Michal and David's Argument/2

Michal and David Argue

Exegetical Approaches

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Dispute Over Monarchic Behavior

Michal and David's dispute stemmed from differing attitudes towards kingship.

Sources:Midrash Shemuel25About Midrash Shemuel, RadakShemuel II 6:16Shemuel II 6:20-23About R. David Kimchi, RalbagShemuel II 6:16Shemuel II 6:20Shemuel II Toalot 6:16About R. Levi b. Gershom, Abarbanel, MalbimShemuel II 6:16Shemuel II 6:20-23About R. Meir Leibush Weiser,

"אֲשֶׁר נִגְלָה הַיּוֹם " – Midrash Rabbah maintains that Michal denigrated David for his immodesty in dancing and revealing himself before the maidservants, claiming that this was unbecoming of a king and that her father's household had much more self respect.

"לְעֵינֵי אַמְהוֹת עֲבָדָיו" – These words suggests that Michal was further troubled by David's mingling with those of lower stature than himself.  She felt that it was beneath a king to dance with the masses, as if he were one of them.

David's retort: repetition of "לִפְנֵי י"י" – Twice in his response to Michal, David repeats that his actions were doneלִפְנֵי י"י" ,‏‎"¹ emphasizing to his wife that before God, the true King, he really is no different than anyone else in the nation.  As such, joining the nation was not shame worthy, but a means of glorifying Hashem.

Michal bat Shaul – Throughout the passage Michal is consistently referred to in relationship to her father, as "בַּת שָׁאוּל".  This might be the text's subtle way of emphasizing that Michal's attitude towards David stemmed from her growing up in Shaul's palace and following the values of her father.

Shaul and honor – Sefer Shemuel suggests in several places that Shaul's downfall lay in his forgetting that, though a king, he was still subservient to Hashem.  Thus, both in Gilgal and his battle with Amalek, when he saw himself as above heeding the prophetic command, he was punished with losing the kingship.  For details, see Shaul's Sin in Gilgal and Shaul's Sin in the Battle with Amalek.  David's recognition that he must act לִפְנֵי י"י"‏" thus highlights the contrast between the two kings.²

"God chose me over your father's house" – In reacting to Michal, David explains to her that their different visions of kingship are what led to the rejection of Shaul and choice of David.  While Shaul put human honor above Divine glory, David did the reverse.³ As such, it was he, not Shaul, who merited to head the dynastic line.

No children – All of these sources read this as a punishment for Michal's words.⁴  It is possible that until this story, Michal stood the chance of being the Queen Mother and bearing the heir to the throne.  However, once she demonstrated that she had inherited the traits of her father's house, Michal was no longer considered worthy.  Thus, the story concludes with the fact that she did not bear any children, highlighting that she was the end of the line, and that the Davidic dynasty would not continue with any of Shaul's blood-line.⁵

Hanging of "Michal's children" – According to Radak and Ralbag, the children that David hanged were actually born to Merav, and are only attributed to Michal since she helped raise them.  Regardless, the story further highlights how Shaul's line had no hopes of revival.

What if?

Evaluation of David – This approach views David positively, as a model of what a king stands for.

Anguish Regarding Marital Relations

Michal's outburst related to her personal, family life with David.  Seeing him dance with the maidservants highlighted to her the one-sidedness of their relationship.

Sources:modern scholars⁶

Michal's love of David – Michal is introduced to the reader in Shemuel 18 with the words "וַתֶּאֱהַב מִיכַל בַּת שָׁאוּל אֶת דָּוִד".  She plays no active role in the scene, which ends, as it began, with the fact of her love: "וּמִיכַל בַּת שָׁאוּל אֲהֵבַתְהוּ".  This leaves Michal as but a name and an emotion: love. As Michal is the only woman in Tanakh explicitly mentioned to have loved a man, the emotion is all the more stark.

David's love for Michal – R. Alter points out that though Shemuel I 18 does not reveal David's feelings regarding Michal,⁷ his motive for taking her as a wife is explicit: "וַיִּשַׁר הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינֵי דָוִד לְהִתְחַתֵּן בַּמֶּלֶךְ".  The contrast between the couple is clear: while Michal desires to marry David because she loves him, David desires Michal because she is an instrument which will allow him to marry into kingship.

Michal saves David – When Shaul seeks to kill David in his home in Shemuel I 19, Michal sides with her husband, putting her love into action as she devises and executes a plan to save David.  she is met with silence

¹ This phrase repeats six times throughout the chapter, each time emphasizing how all of David's actions were done with Hashem's honor in mind.

² See Malbim who points out this contrast between the two monarchic houses.

³ This is evident from David's very first actions.  When fighting Golyat, David explicitly states that power lay not in the strength of the sword but "בְּשֵׁם י"י צְבָאוֹת" since "לַי"י הַמִּלְחָמָה".

⁴ While Abarbanel implies that Hashem intervened to ensure this (by closing Michal's womb), Ralbag suggests that from this day forward David ceased to love Michal and stopped having relations with her.

⁵ Abarbanel adds that Hashem knew that David was gong to have to avenge Shaul's killing of the Givonites by giving of his offspring to be killed (see Shemuel II 21).  If Michal had borne children to David he would be in a quandary, either forced to kill his own children or be accused of unjustly having mercy on them.

⁶ See, for example, Robert Alter, The Art of Biblical Narrative

⁷ This silence alone, however, can not be taken as a statement that he does not love Michal as Tanakh is silent about the emotions of many of its characters.