Person Old Testament
Amnon
Amnon, David's firstborn son, raped his half-sister Tamar and was later killed by her brother Absalom. Mentioned in 21 verses across 2 books, first at 2 Samuel 3:2.
Why it matters. David's firstborn son, killed by Absalom
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Amnon
Amnon was the firstborn son of King David, born to him in Hebron. His mother was Ahinoam of Jezreel. Amnon is primarily known for his infamous act of raping his half-sister Tamar, who was the sister of Absalom. After the incident, Amnon's love for Tamar turned to hatred, and he sent her away in shame.
Absalom, enraged by Amnon's actions, waited two years before exacting revenge. He invited Amnon to a sheep-shearing feast and had his servants kill Amnon when he was drunk. This led to a rift between Absalom and his father, David, and ultimately to Absalom's rebellion against the king. The story of Amnon highlights the tragic consequences of sexual violence and the far-reaching effects it can have on families and relationships.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
Appears in Scripture
Named in 21 verses across 2 books. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.