Three sons were born to Absalom, and a daughter named Tamar, who was a beautiful woman.
Parallel translations
- WEB Three sons were born to Absalom, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar. She was a woman with a beautiful face.
- KJV And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
- NKJV To Absalom were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar. She was a woman of beautiful appearance.
- NASB And to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance.
- NLT He had three sons and one daughter. His daughter’s name was Tamar, and she was very beautiful.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Absalom fathers three sons and a beautiful daughter named Tamar. The daughter's name honors his violated sister.
Overview
The naming of his daughter Tamar memorializes Absalom's sister, whose rape by Amnon set the family tragedy in motion. The mention of his children rounds out the portrait of Absalom at the height of his standing. Yet his sons evidently die young (compare 18:18), hinting at the futility that attends his rebellion against God's anointed king.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 2 Sam 18:18During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.
- 2 Sam 13:1After some time, David’s son Amnon fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of David’s son Absalom.
- Jer 22:30This is what the LORD says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or to rule again in Judah.”
- Isa 14:22“I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will cut off from Babylon her name and her remnant, her offspring and her posterity,” declares the LORD.
- Job 18:16–19The roots beneath him dry up, and the branches above him wither away.
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Christ at the center
God's covenant with David — a son whose throne and kingdom would last forever (7:12–16) — finds its yes in Jesus, the Son of David who reigns without end.
How 2 Samuel 14:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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