Michal’s Unrequited Love for David

Buried under the exciting account of David’s rise to power as king is the story of the unrequited love and unhappy life of his first wife, Michal. Her name first appears as the younger of two daughters in a list of Saul’s children (1 Sam 14:49), but she only comes to life as a biblical character when she meets David, the charismatic young man in her father’s court. Michal is the only female in biblical narrative described as loving a man, unabashed to let her romantic choice be known:

^{שׁמואל א יח:כ} וַתֶּאֱהַב מִיכַל בַּת שָׁאוּל אֶת דָּוִד וַיַּגִּדוּ לְשָׁאוּל וַיִּשַׁר הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינָיו.

^{1 Sam 18:20} Now Michal daughter of Saul had fallen in love with David; and when this was reported to Saul, he was pleased.^[1]

Michal thus cuts the image of a non-conformist woman. However, she is treated as no more than a political bargaining chip for both her father and her intended husband.

Upon hearing of Michal’s feelings, Saul is pleased, but only because he sees an opportunity to use his daughter to entrap David by offering her hand in marriage in exchange for David’s agreement to deliver to the king מֵאָה עָרְלוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים, “one hundred foreskins of the Philistines” (18:25), an almost impossible feat:

^{שׁמואל א יח:כא} וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל אֶתְּנֶנָּה לּוֹ וּתְהִי לוֹ לְמוֹקֵשׁ וּתְהִי בוֹ יַד פְּלִשְׁתִּים וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל אֶל דָּוִד בִּשְׁתַּיִם תִּתְחַתֵּן בִּי הַיּוֹם.

^{1 Sam 18:21} 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, “With the second one you will marry unto me today.”

When making the offer to David, Saul does not bother to spell out Michal’s name, but simply refers to his “second” daughter, and he describes the proposed alliance as David marrying “unto” him. He then sends courtiers to urge David to accept his offer:

^{שׁמואל א יח:כב} וַיְצַו שָׁאוּל אֶת עֲבָדָו [עֲבָדָיו] דַּבְּרוּ אֶל דָּוִד בַּלָּט לֵאמֹר הִנֵּה חָפֵץ בְּךָ הַמֶּלֶךְ וְכָל עֲבָדָיו אֲהֵבוּךָ וְעַתָּה הִתְחַתֵּן בַּמֶּלֶךְ.

^{1 Sam 18:22} And Saul instructed his courtiers to say to David privately, “The king is fond of you and all his courtiers like you. So why not marry unto the king?”

In his response to Saul’s offer, David diplomatically, and with humility, expresses doubt that he is worthy of becoming the king’s son-in-law (lit. marrying “unto the king”), but he never mentions any feeling toward Michal:^[2]

^{שׁמואל א יח:כג} וַיְדַבְּרוּ עַבְדֵי שָׁאוּל בְּאָזְנֵי דָוִד אֶת הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד הַנְקַלָּה בְעֵינֵיכֶם הִתְחַתֵּן בַּמֶּלֶךְ וְאָנֹכִי אִישׁ רָשׁ וְנִקְלֶה.

^{1 Sam 18:23} When the king’s courtiers repeated these words to David, David replied, “Do you think that marrying unto the king is a small matter, when I am but a poor man of no consequence?”

After David successfully delivers the bride-price, which Saul had hoped would get him killed, Michal becomes David’s wife:

^{שׁמואל א יח:כז} וַיָּקָם דָּוִד וַיֵּלֶךְ הוּא וַאֲנָשָׁיו וַיַּךְ בַּפְּלִשְׁתִּים מָאתַיִם אִישׁ וַיָּבֵא דָוִד אֶת עָרְלֹתֵיהֶם וַיְמַלְאוּם לַמֶּלֶךְ לְהִתְחַתֵּן בַּמֶּלֶךְ וַיִּתֶּן־לוֹ שָׁאוּל אֶת מִיכַל בִּתּוֹ לְאִשָּׁה.

^{1 Sam 18:27} David went out with his men and killed two hundred Philistines; David brought their foreskins and they were counted out for the king, that he might marry unto the king. Saul then gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.

Not only has Saul’s plan to kill David failed, but Saul now also has to fear Michal’s devotion to David:

^{שׁמואל א יח:כח} וַיַּרְא שָׁאוּל וַיֵּדַע כִּי יְ־הוָה עִם דָּוִד וּמִיכַל בַּת שָׁאוּל אֲהֵבַתְהוּ. ^יח:כט וַיֹּאסֶף שָׁאוּל לֵרֹא מִפְּנֵי דָוִד עוֹד וַיְהִי שָׁאוּל אֹיֵב אֶת דָּוִד כָּל הַיָּמִים.

^{1 Sam 18:28} When Saul realized that YHWH was with David and that Michal daughter of Saul loved him, ^18:29 Saul grew still more afraid of David; and Saul was David’s enemy ever after.

The First Window Scene

A pivotal scene in Michal’s story comes soon thereafter, when she frustrates her father’s plan to spy on and ambush David. That Michal knows about the plan suggests that Saul expected his daughter to assist him, but she instead displays her greater allegiance to David by warning him:

^{שׁמואל א יט:יא} וַיִּשְׁלַח שָׁאוּל מַלְאָכִים אֶל בֵּית דָּוִד לְשָׁמְרוֹ וְלַהֲמִיתוֹ בַּבֹּקֶר וַתַּגֵּד לְדָוִד מִיכַל אִשְׁתּוֹ לֵאמֹר אִם אֵינְךָ מְמַלֵּט אֶת נַפְשְׁךָ הַלַּיְלָה מָחָר אַתָּה מוּמָת.

^{1 Sam 19:11} Saul sent messengers to David’s home to keep watch on him and to kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal told him, “Unless you run for your life tonight, you will be killed tomorrow.”

She also helps her beloved husband escape through her window:

^{שׁמואל א יט:יב} וַתֹּרֶד מִיכַל אֶת דָּוִד בְּעַד הַחַלּוֹן וַיֵּלֶךְ וַיִּבְרַח וַיִּמָּלֵט.

^{1 Sam 19:12} Michal let David down from the window and he escaped and fled.

The trope of the window as an opening gives this scene an erotic-laden subtext, as David withdraws from his wife’s home. This subtext becomes clearer when we consider the parallel story of Rahab, the prostitute who saves the Israelite spies sent to explore the land Canaan. When the king of Jericho attempts to arrest them, she sends his men away on false pretenses (Josh 2:4–5) and helps the Israelite men escape through the window of her house:

^{יהושׁע ב:טו} וַתּוֹרִדֵם בַּחֶבֶל בְּעַד הַחַלּוֹן כִּי בֵיתָהּ בְּקִיר הַחוֹמָה וּבַחוֹמָה הִיא יוֹשָׁבֶת.

^{Josh 2:15} She let them down by a rope through the window—for her dwelling was at the outer side of the city wall and she lived in the actual wall.

Like Rahab, Michal displays a quick wit by deceiving the men who have come for David:

^{שׁמואל א יט:יג} וַתִּקַּח מִיכַל אֶת הַתְּרָפִים וַתָּשֶׂם אֶל הַמִּטָּה וְאֵת כְּבִיר הָעִזִּים שָׂמָה מְרַאֲשֹׁתָיו וַתְּכַס בַּבָּגֶד. ^יט:יד וַיִּשְׁלַח שָׁאוּל מַלְאָכִים לָקַחַת אֶת דָּוִד וַתֹּאמֶר חֹלֶה הוּא.

^{1 Sam 19:13} Michal then took the household idol,^[3] laid it on the bed, and covered it with a cloth; and at its head she put a net of goat’s hair. ^19:14 Saul sent messengers to seize David; but she said, “He is sick.”

When her ruse is discovered (v. 16), she also conceals her role in arranging David’s escape:

^{שׁמואל א יט:יז} וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל אֶל מִיכַל לָמָּה כָּכָה רִמִּיתִנִי וַתְּשַׁלְּחִי אֶת אֹיְבִי וַיִּמָּלֵט וַתֹּאמֶר מִיכַל אֶל שָׁאוּל הוּא אָמַר אֵלַי שַׁלְּחִנִי לָמָה אֲמִיתֵךְ.

^{1 Sam 19:17} Saul said to Michal, “Why did you play that trick on me and let my enemy get away safely?” “Because,” Michal answered Saul, “He said to me: ‘Help me get away or I’ll kill you.’”

David fleeing through Michal’s window symbolically forebodes that he will never again enter Michal’s life as a sexual partner. Indeed, this is the last domestic scene between the two. David takes to the open road, free to embark on the journey that would lead him to the throne. By contrast, Michal, left by the window, now assumes the existential pose of the immobile “woman at the window,” an ancient trope prevalent in the arts, architecture, and literary texts of the ancient Near East that signifies both the woman’s sexual power and allure and, in biblical literature, her position as a bystander in history.^[4]

A Failed Romance

Though the beginning of Michal and David’s story consists of elements prevalent in the genre of romance—such as the young man winning the princess by passing an insurmountable test,^[5] and the man’s nocturnal escape through the window—the spirit of romance never materializes.

Even while he is a fugitive from Saul, David manages to meet clandestinely with Jonathan, Michal’s brother (1 Sam 20), he sends for Abigail to become his wife (1 Sam 25:39–42), and he also marries Ahinoam (1 Sam 25:43). Yet he never tries to reclaim Michal. If Michal, spirited and ready for adventure, offers herself as the female half of the romantic couple, David denies her that role.

The next time that we meet Michal she is a changed woman; no longer speaking or acting freely, she instead is described as a passive figure, “given” to another man in marriage:

^{שׁמואל א כה:מד} וְשָׁאוּל נָתַן אֶת מִיכַל בִּתּוֹ אֵשֶׁת דָּוִד לְפַלְטִי בֶן לַיִשׁ אֲשֶׁר מִגַּלִּים.

^{1 Sam 25:44} Now Saul had given Michal, his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti, the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.

Michal is Again Used by David for Political Purposes

Michal’s transformation to a female who is moved from man to man is reinforced when David, now occupying the throne, needs her in his court as a political symbol of the final surrender of the House of Saul. David’s demand is couched in legal, not emotional, language: he wants his wife back not because he loves or misses her, but because he paid an immense bride-price for her:

^{שׁמואל ב ג:יד} וַיִּשְׁלַח דָּוִד מַלְאָכִים אֶל אִישׁ בֹּשֶׁת בֶּן שָׁאוּל לֵאמֹר תְּנָה אֶת אִשְׁתִּי אֶת מִיכַל אֲשֶׁר אֵרַשְׂתִּי לִי בְּמֵאָה עָרְלוֹת פְּלִשְׁתִּים.

^{2 Sam 3:14} 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.”

That Michal is capable of winning a man’s heart is indicated in her husband Palti’s grief over losing her:

^{שׁמואל ב ג:טז} וַיֵּלֶךְ אִתָּהּ אִישָׁהּ הָלוֹךְ וּבָכֹה אַחֲרֶיהָ עַד בַּחֻרִים וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו אַבְנֵר לֵךְ שׁוּב וַיָּשֹׁב.

^{2 Sam 3:16} Her husband walked with her as far as Bahurim, weeping as he followed her; then Abner ordered him to turn back, and he went back.

While Palti cries bitterly, Michal is silent. The narrative tells us nothing about whether she is sorry to leave Palti or harboring hopes of rekindling her relationship with David, and when her hapless husband disappears from the narrative, Michal, too, disappears. The expected scene of her reunion with David never materializes.

The Last Window Scene

The window as emblematic of Michal’s fate comes to the fore again in a climactic moment, as David celebrates bringing Yahweh’s ark into Jerusalem. Michal, again introduced as a daughter of Saul, observes his behavior from her window and despises him:

^{שׁמואל ב ו:טז} וְהָיָה אֲרוֹן יְ־הוָה בָּא עִיר דָּוִד וּמִיכַל בַּת שָׁאוּל נִשְׁקְפָה בְּעַד הַחַלּוֹן וַתֵּרֶא אֶת הַמֶּלֶךְ דָּוִד מְפַזֵּז וּמְכַרְכֵּר לִפְנֵי יְ־הוָה וַתִּבֶז לוֹ בְּלִבָּהּ.

^{2 Sam 6:16} As the Ark of YHWH entered the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul looked out of the window and saw King David leaping and whirling before YHWH; and she despised him in her heart.

The “woman at the window” image highlights Michal’s sexual jealousy, kindled by observing David dancing among the women and inadvertently exposing himself.^[6] She later claims that she despises David for dancing as one of the simple people:

^{שׁמואל ב ו:כ} וַיָּשָׁב דָּוִד לְבָרֵךְ אֶת בֵּיתוֹ וַתֵּצֵא מִיכַל בַּת שָׁאוּל לִקְרַאת דָּוִד וַתֹּאמֶר מַה נִּכְבַּד הַיּוֹם מֶלֶךְ יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר נִגְלָה הַיּוֹם לְעֵינֵי אַמְהוֹת עֲבָדָיו כְּהִגָּלוֹת נִגְלוֹת אַחַד הָרֵקִים.

^{2 Sam 6:20} David went home to greet his household. And Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “Didn’t the king of Israel do himself honor today—exposing himself today in the sight of the slavegirls of his subjects, as one of the riffraff might expose himself!”

Her critique implies that her father’s court was more dignified, yet her bitter tone is that of a woman scorned.^[7] David denigrates her in his cruel response:

^{שׁמואל ב ו:כא} וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל מִיכַל לִפְנֵי יְ־הוָה אֲשֶׁר בָּחַר בִּי מֵאָבִיךְ וּמִכָּל בֵּיתוֹ לְצַוֹּת אֹתִי נָגִיד עַל עַם יְ־הוָה עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְשִׂחַקְתִּי לִפְנֵי יְ־הוָה׃ ^ו:כב וּנְקַלֹּתִי עוֹד מִזֹּאת וְהָיִיתִי שָׁפָל בְּעֵינָי וְעִם הָאֲמָהוֹת אֲשֶׁר אָמַרְתְּ עִמָּם אִכָּבֵדָה.

^{2 Sam 6:21} David answered Michal, “It was before YHWH who chose me instead of your father and all his family and appointed me ruler over YHWH’s people Israel! I will dance before YHWH ^6:22 and dishonor myself even more, and be low in my own esteem; but among the slavegirls that you speak of I will be honored.”

The contrast between the young Michal who loved David and the Michal who now despises him summarizes her tragedy, which is reinforced in the final statement that ends her narrative:

^{שׁמואל ב ו:כג} וּלְמִיכַל בַּת שָׁאוּל לֹא הָיָה לָהּ יָלֶד עַד יוֹם מוֹתָהּ.

^{2 Sam 6:23} Michal, Saul’s daughter, had no children to the day of her death

Michal here is still recognized only as the dead king’s daughter. David forced her return to him from her second husband who loved her, but he has received her only as token of his political triumph, not as a wife. Michal’s angry words thus may be an expression of humiliation and pent-up fury toward the neglectful David, now husband of at least six other wives (2 Sam 3:2–5), who has withdrawn his sexual favors and thus doomed his loving first wife to the additional heartbreak of childlessness.

The Divergent Legacies of David and Michal

The two window scenes endow Michal’s story with an almost architectural symmetry, enriched with the multiple meanings of the ancient Near Eastern “woman at the window” image or trope—where it signifies the woman’s fertility, sexual power, and availability and, in biblical literature, also suggests the female’s constricted existence and her removal from the march of time and the making of history.^[8]

Michal’s symbolic association with the window first suggests her sense of freedom and sexual openness—verbal and expressive about her love, urging her husband to flee—but later indicates her isolation, vulnerability, failure, and also the sexual punishment that David inflicted on her. David—king of Israel, redeemer of YHWH’s ark, conqueror of Jerusalem, favorite of women, musician and ecstatic dancer and singer—will be remembered by history, while Michal, who has not fulfilled the fertility function assigned to a woman in her culture, will leave no trace behind.

Postscript

Michal, Still Fixed by the Window

Michal’s sad story has fueled the poetic and narrative imagination of writers and poets in multiple languages throughout history.^[9] A moving example is the poem “Michal” by the early modern Hebrew poet Raḥel (Rahel Bluwstein, 1890–1931), a tragic poet whose work expressed her own desperate desire for a child and also made veiled references to a rebuffed love.^[10] Rahel claims kinship and a sisterhood with Michal, unhindered by the distance of many generations.

Utilizing the biblical trope of the window, Rahel evokes the ancient woman, still standing by the window, as if frozen in time, and highlights their similar destinies:

לֹא אַחַת רְאִיתִיךְ נִצֶּבֶת לְיַד הָאֶשְׁנָב,

More than once I have seen you standing fixed by the small window

בְּעֵינֵךְ הַיָּפָה מְהוּלִים גָּאֲוָה וָרֹךְ;

In your beautiful eye pride and tenderness are mingled

מִיכַל, אָחוֹת רְחוֹקָה, אֲנִי עֲצוּבָה כָּמוֹךְ

Michal, distant sister, like you, I’m sad

כָּמוֹךְ נְדוּנוֹתִי לָבוּז לַאֲשֶׁר אֹהַב.

Like you, condemned to despise the one I love.^[11]