Amnon

Amnon was the eldest son of King David in the biblical account. His assault on his half-sister Tamar and subsequent murder by Absalom deepen the violence within David’s household and help set the conditions for later rebellion.

Amnon was born in Hebron and died in Jerusalem. According to 2 Samuel, Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar; David failed to punish him, and two years later Tamar’s brother Absalom arranged Amnon’s killing, deepening the succession crisis within David’s family.

Geraldine Brooks’s The Secret Chord uses Amnon’s assault on Tamar and his subsequent killing by Absalom as one of the central fractures in David’s family. The episode shows how the king’s failure to control or punish violence within his own household feeds the resentment, revenge and succession struggles that later threaten the monarchy itself.