Useful Bible Studies > 2 Samuel Commentary > chapter 13
Jonadab was Amnon’s cousin. Amnon had tried to keep his feelings about Tamar secret, but he could not hide his illness from Jonadab. Jonadab was a very clever man; and he and Amnon were close friends.
Jonadab could see that Amnon looked thin and ill. Especially, he seemed weak in the mornings, perhaps because his thoughts about Tamar had prevented his sleep. This continued for many days, and he only became worse, and never better.
Amnon was ashamed of his wrong desires, and did not want to talk about the matter, even to his friend. However, Jonadab insisted that he must talk.
We sometimes foolishly imagine that, to be happy, we only need to satisfy our desires. As the king’s oldest son, Amnon probably obtained much that he desired. However, Amnon’s desires did not make him happy; rather, his desires made him ill. On this occasion, he wanted something that he could never have.
A true friend should warn us firmly against wrong and evil attitudes and behaviour. However, Jonadab did not do that. Instead, he advised Amnon how to obtain the wrong thing that he wanted. His advice was foolish for other reasons too. It placed Amnon in such great danger that, in the end, it would cause his death. Jonadab should have realised that; as a very clever man, he was aware of what the other people in the palace would think about this matter (13:32).
Next part: Jonadab's evil plan (2 Samuel 13:5)
Please use the links at the top of the page to find our other articles in this series. You can download all our articles if you go to the download page for our free 1000+ page course book.
© 2023, Keith Simons.