the Week of Proper 11 / Ordinary 16
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1 Samuel 19:13
Bible Study Resources
Concordances:
- Nave'sDictionaries:
- AmericanEncyclopedias:
- InternationalContextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
an image: Heb. teraphim, Genesis 31:19, *marg. Judges 17:5, Judges 18:14, Judges 18:17, Hosea 3:4
a pillow: Rather, "the net-work of goat's hair at its (the Teraphim's) pillow;" for the kevir, (whence the Chaldee and Syriac kavreetho, a honey-comb, from its net-like form), seems to have been a kind of mosquito-net, which, says Dr. Shaw, is "a close curtain of gauze, used all over the East, by people of fashion, to keep out the flies." That they had such anciently cannot be doubted. Thus when Judith had beheaded Holofernes in his bed (1 Samuel 13:9, 1 Samuel 13:15) "she pulled down the canopy (or the mosquito net, ×¤× ×ש××©× ××××¥, from ×ש×שר, a gnat, or mosquito, whence our word canopy) wherein he did lie in his drunkenness, from the pillars."
Reciprocal: 2 Kings 8:15 - that he took a thick cloth
Cross-References
Now the men of Sedom were exceedingly wicked and sinners against the LORD.
But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
Now the men of Sodom were extremely wicked sinners against Yahweh.
Now the people of Sodom were very evil and were always sinning against the Lord .
(Now the people of Sodom were extremely wicked rebels against the Lord .)
But the men of Sodom were extremely wicked and sinful against the LORD [unashamed in their open sin before Him].
Now the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked sinners against the LORD.
Now the men of Sodom were wicked and exceeding sinners against the Lord.
Now the men of Sodom were evil and sinners, exceedingly so, against Yahweh.
where the people were evil and sinned terribly against the Lord .
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And Michal took an image,.... Or "teraphim", as the word is; which, if the same with those that Rachel stole from her father, they seem to be of the same sort with the penates or household gods of the Heathens, which were privately kept by Michal; for, had David known of them, he would not have suffered them to have been in his house. Aben Ezra supposes they were images made in the form of men under such a constellation, a sort of talismans, to receive the heavenly influences, and which being consulted, foretold things to come; and R. Isaiah is of opinion, that Michal chose and placed these in the bed, that her father might conclude, when he should hear of them, that David had found them; and by thus means know that his intention was to kill him, and therefore fled; but to consult such images was very far from David, and without it he knew Saul's intention. Abarbinel makes mention of several sorts of teraphim, some for idolatry, some to draw down the heavenly influences, some to know the time of the day, a sort of dials; some were made after the form of a man known, and like him in his form and features; and women, he says, used to have the forms or statues of their husbands, that they might have them continually before them, because of the great love they had to them; and of this sort he supposes were the teraphim of Michal, and which is approved of by Abendana; and that this image had the likeness of an human face is very probable, or it could not have so well answered her purpose:
and laid [it] in the bed; where David used to lie, that it might seem to be he himself;
and put a pillow of goats' [hair] for his bolster; she took the finest of the goats' hair, which she had in the house, women being used to spin in those days, even great personages, and put it into a pillow, and made a bolster of it, and put it under the head or block of the image, which would sink it, being soft, and so look like a sick man, whose face could not easily be discerned; though some think this goats' hair was put about the head of the image, to make it look the more like an human head; goats' hair being very much like human hair e, and of different colours, and such a colour might be chosen as was most like David's, see Song of Solomon 4:1; the Targum interprets it, a bottle of goats skins, that is, a leathern bottle or bag made of goats skins, such as they used to put wine into; hence the conceit in the Midrash f, that a bottle of wine was put instead of David: but the pillow or bolster had the form of a leathern bag or bottle; the Septuagint version is very odd,
"and put the liver of goats at his head;''
and so Josephus says g; and it is observed h, that the liver of a goat will move a long time after it is taken out, and so make a show of the palpitation of the heart: but then this was put, not within the bed, but at the head of the image:
and covered [it] with a cloth; to keep her sick husband warm, as she would have it understood.
e Vid. Stockium, p. 509. f Apud Kimchium & Abarbinel. in loc. g Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 6. c. 11. sect. 4.) h Vid. Hudson. not. in ib.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
An image - âTeraphimâ (see the margin), an image, or bust in human form, and as large as life, of a kind of household god, to the worship of which the Israelites, and especially women, were much addicted.
A pillow - It was probably a quilt or blanket of goatsâ hair and of common use as a bed-covering. Whether Michal drew it over the head of the teraphim, as if for warmth, and so covered it, or whether she disposed it about the head so as to look like hair, is not clear.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse 1 Samuel 19:13. Michal took an image — ×ת ×תרפ×× eth hatteraphim, the teraphim. The Hebrew word appears to mean any kind of image, in any kind of form, as a representative of some reality. Here it must have been something in the human form; because it was intended to represent a man lying in bed indisposed.
A pillow of goats' hair — Perhaps she formed the appearance of a sick man's head muffled up by this pillow or bag of goats' hair. So I think the original might be understood. The goats' hair was merely accidental; unless we could suppose that it was designed to represent the hair of David's head, which is not improbable.
