2 Samuel 13:3
ESV
But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David 's brother. And Jonadab was a very crafty man.
NIV
Now Amnon had an adviser named Jonadab son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Jonadab was a very shrewd man.
NASB
But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David’s brother; and Jonadab was a very clever man.
CSB
Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, a son of David’s brother Shimeah. Jonadab was a very shrewd man,
NLT
But Amnon had a very crafty friend — his cousin Jonadab. He was the son of David’s brother Shimea.
KJV
But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David's brother: and Jonadab was a very subtil man.
NKJV
But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Now Jonadab was a very crafty man.
What does 2 Samuel 13:3 mean?
David's oldest son, Amnon, is obsessed with his half-sister Tamar. His lust is so powerful it makes him physically ill. He can't do anything about it, though. As a young woman who is eligible to marry but not engaged, Tamar is somehow protected from men who aren't fully related to her (2 Samuel 13:1–2).Jonadab, Amnon's cousin, has a plan. Amnon is already "sick": he should play that up. Let his father see him worn out and bedraggled. When David asks, Amnon is to say only food prepared by Tamar can save him (2 Samuel 13:4–6).
"Crafty" is from the Hebrew hakam. It can mean clever, skillful, even wise, but in the Old Testament, it's never used positively. Satan was "the serpent [who] was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made" (Genesis 3:1). God "catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end" (Job 5:13).
Jonadab continues to have a minor role in the story (2 Samuel 13:32), but we're never told why he has inserted himself into the prince's affairs. We don't know if he's causing political turmoil for his own gain or if he's just a natural meddler. Either way, God uses his sinful personality to fulfill God's curses against David (2 Samuel 12:10–12).
Shimeah is also known as Shammah. He's David's third-oldest brother and was present when Samuel anointed David as king and when David killed Goliath (1 Samuel 16:9–13; 17:13).
