Biblical Profile: Michal

Michal

Michal was King Saul’s younger daughter (1 Sam 14:49) and David’s first wife (18:17-27). She played a significant role in the transition from Saul’s reign to David’s.

In the ancient Near East, marriages of leading families were often politically motivated. Saul baited David into a dangerous situation by promising him his older daughter, Merab, if he would fight the Philistines. As a powerful warrior, David was an emerging leader in Saul’s kingdom. The king should have been happy to have such an ally, but he soon grew jealous of David’s accomplishments and suspicious of his ambitions. Saul hoped that David would die in the attempt, but the deal fell through. Later, Saul learned that his younger daughter, Michal, loved David (18:20), which gave the king another opportunity to bait David into fighting the Philistines. This time David agreed. When David returned victorious, Saul could not avoid giving David his daughter in marriage. This marriage alliance helped David when he was seeking to establish his credentials with the northern tribes (2 Sam 3:13-16).

Michal loved David early in their relationship and even deceived her father to help David escape from a plot to kill him (1 Sam 19:11-17). After David left Saul’s court, Saul arranged another marriage for her (25:44), but David later broke up that marriage to get her back (2 Sam 3:13-16). Michal expressed contempt toward David when he danced joyfully before the Ark of the Covenant as it was being brought into Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:16-23). Because of her contempt for the king, Michal was unable to bear children.