Songs for Tamar

Chapter Ten

Chapter 10

(Blood avengers attack Jesse and Tamar. According to the Prophet Gad, King David sinned when he held a census in the land. He prophecies a short, devasting plague on Israel much like what happened to Egypt. After striking thousands, Jesse is also becomes ill. Tamar goes with head uncovered to appeal to the kng to do something. Together they find a threshing floor that David buys to make a sacrifice and lift the plague.)

During the next months Tamar received a letter carried by servants from the King of Geshur but bearing Absalom's seal. She read it and then called for Jesse.

Taking Jesse aside, Tamar said that Absalom was safe with her grandfather in the Kingdom of Geshur. "Absalom is safe. He conspired with our grandfather to search for others wronged by Amnon. His servants had found a young maiden whom he had also taken by force for his pleasure. Almost no one in Tekoa knew that she had suffered his lust before her marriage to a young shepherd."

"Oh, now I understand why no one in the king's family knew what was coming to Amnon. No one else would suspect another family would also have reason to take revenge on Amnon."

Tamar replied, "It is as you have guessed. Absalom writes that no one paid attention to her family members or remembers seeing them at the sheep shearing. Even though everyone knows that it was by Absalom's hand that Amnon fell, his co-conspirators in revenge now walk unsuspected among the good people of Tekoa to this day."

One morning before the first birds greeted the coming daylight, Jacob was sitting with weapon in hand in the courtyard. He had nodded off to sleep and was startled to find assassins confronting him. He managed a muffled shout before they disemboweled him. He fell dead before them. Rizpah, who slept with young Tamar by her side, ran upstairs with the young child. She managed to place her behind a door and turn to delay her attackers.

As she fell dead before them, Jesse surprised them from behind, striking one dead and then the other. By that time, Tamar had taken the young child in her arms and waited until she could be certain they were out of danger.

She was relieved to hear Jesse's confident voice. "It is over, our blood avengers are dead." His voice then quivered. "But so are our beloved Rizpah and her young husband."

They managed to clear the assassins' bodies, paying those who cared for the unwanted dead to bury them in unmarked graves. Jesse was again able to pay them with shekels found on the assassins themselves.

Tamar held her brother's daughter close to her breast, while leaning against Jesse. The sun was appearing through the cracks in their house gate.

"Who has done this?" she asked.

Holding the lamp near to one of the dead assassins in the early morning light, Jesse said with little surprise, "Just as I suspected, I recognized a servant of Amnon's dear distant cousin, Jonadab.He paid them well instead of doing the evil deed himself."

"Jonadab? Would my brother Amnon's cousin be behind these troubles?"

Jesse put his arm around Tamar and kissed her and the child. "Follow any trouble back to its beginning and you will find Jonadab's hand. He has always been a bigger threat to Absalom and us. Perhaps he wants pit Absalom against the king and his remaining sons. After they destroy each other, he could then move in to take over David's throne."

Tamar and Jesse then slept in separate rooms. He placed her in a smaller room behind his. They made dummies to sleep in all the larger beds in the house. They then spread large fragments of jars on the floor. Next they stretched ropes across other rooms with small stones in jars. Anyone disturbing the ropes would cause stones in the jars to rattle loud.