2 Samuel 13:4

And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king's son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

13:1-20 From henceforward David was followed with one trouble after another. Adultery and murder were David's sins, the like sins among his children were the beginnings of his punishment: he was too indulgent to his children. Thus David might trace the sins of his children to his own misconduct, which must have made the anguish of the chastisement worse. Let no one ever expect good treatment from those who are capable of attempting their seduction; but it is better to suffer the greatest wrong than to commit the least sin.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Shimeah - Called Shamma (marginal reference), was Jesse's third son.

Subtil - literally, wise. The word is generally used in a good sense, but here, and in Job 5:13, it means crafty.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

4. my brother Absalom's sister—In Eastern countries, where polygamy prevails, the girls are considered to be under the special care and protection of their uterine brother, who is the guardian of their interests and their honor, even more than their father himself (see on [273]Ge 34:6-25).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

From day to day, Heb. from morning to morning; for whereas in the day he had many diversions and refreshments, in the night he was pestered with tormenting thoughts and passions; the effects whereof appeared in his countenance in the morning.

Wilt thou not tell me, thy sure friend and faithful servant, who am ready to advise and assist thee?

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he said unto him, why art thou, being the king's son,

lean from day today?.... Or "morning by morning", (w); he was the king's eldest son, heir to the crown, fed at his table, had everything to make him gay and cheerful, and yet pined away; his flesh wasted (x), his countenance waxed wan and pale, and especially in the mornings; in the daytime he met with diversions which, in some measure, took off his thoughts from the object his mind was impressed with, but in the night season they were continually employed about it; so that he could have no rest and sleep, which made him look ruefully in the morning; and this man had a suspicion of his case, and therefore put this and the following question to him:

wilt thou not tell me? who am so nearly related to thee, and who have such a particular value and affection for thee:

and Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister; he does not call her his sister, but Absalom's sister, to lessen his sin of unlawful love to her, which, being thus closely pressed, and by a friend, he could not conceal.

(w) , "in mane in mane", Montanus. (x) "Fecit amor maciem -----". Ovid Metamorph. l. 11. Fab. 11. v. 793.

Geneva Study Bible

And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king's son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

4. Why, &c.] Why art thou so wasted, O king’s son, morning by morning? His cousin Jonadab either lived in the same house with Amnon as his companion, or noticed his worn looks when he came to visit him at his morning levee.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - Why art thou, being the king's son, lean? The Hebrew is, Why, O son of the king, dost thou pine away morning by morning? There was probably a gathering of friends every morning at the young prince's house, and his cousin, attending this levee, noticed Amnon's melancholy, and, having forced a confession from him, is unscrupulous enough to suggest a plan that would make Tamar her brother's victim. 2 Samuel 13:4

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

"Why art thou so wasting away (דּל, thin, spare, here equivalent to wasting away, looking miserable), king's son, from morning to morning?" i.e., day by day. "The morning" is mentioned because sick persons look worst in the morning. The advice given in 2 Samuel 13:5, - viz., "Lay thee down upon thy bed, and pretend to be ill; and when thy father comes to visit thee, say to him, May my sister Tamar come to me, and give me to eat?" etc., - was very craftily devised, as Amnon's wretched appearance would favour his pretence that he was ill, and it might be hoped that an affectionate father would gratify him, since even if the wish seemed a strange one, it might easily be accounted for from the marvellous desires of persons who are ill, particularly with regard to food-desires which it is often very difficulty to gratify.