Michal

Biblical Account

Michal was the younger daughter of Saul. Her older sister was Merab, and Jonathan was her brother (1 Samuel 14:49).

• Marriage to David: When Saul learned that Michal loved David, he sought to use this to his advantage. He demanded a hundred foreskins of the Philistines as a bride-price, hoping that David would fall by the hand of the Philistines. When David brought back twice that number, Saul gave Michal to him as his wife (1 Samuel 18:20-28).
• Helping David escape: When Saul sent men to kill David, Michal let him down through a window so that he could flee. She then placed teraphim (household idols) in the bed, covered them with goats' hair, and claimed that David was sick (1 Samuel 19:11-17).
• Given to another man: While David was a fugitive, Saul gave Michal to Phalti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim (1 Samuel 25:44).
• Return to David: After Saul's death, David made Michal's return a condition of his negotiations with Abner. Ish-bosheth took Michal from her husband Phaltiel, who followed her weeping as far as Bahurim before turning back (2 Samuel 3:13-16).
• The Ark incident: As David danced while bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, Michal looked out through a window and despised him in her heart. When she mocked David, he replied that he had danced before the LORD. The passage concludes, "Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death" (2 Samuel 6:16-23; 1 Chronicles 15:29).

Significance Within Scripture

In these scenes the text repeatedly calls Michal "the daughter of Saul." Her story is therefore read in connection with the decline of the house of Saul and the establishment of the Davidic dynasty. The statement that she died childless is also interpreted to mean that the bloodlines of the houses of Saul and David were never united. Michal is not mentioned in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Debates

• Why she was childless: Some interpret her childlessness as divine punishment, while others see it as the result of David's no longer having relations with her. The text does not state the reason.
• Why she despised David: Interpretations also differ on why Michal despised David. Some suggest she regarded his dancing in only a linen ephod as unbecoming of a king; others, that her pride as a member of Saul's house was wounded; still others, that resentment had built up over her forced separation from her husband. Some recent readings view Michal as a woman used as a pawn in political bargaining.
• The name in 2 Samuel 21:8: The Hebrew text names "Michal" as the woman who bore five sons to Adriel. Because Adriel's wife was Merab (1 Samuel 18:19), however, many translations render the name as "Merab." The Korean Revised Version reads "Michal," while the New Korean Revised Version reads "Merab." Jewish tradition also preserves the explanation that Michal raised her sister's sons.
• Teraphim: Some interpreters see the presence of teraphim in David's house as reflecting the household religious practices of the time.

In the Korean Church

Sermons most often focus on 2 Samuel 6. David's dancing is presented as an attitude of worship that disregards appearances before God, and Michal is frequently cited as an example of someone who judges the worship of others by outward appearance. In Sunday school, the story of Michal helping David escape through a window is sometimes taught as part of lessons on David's life.