7

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׁלַ֥ח דָּוִ֛ד אֶל־תָּמָ֖ר הַבַּ֣יְתָה לֵאמֹ֑ר לְכִ֣י נָ֗א בֵּ֚ית אַמְנ֣וֹ�� אָחִ֔יךְ וַעֲשִׂי־ל֖וֹ הַבִּרְיָֽה׃

English:

David sent a message to Tamar in the palace, “Please go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.”

פסוק ח׳ · Verse 8

Hebrew:

וַתֵּ֣לֶךְ תָּמָ֗ר בֵּ֛ית אַמְנ֥וֹן אָחִ֖יהָ וְה֣וּא שֹׁכֵ֑ב וַתִּקַּ֨ח אֶת־הַבָּצֵ֤ק (ותלוש) [וַתָּ֙לׇשׁ֙] וַתְּלַבֵּ֣ב לְעֵינָ֔יו וַתְּבַשֵּׁ֖ל אֶת־הַלְּבִבֽוֹת׃

English:

Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was in bed. She took dough and kneaded it into cakes in front of him, and cooked the cakes.

Tamar arrives at Amnon's house — Amnon lying in his fake-sick pose. She performs the elaborate culinary task in front of him: takes dough, kneads it (latash), shapes it into levivot, and cooks them. Rashi: 'va-telabev' = scalded the dough in boiling water first, then in oil. Metzudat David: 've-tevashel' = cooked them again in a pan with oil. The verse lingers on her industriousness precisely to underscore her innocence within the trap closing around her.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וַתְּלַבֵּב. וַתַּחֲלוֹט, סֹלֶת מֻרְבֶּכֶת בְּמַיִם רוֹתְחִין תְּחִלָּה, וְאַחַר כָּךְ בְּשֶׁמֶן:
She made a paste. She made a paste of flour mixed [it] first into boiling water and afterwords in oil.

פסוק ט׳ · Verse 9

Hebrew:

וַתִּקַּ֤ח אֶת־הַמַּשְׂרֵת֙ וַתִּצֹ֣ק לְפָנָ֔יו וַיְמָאֵ֖ן לֶאֱכ֑וֹל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַמְנ֗וֹן הוֹצִ֤יאוּ כׇל־אִישׁ֙ מֵעָלַ֔י וַיֵּצְא֥וּ כׇל־אִ֖ישׁ מֵעָלָֽיו׃

English:

She took the pan and set out [the cakes],bpan and set out [the cakes] Meaning of Heb. uncertain. but Amnon refused to eat and ordered everyoneceveryone I.e., the servants in attendance. to withdraw. After everyone else had withdrawn,

Tamar takes the **masret** (pan — per Rashi/Radak the same as machavat in Vayikra) and pours/serves out before Amnon. He refuses to eat and orders all his servants out, isolating Tamar. The verse's careful repetition — 'everyone went out from him' — marks the dramatic transition: from this point, no witnesses remain. Metzudat David: she emptied the levivot from the pan onto a serving plate with oil. The food, having served its pretext-purpose, is now abandoned.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אֶת הַמַּשְׂרֵת. תַּרְגּוּם שֶׁל מַחֲבַת, מַסְרֵיתָא:
The pan. The [Onkelus'] translation of Machues is "pan".4Vayikro 6:14.

פסוק י״ · Verse 10

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אַמְנ֜וֹן אֶל־תָּמָ֗ר הָבִ֤יאִי הַבִּרְיָה֙ הַחֶ֔דֶר וְאֶבְרֶ֖ה מִיָּדֵ֑ךְ וַתִּקַּ֣ח תָּמָ֗ר אֶת־הַלְּבִבוֹת֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֔תָה וַתָּבֵ֛א לְאַמְנ֥וֹן אָחִ֖יהָ הֶחָֽדְרָה׃

English:

Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food inside and feed me.” Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them to her brother inside.

Amnon escalates by drawing Tamar from the open chamber into the inner room (**ha-chadrah**). Metzudat David: 'ha-chadar' = his bedchamber — *chadar mishkavo*. The geographic narrowing — public hall → private hall → bedroom — mirrors the closing of Tamar's options. She, still trusting her brother, carries the levivot into the inner room, the very place where the violation will occur.

פסוק י״א · Verse 11

Hebrew:

וַתַּגֵּ֥שׁ אֵלָ֖יו לֶאֱכֹ֑ל וַיַּֽחֲזֶק־בָּהּ֙ וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָ֔הּ בּ֛וֹאִי שִׁכְבִ֥י עִמִּ֖י אֲחוֹתִֽי׃

English:

But when she served them to him, he caught hold of her and said to her, “Come lie with me, sister.”

The moment Tamar approaches with the food, Amnon seizes her with the words **'bo'i shichvi imi achoti'** — 'come lie with me, my sister.' The crude juxtaposition of 'shichvi imi' with 'achoti' intensifies the horror: the very kinship term that should have made the act unthinkable is here grotesquely deployed as part of the violation. Metzudat David: 'va-tageish' = she brought the levivot close to him to eat.

פסוק י״ב · Verse 12

Hebrew:

וַתֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ אַל־��ָחִי֙ אַל־תְּעַנֵּ֔נִי כִּ֛י לֹא־יֵעָשֶׂ֥ה כֵ֖ן בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל אַֽל־תַּעֲשֵׂ֖ה אֶת־הַנְּבָלָ֥ה הַזֹּֽאת׃

English:

But she said to him, “Don’t, brother. Don’t force me. Such things are not done in Israel! Don’t do such a vile thing!

Tamar's response is morally clear and rhetorically structured: 'no, my brother — do not force me — for such things are not done in Israel — do not do this vile thing.' Metzudat David parses each clause: she invokes their kinship ('al achi'), names the act as rape ('al te'aneni' — al tones oti), and frames it as a national disgrace forbidden in Israel ('lo ye'aseh ken be-Yisrael'). Her appeal is to covenantal identity, not merely personal pleading — and it ends with the explicit naming of his intended act as **nevalah**.

פסוק י״ג · Verse 13

Hebrew:

וַאֲנִ֗י אָ֤נָה אוֹלִיךְ֙ אֶת־חֶרְפָּתִ֔י וְאַתָּ֗ה תִּֽהְיֶ֛ה כְּאַחַ֥ד הַנְּבָלִ֖ים בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְעַתָּה֙ דַּבֶּר־נָ֣א אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ כִּ֛י לֹ֥א יִמְנָעֵ֖נִי מִמֶּֽךָּ׃

English:

Where will I carry my shame? And you, you will be like any of the scoundrels in Israel! Please, speak to the king; he will not refuse me to you.”

Tamar pleads for her future and for his reputation, then offers the way out: ask the king and **'lo yimna'eni mimekha'** — he will not refuse me to you. Rashi explains the halachic basis for this last claim: Tamar's mother had been a *yefat to'ar* (gentile captive of war, per Devarim 21:10) when David took her, and a child of such a union is technically not the father's child for halachic purposes — so Tamar was legally available to Amnon for marriage. Metzudat David: 'ana olikh et cherpati' — even if forced, the shame will follow her; she would prefer a legitimate marriage as the alternative to ruin. Amnon is consumed by appetite, not by interest in marriage.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
כִּי לֹא יִמְנָעֵנִי מִמֶּךָּ. שֶׁמֻּתֶּרֶת אֲנִי לְךָ, לְפִי שֶׁנִּתְעַבְּרָה בִּי אִמִּי כְּשֶׁהִיא נָכְרִית יְפַת תֹּאַר, שֶׁלְּקָחָהּ דָּוִד בַּמִּלְחָמָה, וּמִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ לוֹ בֵּן אוֹ בַּת מִן שִׁפְחָה, אֵינוֹ בְּנוֹ לְכָל דָּבָר:
Because he will not keep me from you. I am permitted to you because my mother became pregnant with me when she was still a gentile, pretty woman5The laws concerning the taking of gentile woman during war is discused in Devorim begginning in 21:10. The Torah calls her a יְפַת תּוֹאַר, "pretty woman." that Dovid took conjugally in war. And someone who has a son or daughter from a gentile handmaid is not considered his child for any legal matter.

פסוק י״ד · Verse 14

Hebrew:

וְלֹ֥א אָבָ֖ה לִשְׁמֹ֣עַ בְּקוֹלָ֑הּ וַיֶּחֱזַ֤ק מִמֶּ֙נָּה֙ וַיְעַנֶּ֔הָ וַיִּשְׁכַּ֖ב אֹתָֽהּ׃

English:

But he would not listen to her; he overpowered her and lay with her by force.

The verse's terse Hebrew (va-yechezak mimena va-ye'aneha va-yishkav otah) names the act in three brutal verbs: he overpowered, violated, and lay with her. Metzudat David's gloss — *nitgaver aleha va-anasah* — leaves no euphemism intact. The violation is complete and without consent.

פסוק ט״ו · Verse 15

Hebrew:

וַיִּשְׂנָאֶ֣הָ אַמְנ֗וֹן שִׂנְאָה֙ גְּדוֹלָ֣ה מְאֹ֔ד כִּ֣י גְדוֹלָ֗ה הַשִּׂנְאָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר שְׂנֵאָ֔הּ מֵאַהֲבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֲהֵבָ֑הּ וַיֹּֽאמֶר־לָ֥הּ אַמְנ֖וֹן ק֥וּמִי לֵֽכִי׃

English:

Then Amnon felt a very great loathing for her; indeed, his loathing for her was greater than the passion he had felt for her. And Amnon said to her, “Get out!”

The hatred that follows the act is **greater than the prior love**, exposing that Amnon's 'love' was never love but consuming lust which, sated, gives way to revulsion. Rashi (citing Chazal in Sanhedrin 21a): a hair had become tied at his organ during the act, rendering him *kerut shafkhah* — and he blamed Tamar. Radak draws the deepest theological reading: this sudden hatred was sent by Hashem to magnify Tamar's disgrace through public expulsion, intensifying Avshalom's hatred toward death — the unfolding of the Natan-prophecy that incest and the sword would together visit David's house, midah keneged midah for Bat-Sheva and Uriyah.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וַיִּשְׂנָאֶהָ אַמְנוֹן. אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ (סנהדרין כא א): נִימָא נִקְשְׁרָה לוֹ, וַעֲשָׂאַתוּ כְּרוּת שָׁפְכָה:
Amnon hated her. Our Rabbis say she tied a hair for him [in his genital area] and caused him to have a severed organ.6One who is so injured is prohibited from marrying a Jewish woman as related in Devorim 23:2. This interpretation of our verse is in Sanhedrin 21a.

פסוק ט״ז · Verse 16

Hebrew:

וַתֹּ֣אמֶר ל֗וֹ אַל־אוֹדֹ֞ת הָרָעָ֤ה הַגְּדוֹלָה֙ הַזֹּ֔את מֵאַחֶ֛רֶת אֲשֶׁר־עָשִׂ֥יתָ עִמִּ֖י לְשַׁלְּחֵ֑נִי וְלֹ֥א אָבָ֖ה לִשְׁמֹ֥עַֽ לָֽהּ׃

English:

She pleaded with him, “Please don’t commit this wrong; to send me away would be even worsedcommit this wrong … even worse Meaning of Heb. uncertain. than the first wrong you committed against me.” But he would not listen to her.

Tamar pleads that sending her away publicly is a worse evil than the rape itself. Rashi: 'do not commit this evil of expelling me, which is *greater* than the prior one you committed.' Radak deepens it: the first wrong was *in secret* (ba-seter) — humiliating but containable; expulsion will broadcast her ruin into public view (ba-galui), leaving her with no marriage future. Metzudat David adds the heartbreaking pragmatism: she is now offering to *marry* him, to cover her own disgrace. The narrative refuses her even this.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
אַל אוֹדוֹת. אַל תַּעֲשֶׂה אוֹדוֹת הָרָעָה הַזֹּאת שֶׁל שִׁלּוּחַ, הַגְּדוֹלָה מִן הָאַחֶרֶת שֶׁעָשִׂיתָ עִמִּי וְעִנִּיתָנִי, וְעוֹד תּוֹסִיף רָעָה מִמֶּנָּה לְשַׁלְּחֵנִי:
Do not do this thing. Do not do this evil thing of sending [me] away which is worse then the other [evil thing] that you did to me. You raped me and then you added on more evil than that by sending me away.

פסוק י״ז · Verse 17

Hebrew:

וַיִּקְרָ֗א אֶֽת��נַעֲרוֹ֙ מְשָׁ֣רְת֔וֹ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר שִׁלְחוּ־נָ֥א אֶת־זֹ֛את מֵעָלַ֖י הַח֑וּצָה וּנְעֹ֥ל הַדֶּ֖לֶת אַחֲרֶֽיהָ׃

English:

He summoned his young attendant and said, “Get that womanethat woman Lit. “that.” out of my presence, and bar the door behind her.”—

פסוק י״ח · Verse 18

Hebrew:

וְעָלֶ֙יהָ֙ כְּתֹ֣נֶת פַּסִּ֔ים כִּי֩ כֵ֨ן תִּלְבַּ֧שְׁןָ בְנוֹת־הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ הַבְּתוּלֹ֖ת מְעִילִ֑ים וַיֹּצֵ֨א אוֹתָ֤הּ מְשָֽׁרְתוֹ֙ הַח֔וּץ וְנָעַ֥ל הַדֶּ֖לֶת אַחֲרֶֽיהָ׃

English:

She was wearing an ornamented tunic,fornamented tunic See Gen. 37.3 and note. for maiden princesses were customarily dressed in such garments.gin such garments Meaning of Heb. uncertain. Emendation yields “(thus) in olden times,” meʻolam.—His attendant took her outside and barred the door after her.

The narrator pauses to describe the **ketonet passim** Tamar wore — the same garment-name Yosef wore in Bereishit 37. Metzudat David and Radak (citing Targum *kardutin*) identify it as a royal garment customarily worn by the virgin daughters of the king. The detail will matter immediately: this is the garment she will tear in mourning in the next verse, deliberately echoing the tearing of Yosef's tunic — another fracturing of an Israelite house through fraternal hatred.

פסוק י״ט · Verse 19

Hebrew:

וַתִּקַּ֨ח תָּמָ֥ר אֵ֙פֶר֙ עַל־רֹאשָׁ֔הּ וּכְתֹ֧נֶת הַפַּסִּ֛ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָלֶ֖יהָ קָרָ֑עָה וַתָּ֤שֶׂם יָדָהּ֙ עַל־רֹאשָׁ֔הּ וַתֵּ֥לֶךְ הָל֖וֹךְ וְזָעָֽקָה׃

English:

Tamar put dust on her head and rent the ornamented tunic she was wearing; she put her hands on her head,hput her hands on her head A gesture of wild grief; cf. Jer. 2.37. and walked away, screaming loudly as she went.

Tamar performs the public gestures of mourning — **ash on her head, the torn tunic, hand on head, walking and crying out** — so that all may know she was raped, not seduced. Metzudat David: the gestures of severe grief, performed deliberately to publicize that she was forced. Radak preserves a startling tradition (citing Chazal): the rabbinic court of David, witnessing what happened to a daughter of the king, enacted at that very hour the prohibition of **yichud** (secluding oneself with an unmarried woman), reasoning *kol va-chomer* — if such a tragedy could befall princesses, all the more must safeguards be set for the daughters of common folk.

פסוק כ׳ · Verse 20

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר אֵלֶ֜יהָ אַבְשָׁל֣וֹם אָחִ֗יהָ הַאֲמִינ֣וֹן אָחִ֘יךְ֮ הָיָ֣ה עִמָּךְ֒ וְעַתָּ֞ה אֲחוֹתִ֤י הַחֲרִ֙ישִׁי֙ אָחִ֣יךְ ה֔וּא אַל־תָּשִׁ֥יתִי אֶת־לִבֵּ֖ךְ לַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה וַתֵּ֤שֶׁב תָּמָר֙ וְשֹׁ֣מֵמָ֔ה בֵּ֖ית אַבְשָׁל֥וֹם אָחִֽיהָ׃

English:

Her brother Absalom said to her, “Was it your brother AmnoniAmnon Heb. “Aminon.” who did this to you? For the present, sister, keep quiet about it; he is your brother. Don’t brood over the matter.” And Tamar remained in her brother Absalom’s house, forlorn.

Avshalom intercepts Tamar and asks the question with chilling restraint, calling Amnon by the diminutive **Aminon** — a contemptuous form, Radak notes (*derech bizayon*). His counsel — 'be silent, he is your brother, do not take it to heart' — is not consolation but the seal of his secret resolution: the matter will not be addressed publicly because Avshalom has already decided to handle it himself. Tamar remains **shomemah** (desolate) in his house, her future destroyed. Metzudat David: 'hayah imach' = he forced you (a euphemism); 've-atah... hacharishi' = keep his honor publicly intact for now.

פסוק כ״א · Verse 21

Hebrew:

וְהַמֶּ֣לֶךְ דָּוִ֔ד שָׁמַ֕ע אֵ֥ת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֖ים הָאֵ֑לֶּה וַיִּ֥חַר ל֖וֹ מְאֹֽד׃

English:

When King David heard about all this, he was greatly upset.jSeptuagint adds “but he did not rebuke his son Amnon, for he favored him, since he was his first-born”; cf. 1 Kings 1.6.

פסוק כ״ב · Verse 22

Hebrew:

וְלֹא־דִבֶּ֧ר אַבְשָׁל֛וֹם עִם־אַמְנ֖וֹן לְמֵרָ֣ע וְעַד־ט֑וֹב כִּֽי־שָׂנֵ֤א אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ אֶת־אַמְנ֔וֹן עַל־דְּבַר֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עִנָּ֔ה אֵ֖ת תָּמָ֥ר אֲחֹתֽוֹ׃ {פ}

English:

Absalom didn’t utter a word to Amnon, good or bad; but Absalom hated Amnon because he had violated his sister Tamar.

Avshalom speaks neither evil nor good to Amnon — a Hebrew idiom (**le-mera ve-ad tov**) for absolute silence. Metzudat David draws out the strategic dimension: Avshalom *stored the hatred in his heart* to take revenge at an opportune moment, and to avoid arousing suspicion he gave no outward sign at all. Two years of perfect dissimulation will follow before he acts (v. 23 'va-yehi li-shenatayim yamim').

פסוק כ״ג · Verse 23

Hebrew:

וַֽיְהִי֙ לִשְׁנָתַ֣יִם יָמִ֔ים וַיִּהְי֤וּ גֹֽזְזִים֙ לְאַבְשָׁל֔וֹם בְּבַ֥עַל חָצ֖וֹר אֲשֶׁ֣ר עִם־אֶפְרָ֑יִם וַיִּקְרָ֥א אַבְשָׁל֖וֹם לְכׇל־בְּנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃

English:

Two years later, when Absalom was having his flocks sheared at Baal-hazor near Ephraim, Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

**Two full years pass** before Avshalom acts (*li-shenatayim yamim* — the same precise timeframe that elsewhere in Tanakh marks the conclusion of a long-laid plan). Rashi and Metzudat David note that sheep-shearing (**gezizah**) was customarily a festive occasion (cf. Nabal's shearing-feast in I Shmuel 25:8) — the perfect cover for an unsuspecting gathering. Avshalom invites all the king's sons to Ba'al Chatzor, near Efrayim, signaling the king's whole house under one roof at his disposal.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וַיִּהְיוּ גוֹזְזִים. וְדַרְכָּם הָיָה לַעֲשׂוֹת מִשְׁתֶּה בִּגְזוֹז צֹאנָם:
The were shearing. It was there custom to make a party when they sheared their flocks.

פסוק כ״ד · Verse 24

Hebrew:

וַיָּבֹ֤א אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר הִנֵּה־נָ֥א גֹזְזִ֖ים לְעַבְדֶּ֑ךָ יֵלֶךְ־נָ֥א הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וַעֲבָדָ֖יו עִם־עַבְדֶּֽךָ׃

English:

And Absalom came to the king and said, “Your servant is having his flocks sheared. Would Your Majesty and your retinue accompany your servant?”

Avshalom presses David personally to attend, beginning with the most respectful possible request — that the king himself and his retinue come. Metzudat David: 'im avdekha' = he refers to himself. The verse sets up the trap by making the alternative (Amnon alone) appear to be a fallback rather than the intended target. By inviting the king first, Avshalom can claim — when the king inevitably declines — that the substitute request is purely a polite afterthought.

פסוק כ״ה · Verse 25

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר הַמֶּ֜לֶךְ אֶל־אַבְשָׁל֗וֹם אַל־בְּנִי֙ אַל־נָ֤א נֵלֵךְ֙ כֻּלָּ֔נוּ וְלֹ֥א נִכְבַּ֖ד עָלֶ֑יךָ וַיִּפְרׇץ־בּ֛וֹ וְלֹא־אָבָ֥ה לָלֶ֖כֶת וַֽיְבָרְכֵֽהוּ׃

English:

But the king answered Absalom, “No, my son. We must not all come, or we’ll be a burden to you.” He urged him, but he would not go, and he said good-bye to him.

David politely declines on grounds of imposing too great a burden on Avshalom. Metzudat David: 've-lo nikhbad alecha' = if we all come, it will be a heavy weight and excessive trouble for you. The king's caution about overburdening his son contrasts bitterly with his earlier failure to discipline that same family for Amnon's crime — he protects his own dignity (and now Avshalom's logistics) but did not protect his daughter's. He blesses Avshalom and sends him off with no suspicion at all.

פסוק כ״ו · Verse 26

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ אַבְשָׁל֔וֹם וָלֹ֕א יֵלֶךְ־נָ֥א אִתָּ֖נוּ אַמְנ֣וֹן אָחִ֑י וַיֹּ֤אמֶר לוֹ֙ הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לָ֥מָּה יֵלֵ֖ךְ עִמָּֽךְ׃

English:

Thereupon Absalom said, “In that case, let my brother Amnon come with us,” to which the king replied, “He shall not go with you.”

Avshalom springs the wedge: **'if not you, at least let my brother Amnon come.'** Rashi catches the grammatical force of *ve-lo* (a tone of insistent request). Metzudat David adds an important detail: Amnon, as the firstborn, normally remained at court representing the king when David did not travel — Avshalom had to specifically request his attendance, and David's puzzled '*lamah yelech imach?*' shows the request was unusual enough to draw notice. Radak: 've-lo' here is the requesting *ve-lo* (as in 've-lo yiten la-avadekha').
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וְלֹא יֵלֶךְ נָא אִתָּנוּ. וְאִם לֹא יָכוֹל אַתָּה לָלֶכֶת, יֵלֶךְ נָא עִמָּנוּ אַמְנוֹן:
Will not come with us. If you can not go, let Amnon go with us.

פסוק כ״ז · Verse 27

Hebrew:

וַיִּפְרׇץ־בּ֖וֹ אַבְשָׁל֑וֹם וַיִּשְׁלַ֤ח אִתּוֹ֙ אֶת־אַמְנ֔וֹן וְאֵ֖ת כׇּל־בְּנֵ֥י הַמֶּֽלֶךְ׃ {ס}        

English:

But Absalom urged him, and he sent with him Amnon and all the other princes.kSeptuagint adds “and Absalom made a feast fit for a king.”

Avshalom presses David until he yields. Radak notes that **va-yifratz** is metathesis for **va-yiftzar** (he urged repeatedly). With Amnon dispatched along with all the king's sons, the trap is complete — the entire royal family is now in Avshalom's hands at Ba'al Chatzor, with David in Yerushalayim unable to intervene.

פסוק כ״ח · Verse 28

Hebrew:

וַיְצַו֩ אַבְשָׁל֨וֹם אֶת־נְעָרָ֜יו לֵאמֹ֗ר רְא֣וּ נָ֠א כְּט֨וֹב לֵב־אַמְנ֤וֹן בַּיַּ֙יִן֙ וְאָמַרְתִּ֨י אֲלֵיכֶ֜ם הַכּ֧וּ אֶת־אַמְנ֛וֹן וַהֲמִתֶּ֥ם אֹת֖וֹ אַל־תִּירָ֑אוּ הֲל֗וֹא כִּ֤י אָֽנֹכִי֙ צִוִּ֣יתִי אֶתְכֶ֔ם חִזְק֖וּ וִֽהְי֥וּ לִבְנֵי־חָֽיִל׃

English:

Now Absalom gave his attendants these orders: “Watch, and when Amnon is merry with wine and I tell you to strike down Amnon, kill him! Don’t be afraid, for it is I who give you the order. Act with determination, like brave men!”

Avshalom's command to his servants — **strike Amnon when his heart is merry with wine, do not fear, I have commanded you, be valiant** — chillingly echoes David's own letter dispatching Uriyah. Both engineer death by proxy through trusted retainers; both target a victim made vulnerable by circumstance. Metzudat David: 'ke-tov... ba-yayin' = when he is no longer on his guard. 'Halo ki anokhi tziviti etkhem' — *I* will be the one held accountable; you act. Radak notes the rhetorical force of *halo* as a word of strengthening and encouragement. The son completes the father's pattern.

פסוק כ״ט · Verse 29

Hebrew:

וַֽיַּעֲשׂ֞וּ נַעֲרֵ֤י אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ לְאַמְנ֔וֹן כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוָּ֖ה אַבְשָׁל֑וֹם וַיָּקֻ֣מוּ ׀ כׇּל־בְּנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֗לֶךְ וַֽיִּרְכְּב֛וּ אִ֥ישׁ עַל־פִּרְדּ֖וֹ וַיָּנֻֽסוּ׃

English:

Absalom’s attendants did to Amnon as Absalom had ordered; whereupon all the other princes mounted their mules and fled.

פסוק ל׳ · Verse 30

Hebrew:

וַֽיְהִי֙ הֵ֣מָּה בַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וְהַשְּׁמֻעָ֣ה בָ֔אָה אֶל־דָּוִ֖ד לֵאמֹ֑ר הִכָּ֤ה אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ אֶת־כׇּל־בְּנֵ֣י הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ וְלֹא־נוֹתַ֥ר מֵהֶ֖ם אֶחָֽד׃ {פ}

English:

They were still on the road when a rumor reached David that Absalom had killed all the princes, and that not one of them had survived.

While the princes are still on the road, an exaggerated rumor reaches Yerushalayim: **Avshalom has killed all the king's sons**. Metzudat David: 'ha-shemu'ah' = *kol shemu'at sheker* — a false rumor. Yet its effect is real: it triggers the most extreme grief-response from David before the truth arrives — and ironically forecasts Avshalom's later rebellion in chapters 15-18, when David will indeed lose princes by Avshalom's hand.

פסוק ל״א · Verse 31

Hebrew:

וַיָּ֧קׇם הַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וַיִּקְרַ֥ע אֶת־בְּגָדָ֖יו וַיִּשְׁכַּ֣ב אָ֑רְצָה וְכׇל־עֲבָדָ֥יו נִצָּבִ֖ים קְרֻעֵ֥י בְגָדִֽים׃ {ס}        

English:

At this, David rent his garment and lay down on the ground, and all his courtiers stood by with their clothes rent.land all his courtiers … clothes rent Septuagint reads “and all his courtiers who were standing by him rent their clothes.”

פסוק ל״ב · Verse 32

Hebrew:

וַיַּ֡עַן יוֹנָדָ֣ב ׀ בֶּן־שִׁמְעָ֨ה אֲחִי־דָוִ֜ד וַיֹּ֗אמֶר אַל־יֹאמַ֤ר אֲדֹנִי֙ אֵ֣ת כׇּל־הַנְּעָרִ֤ים בְּנֵֽי־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ הֵמִ֔יתוּ כִּֽי־אַמְנ֥וֹן לְבַדּ֖וֹ מֵ֑ת כִּֽי־עַל־פִּ֤י אַבְשָׁלוֹם֙ הָיְתָ֣ה שׂוּמָ֔ה מִיּוֹם֙ עַנֹּת֔וֹ אֵ֖ת תָּמָ֥ר אֲחֹתֽוֹ׃

English:

But Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimah, said, “My lord must not think that all the young princes have been killed. Only Amnon is dead; for this has been decided bymdecided by Lit. “determined by the command of.” Absalom ever since his sister Tamar was violated.

**Yonadav** — the same cousin who engineered the original crime back in v. 3-5 — now reappears to *correct* the report, calmly informing David that only Amnon is dead and that Avshalom had **marked him for death from the day Tamar was violated**. Rashi: 'shumah' = a standing instruction set/placed before Avshalom's servants. Metzudat David: the order had been *placed on* his servants from the day of Tamar's violation. Yonadav's surprising knowledge is unsettling: the man wise for evil seems to have known what was coming and said nothing.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
עַל פִּי אַבְשָׁלוֹם הָיְתָה שׂוּמָה. בְּצִוּוּיוֹ שֶׁל אַבְשָׁלוֹם הָיְתָה שִׂימָה זוֹ נִשֹּׁמֶת עַל עֲבָדָיו, לַהֲרוֹג אֶת אַמְנוֹן:
This has been Avsholom's order. By Avsholom's command was this order bestowed on his servants to kill Amnon.

פסוק ל״ג · Verse 33

Hebrew:

וְעַתָּ֡ה אַל־יָשֵׂם֩ אֲדֹנִ֨י הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ אֶל־לִבּוֹ֙ דָּבָ֣ר לֵאמֹ֔ר כׇּל־בְּנֵ֥י הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ מֵ֑תוּ כִּֽי־(אם)־אַמְנ֥וֹן לְבַדּ֖וֹ ��ֵֽת׃ {פ}

English:

So my lord the king must not think for a moment that all the princes are dead; Amnon alone is dead.”

Yonadav presses the reassurance: only Amnon is dead, the rumor is false. Metzudat David: 'davar lemor' = the report saying *all the king's sons are dead*. The repetition is meant to bring David's mourning into proportion with the actual loss — a moment of grim consolation that the family has not been wiped out, even as it confirms that fratricide has now entered the royal house.

פסוק ל״ד · Verse 34

Hebrew:

וַיִּבְרַ֖ח אַבְשָׁל֑וֹם וַיִּשָּׂ֞א הַנַּ֤עַר הַצֹּפֶה֙ אֶת־עֵינָ֔ו וַיַּ֗רְא וְהִנֵּ֨ה עַם־רַ֜ב הֹלְכִ֥ים מִדֶּ֛רֶךְ אַחֲרָ֖יו מִצַּ֥ד הָהָֽר׃

English:

Meanwhile Absalom had fled.The watchman on duty looked up and saw a large crowd coming from the road to his rear,nfrom the road to his rear Emendation yields “down the slope of the Horonaim road. The watchman came and told the king ‘I see men coming from the Horonaim road.’” Cf. Septuagint. from the side of the hill.

Avshalom has fled (knowing that even his act of justice will draw David's wrath). The **tzofeh** (watchman) on the Yerushalayim wall lifts his eyes and sees a large crowd approaching — but from an unexpected direction, the road *behind* him. Metzudat David: the watchman was scanning the main expected route; the returning princes had taken a circuitous path and approached the city from the rear (mi-derech achorei ha-tzofeh). Radak: this band was the surviving king's sons and their attendants returning together.

פסוק ל״ה · Verse 35

Hebrew:

וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יֽוֹנָדָב֙ אֶל־הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ הִנֵּ֥ה בְנֵי־הַמֶּ֖לֶךְ בָּ֑אוּ כִּדְבַ֥ר עַבְדְּךָ֖ כֵּ֥ן הָיָֽה׃

English:

Jonadab said to the king, “See, the princes have come! It is just as your servant said.”

Yonadav, who had heard the watchman's report (per Radak), confirms to David: 'see, the king's sons have come — *as your servant said*, only Amnon is dead.' His grim correctness vindicates his earlier explanation. Metzudat David: the group approaching are indeed the king's sons; the rumor is therefore false in scope, true only of Amnon's death.

פסוק ל״ו · Verse 36

Hebrew:

וַיְהִ֣י ׀ כְּכַלֹּת֣וֹ לְדַבֵּ֗ר וְהִנֵּ֤ה בְנֵֽי־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ בָּ֔אוּ וַיִּשְׂא֥וּ קוֹלָ֖ם וַיִּבְכּ֑וּ וְגַם־הַמֶּ֙לֶךְ֙ וְכׇל־עֲבָדָ֔יו בָּכ֕וּ בְּכִ֖י גָּד֥וֹל מְאֹֽד׃

English:

As he finished speaking, the princes came in and broke into weeping; and David and all his courtiers wept bitterly, too.

פסוק ל״ז · Verse 37

Hebrew:

וְאַבְשָׁל֣וֹם בָּרַ֔ח וַיֵּ֛לֶךְ אֶל־תַּלְמַ֥י בֶּן־[עַמִּיה֖וּד] (עמיחור) מֶ֣לֶךְ גְּשׁ֑וּר וַיִּתְאַבֵּ֥ל עַל־בְּנ֖וֹ כׇּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃

English:

Absalom had fled, and he came to Talmai son of Ammihud, king of Geshur. And [King David] mourned over his son a long time.

Avshalom flees to his maternal grandfather **Talmai ben Amihud, king of Geshur** (the Aramean kingdom from which Avshalom's mother Ma'akhah came — cf. II Shmuel 3:3). Metzudat David: Talmai was *avi imo* (his mother's father), providing a natural refuge. The verse closes with David's perpetual mourning — Metzudat David: David mourned for Amnon his son *all the days of his life*. Radak adds that the mourning lasted specifically *three years* during Avshalom's exile in Geshur.

פסוק ל״ח · Verse 38

Hebrew:

וְאַבְשָׁל֥וֹם בָּרַ֖ח וַיֵּ֣לֶךְ גְּשׁ֑וּר ��ַֽיְהִי־שָׁ֖ם שָׁלֹ֥שׁ שָׁנִֽים׃

English:

Absalom, who had fled to Geshur, remained there three years.

The verse repeats Avshalom's flight (after first noting it in v. 34) to mark the duration of his exile in Geshur: **three years**. Metzudat David explains the apparent repetition: v. 34 mentioned only that he fled his location; v. 37 names his destination; v. 38 now records the duration. The three-year exile sets the time-frame for the next chapter, when Yo'av will arrange Avshalom's reentry through the woman of Tekoa.

פסוק ל״ט · Verse 39

Hebrew:

וַתְּכַל֙ דָּוִ֣ד הַמֶּ֔לֶךְ לָצֵ֖את אֶל־אַבְשָׁל֑וֹם כִּי־נִחַ֥ם עַל־אַמְנ֖וֹן כִּי־מֵֽת׃ {ס}        

English:

And King DavidoKing David Some Septuagint mss. and 4QSamᵃ read “the spirit (ruaḥ) of the king” (i.e., the king’s wrath; cf. Eccl. 10.4), in which case the first half of the verse could be rendered as “And King David’s rage toward Absalom abated.” was pining away for Absalom, for [the king] had gotten over Amnon’s death.

The chapter ends with David's emotional pivot: **'va-tekhal David... la-tzeit el Avshalom, ki nicham al Amnon ki met.'** Rashi (citing Targum): a *mikra katzar* — abbreviated verse — *the soul of David yearned* to go out toward Avshalom; *kalah* in the sense of longing (cf. Tehillim 84:3 'nikhsefa ve-gam kaltah'). 'Ki nicham' = he accepted consolation over Amnon's death. Metzudat David: although David mourned Amnon all his days, by halakhic decree (Mo'ed Katan / Bereishit Rabbah) one is required to accept consolation over the dead — and once accepted, David's longing turned to his living exiled son. The verse plants the seed for chapter 14: Yo'av will exploit precisely this paternal yearning to engineer Avshalom's return.
▶Commentaries (1)
רש״יRashi
וַתְּכַל דָּוִד. הֲרֵי זֶה מִקְרָא קָצָר, וַתְּכַל נֶפֶשׁ דָּוִד; וְכֵן תִּרְגֵּם יוֹנָתָן: ״וְחֲמִידַת נַפְשָׁא דְדָוִד״, כְּמוֹ (תהלים פד:ג): ״נִכְסְפָה וְגַם כָּלְתָה״, לְשׁוֹן תַּאֲוָה: כִּי נִחַם עַל אַמְנוֹן. קִבֵּל תַּנְחוּמִין:
Dovid desired. This is a shortened verse, [it means to say:] "Dovid's soul desired." Yonoson also translates [this way:] "Dovid's soul desired," as [we find:] "[My Soul] yearns, and even pines."7Tehilim 84:3. Language [denoting] desire. Because he was consoled concerning Amnon. He accepted [words of] consolation.

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