Merab

Biblical Record

Merab is first introduced in 1 Samuel 14:49 as a daughter of Saul. This verse states that of Saul's two daughters, the elder was Merab and the younger was Michal.

The principal passage in which Merab appears is 1 Samuel 18:17–19. As David's fame grew after he struck down Goliath, Saul offered him his elder daughter Merab as a wife and told him to fight the Lord's battles. The text also reveals Saul's hidden motive: he wanted David to die at the hands of the Philistines rather than by his own hand. David declined, asking who he and his family were that he should become the king's son-in-law. Yet when the time came for Merab to be given to David, Saul instead gave her as a wife to Adriel the Meholathite. Saul afterward gave his younger daughter Michal, who loved David, to David (1 Samuel 18:20–27).

The account in 2 Samuel 21:1–14 records a three-year famine in David's time on account of Saul's killing of the Gibeonites. At the Gibeonites' demand, David handed over seven of Saul's descendants, who were then executed. Five of them were sons whom a daughter of Saul bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai (2 Samuel 21:8). Because the husband's name is Adriel, many interpreters regard these as Merab's sons.

Significance in Scripture

Scripture does not record a single word spoken by Merab or any of her thoughts. She appears chiefly in a narrative that illustrates Saul's attitude toward David. Saul's plan to use marriage to his daughter as bait to have David killed in battle, and his failure to keep his promise, are read as scenes exposing his jealousy and distrust of David. The New Testament does not mention Merab.

Interpretive Issues

• The name in 2 Samuel 21:8: The Hebrew Masoretic Text reads "Michal the daughter of Saul" in this verse. However, some Hebrew manuscripts and some manuscripts of the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) read "Merab." Second Samuel 6:23 states that Michal had no child to the day of her death, and Adriel was Merab's husband. For these reasons many scholars and modern translations identify the person in this verse as Merab. Korean Bible translations likewise vary, some rendering the name "Michal" and others "Merab." Jewish rabbinic literature (the Talmud) is also reported to contain a tradition explaining that Merab bore the sons and Michal raised them.
• The Septuagint omission: Some major manuscripts of the Septuagint are reported to lack the account of Merab's marriage (1 Samuel 18:17–19) altogether. This passage is frequently discussed in studies of the transmission of the text of Samuel.
• The text does not say what Merab thought of David or whether she desired her marriage to Adriel. Any explanation of these matters should be treated as interpretation or conjecture.

In the Korean Church

Merab is rarely treated as a sermon topic in her own right. She is usually mentioned only briefly, together with Michal, in sermons or Bible studies on 1 Samuel 18 that deal with Saul's jealousy and David's humility.