Absalom in the context of "Maacah"

Tamar (Hebrew: תָּמָר) was an Israelite princess. Born to David and Maacah, who was from Geshur, she was the only full sibling of Absalom. She is described in the Hebrew Bible as being exceptionally beautiful, as is her brother. In the narrative of 2 Samuel 13, she is raped by her paternal half-brother Amnon (born to David and Ahinoam, who was from Jezreel) before fleeing with torn robes to Absalom's house; David is angered by the incident, but does nothing, as Amnon is his heir apparent. Absalom, infuriated by the rape and David's inaction, keeps Tamar in his care and later assassinates Amnon to avenge her, subsequently fleeing to Geshur, which is ruled by his and Tamar's maternal grandfather Talmai. Three years later, he returns to Israel and leads an armed revolt against the House of David, but is killed by David's nephew and army commander Joab during the Battle of the Wood of Ephraim. Tamar is described as being left "a desolate woman in her brother's house" and the sole guardian of her orphaned niece, who is also named Tamar.

Amnon (Hebrew: אַמְנוֹן, romanized: ’Amnōn, "faithful") was, in the Hebrew Bible, the oldest son of King David and his second wife, Ahinoam of Jezreel. He was born in Hebron during his father's reign in Judah. He was the heir apparent to the throne of Israel until he was assassinated by his paternal half-brother Absalom to avenge the rape of Absalom's sister Tamar.

According to 2 Samuel, the Battle of the Wood of Ephraim was a military conflict between the rebel forces of the formerly exiled Israelite prince Absalom against the royal forces of his father King David during a short-lived revolt.

Scholarly opinion is divided as to the historicity of the events in the Books of Samuel. Most scholars believe that the Books of Samuel contain a large amount of historical information, while there are some dissenters who view them as entirely fictional.

Tamar (/ˈteɪmər/; Hebrew: תָּמָר) is a female given name of Hebrew origin, meaning "date" (the fruit), "date palm" or just "palm tree". In the Bible, Tamar refers to two women: one is Tamar the daughter-in-law of Judah, and the other is Tamar the daughter of King David and full sister of Absalom. The latter was raped by her half-brother Amnon, leading Absalom to eventually kill him. Absalom named his daughter Tamar, described as a woman of great beauty. For a period, Tamar held the top spot for girls' names in Israel, but it dropped to second in 2022.

Tamar was also among the Biblical names used by Puritans in the American Colonial Era in the 17th and 18th centuries. Puritan families sometimes used names of Biblical characters seen as sinful as a reminder of man's fallen state.