Strange StoryII Samuel 6:3 – There Were Three Reasons Michal Never Had Children

I Sam 18 & 19, II Sam 3 & 6

King Saul’s daughter Michal was taken from her first husband (David) while he was still alive, and given by King Saul to another husband (Phaltiel). While David was king over one tribe (Judah), he asked for her to be given back to him, and she was (II Sam 3:14-16). But when David brought the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem with great rejoicing, she berated him for dancing in the streets with total abandon, dressed only in his tunic. She thought it was undignified and disgraceful. David told her, “I will become even more undignified than this.” After this the narrator of II Samuel indicates that she “never had no children till the day of her death” (II Sam 6:23).

We tend to think that David’s wife, Michal, would have borne children if she had not mocked him for dancing publicly in an undignified manner.

But I don’t think that is the case. It is not that simple.

THERE ARE THREE REASONS WHY SHE NEVER HAD CHILDREN

First reason: It appears that Michal did not have any children while she was married to David. That seems strange because girls usually got pregnant shortly after marriage. We don’t know how long David and Michal were together, but it was probably a few months – long enough for several military crusades against the Philistines and long enough for her to get pregnant when he came home for short visits. (See the story in I Samuel chapter 18 and 19.) Therefore, it appears that she may have been barren from the beginning. Whether that was due to sin in her life we do not know; it was not always a direct curse from God as people supposed.

The possibility of a woman being healed of barrenness was known to everyone because Samuel was the son of Hannah, who had been barren for many years. So, the hope of a barren woman being healed of that disgraceful condition was typical of barren women.

Second reason: giving her to another man as a wife was a violation of the authority aspect of sexual relationships. There can only be one authority figure at a time. Since David was still alive, she should not have been given to another husband. This was a violation of the Law. (see Dt 24:1-4 for a parallel situation). It also appears that she did not have any children while she was married to Phaltiel. Thus, it looks like she continued to be barren during her marriage to her second husband. It was not her fault that she was taken from one man and given in marriage to another; it was her father who did that, and you don’t say “No” to a king. Still it was a state of continual uncleanness, and God was not likely to heal her of her barrenness while she was in a continual state of uncleanness.  

Third reason: Michal was given back to David while he was king of Judah, but not yet king over the whole nation (II Sam 3:14-16). After that he became king over all Israel, defeated more Philistines, then he had the Ark of the Covenant brought to Jerusalem. That was when he danced in only his tunic and Michal chastised him for it.

The statement in II Sam 6:23 indicating that she never had any children till she died could indicate that David did not have sexual relations with her because she had been with another man. Except for the one notable failure with Bathsheba, David tried to follow God’s laws and the principles they taught; usually did a good job at it. In this story, King Saul was wrong to give Michal to another man, and that other man, Phaltiel, was in the wrong if he had sexual relations with her. David likewise would have been in the wrong if he had been intimate with her after getting her back, but I doubt that he went there.

So why did David want her back?

In those days, for someone to somehow acquire the wife of a king meant this guy was also big stuff. It was a status symbol. And it was a slap in the face of the king who had once had her as a wife. Such things were never tolerated by any king, so this was a rare exception, made possible only because Saul was king at the time, not David. It was expected that David would demand her back once he became king. This did not mean he would have children with her; it only meant that King David would take the status symbol away from the guy who was pretending to be big stuff, and take a step toward restoring his honor in this matter.

Why did Phaltiel follow behind her weeping out loud when she was taken from him?

She was definitely a status symbol for him, and he may have tried to have children with her as well. In fact, producing children with the former wife of a king would make the status symbol even greater. The text says that he followed them weeping as far as Bahurim (II Sam 3:16). That was because Bahurim was the last town in the area that was sympathetic to Saul before entering territory controlled by followers of David.

CONCLUSION

I think that the point of II Sam 6:23 is not that she was childless because she mocked David for dancing, but that most of her adult life was characterized by continual uncleanness. Healing was not likely during her second marriage it was done in violation of the Law, and in her “third marriage” she was not likely to have children with David since (in my opinion) he never had sexual relations with her.