2 Samuel 13:3

3 Amnon had a friend by the name of Jonadab, a son of David's brother Shimea. Jonadab was a very clever man.

2 Samuel 13:3 Meaning and Commentary

2 Samuel 13:3

But Amnon had a friend
Though in the issue his friendship proved his ruin:

whose name [was] Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother;
so that they were own cousins, the same with Shammah, ( 1 Samuel 16:9 ) ;

and Jonadab [was] a very subtle man;
a very penetrating man into the dispositions of men, and could judge by their countenances what they were, and the affections of their minds, and had a talent in forming schemes; he was wise to do evil and was wickedly cunning.

2 Samuel 13:3 In-Context

1 After this, David's son Amnon fell in love with Tamar, the beautiful sister of David's son Absalom.

2 Amnon was so obsessed with his half sister Tamar that he made himself sick. It seemed impossible for him to be alone with her because she was a virgin.

3 Amnon had a friend by the name of Jonadab, a son of David's brother Shimea. Jonadab was a very clever man.

4 He asked Amnon, "Why are you, the king's son, so worn out morning after morning? Won't you tell me?" "I'm in love with Absalom's sister Tamar," he answered.

5 Then Jonadab told him, "Lie down on your bed. Act sick, and when your father comes to see you, say to him, 'Please let my sister Tamar come to feed me. She can prepare a meal in front of me as I watch her, and she can feed me.'"