Michal: "O virgin among women blest,
whom Heav'n ordains thy bride!
But ah, how strong a bar I see betwixt my happiness and me!"
Georg Friedrich Händel, Saul, Act II
"More than once I saw you planted by a small window
blending pride and kindness in your beautiful eye;
Michal, my far away sister, I am aggrieved like you.
Like you, I was sentenced to despise the one I love"
Ra'chel, Michal
Your scribes will write you down a great king,
and of me--if they say anything at all--
but I belong to that doomed house of Saul
not even Jonathan could save.
I shall not weep before you again;
these tears are the last:
now I have wept them all away.
And I can speak of all my dead
without a tear.
Your scribes will write me down as a cold, proud woman,
wandering about the garden of the king,
and you a glorious king, a glorious king.
Charles Reznikoff, King David (IX David and Michal)
Biblical Sources
Saul’s sons were: Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua; and the names of his two daughters were Merav, the older, and Michal, the younger.
(14) David was successful in all his undertakings, for the LORD was with him; (15) and when Saul saw that he was successful, he dreaded him. (16) All Israel and Judah loved David, for he marched at their head. (17) Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter, Merav; I will give her to you in marriage; in return, you be my warrior and fight the battles of the LORD.” Saul thought: “Let not my hand strike him; let the hand of the Philistines strike him.” (18) David replied to Saul, “Who am I and what is my life—my father’s family in Israel—that I should become Your Majesty’s son-in-law?” (19) But at the time that Merav, daughter of Saul, should have been given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel the Meholathite. (20) Now Michal daughter of Saul had fallen in love with David; and when this was reported to Saul, he was pleased. (21) Saul thought: “I will give her to him, and she can serve as a snare for him, so that the Philistines may kill him.” So Saul said to David, “You can become my son-in-law even now through the second one.”
Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
(12) Avner immediately sent messengers to David, saying, “To whom shall the land belong?” and to say [further], “Make a pact with me, and I will help you and bring all Israel over to your side.” (13) He replied, “Good; I will make a pact with you. But I make one demand upon you: Do not appear before me unless you bring Michal daughter of Saul when you come before me.” (14) David also sent messengers to Ishbosheth son of Saul, to say, “Give me my wife Michal, for whom I paid the bride-price of one hundred Philistine foreskins.” (15) So Ishbosheth sent and had her taken away from [her] husband, Paltiel son of Laish. (16) Her husband walked with her as far as Bahurim, weeping as he followed her; then Avner ordered him to turn back, and he went back.
(2) Sons were born to David in Hebron: His first-born was Amnon, by Ahinoam of Jezreel; (3) his second was Chileab, by Abigail wife of Naval the Carmelite; the third was Avshalom son of Maacah, daughter of King Talmai of Geshur; (4) the fourth was Adonijah son of Haggith; the fifth was Shephatiah son of Avital; (5) and the sixth was Ithream, by David’s wife Eglah. These were born to David in Hebron.
(1) There was a famine during the reign of David, year after year for three years. David inquired of the LORD, and the LORD replied, “It is because of the bloodguilt of Saul and [his] house, for he put some Gibeonites to death.” (2) The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them.—Now the Gibeonites were not of Israelite stock, but a remnant of the Amorites, to whom the Israelites had given an oath; and Saul had tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the people of Israel and Judah.— (3) David asked the Gibeonites, “What shall I do for you? How shall I make expiation, so that you may bless the LORD’s own people?” (4) The Gibeonites answered him, “We have no claim for silver or gold against Saul and his household; and we have no claim on the life of any other man in Israel.” And [David] responded, “Whatever you say I will do for you.” (5) Thereupon they said to the king, “The man who massacred us and planned to exterminate us, so that we should not survive in all the territory of Israel— (6) let seven of his male issue be handed over to us, and we will impale them before the LORD in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” And the king replied, “I will do so.” (7) The king spared Mephibosheth son of Jonathan son of Saul, because of the oath before the LORD between the two, between David and Jonathan son of Saul. (8) Instead, the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons that Rizpah daughter of Aiah bore to Saul, and the five sons that Merab daughter of Saul bore to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite, (9) and he handed them over to the Gibeonites. They impaled them on the mountain before the LORD; all seven of them perished at the same time. They were put to death in the first days of the harvest, the beginning of the barley harvest. (10) Then Rizpah daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it on a rock for herself, and she stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until rain from the sky fell on the bodies; she did not let the birds of the sky settle on them by day or the wild beasts [approach] by night.
JPS footnote to Second Samuel 21:8 So two Heb. mss., many Septuagint mss., and Peshitta; and cf. Targum, Sanhedrin 19b, and 1 Sam. 18.19. Most mss. and the printed editions read “Michal.”
Rabbinic Sources
תנו רבנן ארבע נשים יפיפיות היו בעולם שרה (ואביגיל רחב) ואסתר ולמאן דאמר אסתר ירקרוקת היתה מפיק אסתר ומעייל ושתי תנו רבנן רחב בשמה זינתה יעל בקולה אביגיל בזכירתה מיכל בת שאול בראייתה.
To complete the discussion about the prophetesses, the Gemara cites a baraita in which the Sages taught: There were four women of extraordinary beauty in the world: Sarah, and Abigail, Rahab, and Esther. And according to the one who said that Esther was greenish in color, lacking natural beauty, only that a cord of divine grace was strung around her, remove Esther from the list and insert Vashti in her place, for she was indeed beautiful. The Sages taught in a baraita: Rahab aroused impure thoughts by her name, i.e., the mere mention of her name would inspire lust for her; Yael, by her voice; Abigail, by remembering her; Michal, the daughter of Saul, by her appearance.
The mishna teaches: And no one may marry the king’s widow, and Rabbi Yehuda says that a king may marry another king’s widow, as proven by King David, who was promised with regard to King Saul after his death: “And I have given you the house of your master and the wives of your master” (II Samuel 12:8). It is taught in a baraita: The Sages said to Rabbi Yehuda: The meaning of the verse is not that David married Saul’s widows, but that he married women appropriate for him from the house of the king. And who are they? Merav and Michal, the daughters of Saul. The Gemara relates a discussion about David’s marriage to Merav and Michal from a baraita (Tosefta, Sota 11:9): Rabbi Yosei’s students asked him: How did David marry two sisters while they were both alive? Rabbi Yosei said to them: He married Michal only after the death of Merav, which is permitted. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa says a different explanation: His betrothal to Merav was in error and therefore void from the outset, and so Michal was permitted to him. This is as it is stated in the words of King David to Saul’s son Ish-bosheth: “Deliver me my wife Michal, whom I betrothed to me for one hundred foreskins of the Philistines” (II Samuel 3:14). The Gemara asks: What is the biblical derivation here? How does Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa learn from this verse that King David’s betrothal to Merav was in error? Rav Pappa says: In the verse, David indicates: Michal is my wife but Merav is not my wife. The Gemara asks: What caused the betrothal between David and Merav to be a mistaken betrothal? The Gemara responds: As it is written about Israel’s war against the Philistines and Goliath: “And it shall be that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches and will give him his daughter, and make his father’s house free in Israel” (I Samuel 17:25). David went and killed Goliath. King Saul said to him: You have a loan in my possession, as I owe you the great wealth that I promised, though David had not given him an actual monetary loan. And the halakha is that with regard to one who betroths a woman by forgiving a loan, she is not betrothed, and therefore David’s betrothal of Merav did not take effect. Saul went and gave Merav to Adriel, as it is written: “But it came to pass at the time when Merav, Saul’s daughter, should have been given to David, that she was given to Adriel the Meholathite as a wife” (I Samuel 18:19). Saul said to David: If you want me to give you Michal, go bring me one hundred foreskins of the Philistines (see I Samuel 18:25–27). David went and brought Saul two hundred foreskins. Saul said to him: Even though you brought the foreskins, the betrothal is not valid, as you, David, have a loan and one peruta in my possession, i.e., the wealth Saul owed him for slaying Goliath as well as the item of lesser monetary value, the foreskins of the Philistines. Saul and David had a halakhic dispute on this point: Saul reasoned that in the case of one who betroths a woman by forgiving a loan and giving her one peruta, his mind is focused on the loan and not on the additional peruta, and therefore the betrothal is not valid. And David reasoned that in the case of one who betroths a woman by forgiving a loan and giving her one peruta, his mind is focused on the peruta and therefore the betrothal is valid. And if you wish, say instead: Everyone reasons that in the case of one who betroths a woman by forgiving a loan and giving her one peruta, his mind is focused on the peruta. Saul reasoned that foreskins of Philistines are not fit for any purpose and as such are worth not even one peruta, and that consequently the betrothal did not take effect. And David reasoned that they are fit for dogs and cats as food and as such are worth at least one peruta, and therefore the betrothal takes effect. The Gemara asks: And according to Rabbi Yosei, who explains that David married Michal after the death of Merav, with regard to this verse: “Deliver me my wife Michal” (II Samuel 3:14), what does he derive from it? The Gemara answers: Rabbi Yosei conforms to his standard line of reasoning, as it is taught in a baraita (Tosefta, Sota 11:8): Rabbi Yosei would derive meaning from mixed verses that seem contradictory. The Tosefta continues. It is written: “But the king took the two sons of Rizpah, daughter of Aiah, whom she bore unto Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth, and the five sons of Michal, daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel, son of Barzillai the Meholathite” (II Samuel 21:8). But did Saul give Michal to Adriel? But didn’t he give her to Palti, son of Laish, as it is written: “Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti, son of Laish” (I Samuel 25:44)? The Tosefta continues: The first verse does not mean, then, that Michal married Adriel. Rather, the verse compares Merav’s betrothal to Adriel to Michal’s betrothal to Palti: Just as Michal’s betrothal to Palti was effected in transgression, according to all opinions, since she was already married to David, so, too, Merav’s betrothal to Adriel was effected in transgression, since according to halakha she was betrothed to David. The Gemara asks: And according to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa as well, isn’t it written: “And the five sons of Michal, daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel” (II Samuel 21:8). Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korḥa could have said to you to understand it this way: And did Michal give birth to these children? But didn’t Merav give birth to them for Adriel? Rather, Merav gave birth to them and died, and Michal raised them in her house. Therefore, the children were called by her name, to teach you that with regard to anyone who raises an orphan in his house, the verse ascribes him credit as if he gave birth to him.
נשים מניין (דברים יא) "ולמדתם אותם את בניכם" - ולא את בנותיכם. את שהוא חייב בת"ת חייב בתפילין, נשים, שאינן חייבות בת"ת, אינן חייבין בתפילין. התיבון הרי מיכל בת כושי היתה לובשת תפילין, ואשתו של יונה היתה עולה לרגלים, ולא מיחו בידיה חכמים? ר' חזקיה בשם ר' אבהו "אשתו של יונה הושבה, מיכל בת כושי מיחו בידיה חכמים."
From where do we know that women [are exempt from Tefillin]? [It is written in (Deuteronomy 11)] 'And you should teach it to your sons' - [and this implies] not to your daughters. [So] one who is obligated to learn Torah is obligated [to wear] Tefillin, [but] women, who are not obligated to learn Torah, or not obligated [to wear] Tefillin. Hateivon but [what about] Michal bat Kushi who wore Tefillin, and the wife of Yonah who went on the pilgrimage, and the Sages didn't protest? Rabbi Chizkiyah said, quoting Rabbi Abahu, "Yonah's wife returned and [as for] Michal bat Kushi, the Sages did protest".
Midrash and Commentary
David had six wives, including Michal, the daughter of Saul, who is called by the pet name Eglah, "Calfkin," in the list given in the Bible narrative. Michal was of entrancing beauty, and at the same time the model of a loving wife. Not only did she save David out of the hands of her father, but also, when Saul, as her father and her king, commanded her to marry another man, she acquiesced only apparently. She entered into a mock marriage in order not to arouse the anger of Saul, who had annulled her union with David on grounds which he thought legal. Michal was good as well as beautiful; she showed such extraordinary kindness to the orphan children of her sister Merav that the Bible speaks of the five sons of Michal "whom she bore to Adriel." Adriel, however, was her brother-in-law and not her husband, but she had raised his children, treating them as though they were her own. Michal was no less a model of piety. Although the law exempted her, as a woman, from the duty, still she executed the commandment of using phylacteries. In spite of all these virtues, she was severely punished by God for her scorn of David, whom she reproached with lack of dignity, when he had in mind only to do honor to God. Long she remained childless, and at last, when she was blessed with a child, she lost her own life in giving birth to it.
Antiquities Josephus Flavius, 7:4:3
But when Michal his wife, the daughter of Saul, came and stood by him (David), she wished him all other happiness, and entreated that whatsoever he should further desire, to the utmost possibility, might be given him by God, and that he might be favorable to him; yet did she blame him, that so great a king as he was should dance after an unseemly manner, and in his dancing, uncover himself among the servants and the handmaidens. But he replied, that he was not ashamed to do what was acceptable to God, who had preferred him before her father, and before all others; that he would play frequently, and dance, without any regard to what the handmaidens and she herself thought of it. So this Michal, who was David's wife, had no children; however, when she was afterward married to him to whom Saul her father had given her, (for at this time David had taken her away from him, and had her himself,) she bore five children.
Woman at the Window, Nechama Aschkenasy, ( Wayne State University Press (October 1, 1998) ) 35-6
The tale of Michal, King Saul's daughter who became David's first wife, is wrapped by two window scenes that mark her transformation from power to powerlessness. The chronicle of Michal's unhappy life is buried under the exciting sage of David's rise to power and his amazing success as a king loved by both the people and God. Bits and pieces of her story are interspersed into the epic of David's adventures, but she is never the center of interest, the main figure on the canvas. Yet the dispersed episodes about Michal, strung together and read in unity, are a paradigm of the deterioration of a charismatic, independent-minded woman in an environment hostile to female autonomy....When Michal is first introduced to us,we are given a very unusual piece of information, repeated twice: that Michal loves David. Biblical women never express love for a man other than a son....For Michal to love David was not unusual, given his popularity among all Israelites, men and especially women;but for her to make it public meant she was fearless and unorthodox.
Fragmented Women:Feminist (Sub)Versions of Biblical Narratives (JSOT Supplement 1993) J. Cheryl Exum,45-6
Although she cannot act with political autonomy, in the scenes where she is the subject of action Michal exercises the freedom to take sides denied to her elsewhere, supporting first her husband, but ultimately representing her father's house. Significantly, Michal is called "David's wife" when she defies her father and orchestrates David's escape, and "Saul's daughter" when she challenges her husband. Thus it is as rival's wife--not daughter--that Michal confronts her father, the king, in 1 Samuel 19, and as rival's daughter--not wife--that she confronts her husband, the king, in 2 Samuel 6. The tension between Michal's lack of autonomy and her attempts to assert her will draws attention to her impossible position as a woman caught between rival royal houses, a situation fatally resolved in her final attempt.
The Art of Biblical Narrative, Robert Alter, 122-23.
The actual reunion between David and Michal is entirely surppressed, for the writer wants to leave us wondering a little longer while he attends to climatic political events (the murder of Abner, the end of the civil war, the conquest of Jerusalem) and thus to reserve the revelation of what their mutual attitudes now are for a final confrontation between them. The writer's artful sureness of selectivity in the means he adopts to present character is evident in the striking fact that, until the final meeting Michal and David, at no point is there any dialogue between them--an avoidance of verbal exchange particularly noticeable in the Bible, where such a large part of the burden of narration is taken up by dialogue. When that exchange finally comes, it is an explosion...."As the Ark of the Lord came into the City of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked out the window and saw King David leaping and cavorting before the Lord, and she despised him in her heart.(2 Sam. 6:16)." With a fine sense of the tactics of exposition, the narrator tells us exactly what Michal is feeling but not why. The hiatus in explanation, which will in part be filled by the ensuing dialogue, again opens the gates to multiple interpretation. The scorn for David welling up in Michal's heart is thus plausibly attributable in some degree to all of the following: the undignified public spectacle which David just now is making of himself; Michal's jealousy over the moment of glory David is enjoying while she sits alone, a neglected co-wife, back at the provisional palace; Michal's resentment over David's indifference to her all these years, over the other wives he has taken, over being torn away from her devoted Palti; David's dynastic ambitions---now clearly revealed in his establishing the Ark in the "City of David"---which will irrevocably displace the house of Saul. The distance between the spouses is nicely indicated here by the epithets chosen for each: she is the "daughter of Saul," and she sees him as the king. Michal's subsequent words to David seize on the immediate occasion, the leaping and cavorting, as the particular reason for her anger, but the biblical writer knows as well as any psychologically minded modern that one's emotional reaction to an immediate stimulus can have a complicated prehistory; and by suppressing any casual explanation in his initial statement of Michal's scorn, he beautifully suggests the "overdetermined" nature of her contemptuous ire, how it bears the weight of everything that has not been said but obliquely intimated about the relation between Michal and David.
The Beginning of Politics: Power in the Biblical Book of Samuel Moshe Halbertal & Stephan Holmes 34
In its essence, love is a noninstrumental relationship. The other whom you love is not solely a means to your end. You care for the beloved person for his or her own sake. Yet Saul's treatment of his daughter as an instrument in a plot to kill her beloved violated the protection that parental love is supposed to grant. Michal's story epitomizes the problem of instrumentalizing essentially noninstrumental relations, since it concerns the way in which the quest for power corrupts its wielders and seekers to the point of debasing love itself. Uninhibited political instrumentalization, our author implies, spreads its poisonous reach into what should be the most secure fabric of human relations--the father's love for his children.
The Beginning of Politics: Power in the Biblical Book of Samuel Moshe Halbertal & Stephan Holmes 187n.15
At this point [when he sends Abner to bring Michal to him], David is no longer merely trying to marry into a politically prominent family, which is nearly a universal way of treating women instrumentally in most societies prior to the nineteenth century. Instead, he wants Michal to remain childless so that the Saulide line will expire. Thus, like Saul in the earlier episode, David is here violating a love-bond to eliminate a potential rival to the throne. That is the kind of instrumentalization that deserved to be called cynical, callous and morally odious.