| Absalom אַבְשָׁלוֹם | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Israel | |
.jpg) Death of Absalom (1762) by Corrado Giaquinto | |
| Born | Unknown Hebron, Kingdom of Israel |
| Died | c. 1000 BCE Ephraim, Kingdom of Israel |
| Issue | |
| Dynasty | House of David |
| Father | David ben Yishai |
| Mother | Maacah bat Talmai |
| Religion | Yahwism |
Absalom (Hebrew: אַבְשָׁלוֹם ʾAḇšālōm, lit. 'Father of Peace') was an Israelite prince. Born to David and Maacah, who was from Geshur, he was the only full sibling of Tamar. He is described in the Hebrew Bible as being exceptionally beautiful, as is his sister.[2] In the narrative of 2 Samuel 13, his sister Tamar takes refuge at his house after she is raped by their paternal half-brother Amnon (born to David and Ahinoam, who was from Jezreel); David is angered by the incident, but does nothing, as Amnon is his heir apparent. Infuriated by the rape and David's inaction, Absalom assassinates Amnon and subsequently flees to Geshur, which is ruled by his and Tamar's maternal grandfather Talmai.
Following three years in exile, he returns to Israel and rallies popular support against the House of David. A war ensues when Absalom's rebels mobilize at Hebron and begin fighting David's army in an attempt to overthrow him, but their revolt ends in failure when Absalom is killed by David's nephew and army commander Joab during the Battle of the Wood of Ephraim.[3] In the aftermath of his death, Absalom's sister is described as being left "a desolate women in her brother's house" and the sole guardian of his orphaned daughter, who is also named Tamar.