2 Samuel 6:23 Vs. 2 Samuel 21:8 — Did Michal the Daughter of Saul Have Children?
Pick up a King James Bible, flip over to 2 Samuel 6:23 and the passage reads: “Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.” That is simple to understand. Flip over to 2 Samuel 21:8, however, and one finds it mentions “the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.” Did Michal the daughter of Saul have children? Or did the biblical writer simply make a mistake? Did he get confused about who’s who in the family of Saul?
It might be suggested that the “five sons of Michal” were not really biological children, since 2 Samuel 6:23 states that “she brought up for Adriel,” that is Michal “adopted and brought up the boys under her care.”1 However, there may be another way of resolving this apparent contradiction.
Modern translations, for the most part, offer a different reading of the verse. For example, 2 Samuel 21:8 in the New American Standard reads: “the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.”This is also the same for the English Standard Version, the New International Version, and the New Revised Standard Version. The reason why they opt for this alternate reading is that there are two Hebrew manuscripts, and some ancient translations in Greek (Septuagint or LXX) and Syriac that have “Merab” in 2 Samuel 21:8.2 It is also worth noting that elsewhere Merab is clearly identfied as the daughter of Saul who married Adriel (1 Sam. 18:19). Therefore, the woman being referenced in 2 Samuel 6:23 is Michal the daughter of Saul, whereas the woman in 2 Samuel 21:8 is Merab the daughter of Saul. These two women were sisters.
2 Samuel 21 is without a doubt one difficult passage to get a handle on. A prolonged famine lasting three years sent David to seek God. The king then learns the problem stem from “Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death” (v. 1). Saul’s actions broke a covenant between Israel and Gibeon that extended back to the days of Joshua (cf. Josh. 9). David met with the Gibeonites inquiring how make amends, and they ultimately demanded seven of Saul’s sons be put to death (vv. 3-6). David spares Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan (v. 7), but hands over to them Saul’s two sons by Rizpah, Armoni and Mephilbosheth, and his five sons by Merab (vv. 8-9). It can be pointed out that “by modern laws, to punish Saul’s family for Saul’s sins would be equally wrong, but in the ancient world the principle of a family’s common responsibility was strongly held.”3 Still, one might reason that Saul’s killing of Gibeonites was more than just the action of one person; rather, the king killed because his army acted vicariously on his behalf. Perhaps the sons were willfully compliant to their father’s orders and their fate just? The account ends with Rizpah caring for the exposed corpses until the rains came for the harvest, which moved David to take the remains of the seven sons, along with those of Jonathan and Saul and give them a proper burial (vv.10-14). Ultimately, David made right the wrong committed by Saul and God was pleased.
1. Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor, CA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
2. Cf. note in the New International Version. While the KJV reading represents most of the ancient manuscripts, the few ancient manuscripts used in the NASB, ESV, NIV, and NRSV preserve for us the correct reading.
3. D.F. Payne, New Bible Commentary, ed. D. A. Carson, D. Guthrie, and J.A. Motyer (Downers Grove, Il: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994).
It might be suggested that the “five sons of Michal” were not really biological children, since 2 Samuel 6:23 states that “she brought up for Adriel,” that is Michal “adopted and brought up the boys under her care.”1 However, there may be another way of resolving this apparent contradiction.
Modern translations, for the most part, offer a different reading of the verse. For example, 2 Samuel 21:8 in the New American Standard reads: “the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.”This is also the same for the English Standard Version, the New International Version, and the New Revised Standard Version. The reason why they opt for this alternate reading is that there are two Hebrew manuscripts, and some ancient translations in Greek (Septuagint or LXX) and Syriac that have “Merab” in 2 Samuel 21:8.2 It is also worth noting that elsewhere Merab is clearly identfied as the daughter of Saul who married Adriel (1 Sam. 18:19). Therefore, the woman being referenced in 2 Samuel 6:23 is Michal the daughter of Saul, whereas the woman in 2 Samuel 21:8 is Merab the daughter of Saul. These two women were sisters.
2 Samuel 21 is without a doubt one difficult passage to get a handle on. A prolonged famine lasting three years sent David to seek God. The king then learns the problem stem from “Saul and his bloody house, because he put the Gibeonites to death” (v. 1). Saul’s actions broke a covenant between Israel and Gibeon that extended back to the days of Joshua (cf. Josh. 9). David met with the Gibeonites inquiring how make amends, and they ultimately demanded seven of Saul’s sons be put to death (vv. 3-6). David spares Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan (v. 7), but hands over to them Saul’s two sons by Rizpah, Armoni and Mephilbosheth, and his five sons by Merab (vv. 8-9). It can be pointed out that “by modern laws, to punish Saul’s family for Saul’s sins would be equally wrong, but in the ancient world the principle of a family’s common responsibility was strongly held.”3 Still, one might reason that Saul’s killing of Gibeonites was more than just the action of one person; rather, the king killed because his army acted vicariously on his behalf. Perhaps the sons were willfully compliant to their father’s orders and their fate just? The account ends with Rizpah caring for the exposed corpses until the rains came for the harvest, which moved David to take the remains of the seven sons, along with those of Jonathan and Saul and give them a proper burial (vv.10-14). Ultimately, David made right the wrong committed by Saul and God was pleased.
1. Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor, CA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997).
2. Cf. note in the New International Version. While the KJV reading represents most of the ancient manuscripts, the few ancient manuscripts used in the NASB, ESV, NIV, and NRSV preserve for us the correct reading.
3. D.F. Payne, New Bible Commentary, ed. D. A. Carson, D. Guthrie, and J.A. Motyer (Downers Grove, Il: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994).
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