AMNON’S RAPE OF TAMAR IN 2 SAMUEL 13:1-22: IMPLICATION FOR THE NIGERIAN SOCIETY
Abstract
Amnon’s rape of Tamar is one of those events that marked the beginning of retrogressions in the reign of King David. Perhaps David’s failure to bring Amnon to book may be because he was the heir apparent and would not want anything that will jeopardize the chances of Amnon ascending the throne after his father. Certainly Tamar was abandoned and made to bear the consequences of her brother’s unbridled lust and her father’s ineptitude to act. In Nigeria today, there is an increasing wave of rape and gender based violence against women and girls. Peter describes women as ‘weaker vessels’ (1 Peter 3:7), hence should be protected by the society against any form of sexual molestation. Unfortunately, sexual predators and rape perpetrators take advantage of vulnerable and innocent girls, women and minors. There are plausible reasons suggested for the perpetration of this evil act. They include intimidation, a show of impunity, mental malady, idleness, drug and substance abuse and alcoholism among others. The phenomenon has resulted in unwanted pregnancy, death of victims, psychological trauma, suicide, sexually transmitted diseases and stigmatization. The objective of this essay is to examine the effects of rape perpetration in the Nigerian society with a view to recommending measures of preventing by using the case of the rape of Tamar in 2 Samuel 13:1-22. The paper adopts the historical, exegetical and hermeneutical methods in addressing the phenomenon. The paper concludes by recommending aggressive campaign awareness, stiffer punishment for rapist and empathy for victims rather than stigmatization.
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