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Thursday, July 10th, 2025
the Week of Proper 9 / Ordinary 14
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Contemporary English Version

1 Samuel 19:13

Michal put a statue in his bed. She put goat hair on its head and dressed it in some of David's clothes.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - David;   Falsehood;   Goat;   Jealousy;   Michal;   Pillow;   Thompson Chain Reference - False;   Idolatry;   Images;   Pillows;   Teraphim;   Worship, False;   Worship, True and False;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Beds;   Goat, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Teraphim;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Farming;   Michal;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Woman;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Prayer;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Bed;   Bolster;   Cattle;   David;   Idol;   Michal;   Teraphim;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Bed;   Bolster;   Michal;   Teraphim;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Michal;   Teraphim;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Ancestor-Worship;   Art;   Bolster;   God;   House;   Idolatry;   Magic, Divination, and Sorcery;   Michal;   Samuel, Books of;   Saul;   Ten Commandments;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Staff;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Michal ;   Teraphim;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - David;   Teraphim;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Bed;   Mi'chal;   Teraphim;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Bolster;   Goats' Hair;   God;   Hair;   Images;   Jonathan (1);   Michal;   Samuel, Books of;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Beds;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Anthropomorphism;   Art among the Ancient Hebrews;   Bed;   Couch;   Furniture, Household;   Goat;   Teraphim;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Then Michal took the household idol and put it on the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment.
Hebrew Names Version
Mikhal took the terafim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' [hair] at the head of it, and covered it with the clothes.
King James Version
And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
Lexham English Bible
Then Michal took the household god and put it on the bed and put a quilt of goat's hair at its head and covered it with the clothes.
English Standard Version
Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head and covered it with the clothes.
New Century Version
Then Michal took an idol, laid it on the bed, covered it with clothes, and put goats' hair at its head.
New English Translation
Then Michal took a household idol and put it on the bed. She put a quilt made of goat's hair over its head and then covered the idol with a garment.
Amplified Bible
And Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with clothes.
New American Standard Bible
And Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with clothing.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Then Michal tooke an image, & layde it in the bed, & put a pillow stuffed with goates heare vnder the head of it, & couered it with a cloth.
Legacy Standard Bible
Then Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed and put a quilt of goats' hair at its head and covered it with clothes.
Complete Jewish Bible
Mikhal took the household idol, laid it on the bed, put a goat's-hair quilt at its head and covered it with a cloth.
Darby Translation
And Michal took the image, and laid it in the bed, and put the net of goats' [hair] at its head, and covered it with the coverlet.
Easy-to-Read Version
Michal took the household god, put clothes on it, and put goats' hair on its head. Then she put the statue in the bed.
George Lamsa Translation
And Malchel took an idol, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats skin at the head of it, and covered it with a bedcover.
Good News Translation
Then she took the household idol, laid it on the bed, put a pillow made of goats' hair at its head, and put a cover over it.
Literal Translation
And Michal took an image and laid it on the bed; and she put the quilt of goat's hair at his head-place, and covered with a spread.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
And Mickol toke an ymage, and layed it in the bed, and laied a goates ßkinne at the heade of it, and couered it with clothes.
American Standard Version
And Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' hair at the head thereof, and covered it with the clothes.
Bible in Basic English
Then Michal took the image and put it in the bed, with a cushion of goat's hair at its head, and she put clothing over it.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
And Michol toke an image, and layde it in the bed, & put a pillowe stuffed with goates heere vnder the head of it, and couered it with a cloth.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
And Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a quilt of goats' hair at the head thereof, and covered it with a cloth.
King James Version (1611)
And Michal tooke an image, and laid it in the bedde, and put a pillow of goats haire for his bolster, and couered it with a cloth.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And Melchol took images, and laid them on the bed, and she put the liver of a goat by his head, and covered them with clothes.
English Revised Version
And Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ [hair] at the head thereof, and covered it with the clothes.
Berean Standard Bible
Then Michal took a household idol and laid it in the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Sotheli Mychol took an ymage, and puttide it on the bed, and puttide `an heeri skyn of geet at the heed therof, and hilide it with clothis.
Young's Literal Translation
and Michal taketh the teraphim, and layeth on the bed, and the mattress of goats' [hair] she hath put [for] his pillows, and covereth with a garment.
Update Bible Version
And Michal took the talismans, and laid them in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' [hair] at his head, and used a blanket as a covering.
Webster's Bible Translation
And Michal took an image, and laid [it] in the bed, and put a pillow of goat's [hair] for his bolster, and covered [it] with a cloth.
World English Bible
Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats' [hair] at the head of it, and covered it with the clothes.
New King James Version
And Michal took an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goats' hair for his head, and covered it with clothes.
New Living Translation
Then she took an idol and put it in his bed, covered it with blankets, and put a cushion of goat's hair at its head.
New Life Bible
Michal took a house god and laid it on the bed. She put a goat hair pillow at its head, and covered it with clothes.
New Revised Standard
Michal took an idol and laid it on the bed; she put a net of goats' hair on its head, and covered it with the clothes.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And Michal took the household god, and put it in the bed, and, a fly-net of goats-hair, put she at its head, - and covered it with the clothes.
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Michol took an image, and laid it on the bed, and put a goat’s skin, with the hair at the head of it, and covered it with clothes.
Revised Standard Version
Michal took an image and laid it on the bed and put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with the clothes.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
Michal took the household idol and laid it on the bed, and put a quilt of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with clothes.

Contextual Overview

11 Saul sent guards to watch David's house all night and then to kill him in the morning. Michal, David's wife, told him, "If you don't escape tonight, they'll kill you tomorrow!" 12 She helped David go through a window and climb down to the ground. As David ran off, 13 Michal put a statue in his bed. She put goat hair on its head and dressed it in some of David's clothes. 14 The next morning, Saul sent guards to arrest David. But Michal told them, "David is sick." 15 Saul sent the guards back and told them, "Get David out of his bed and bring him to me, so I can have him killed." 16 When the guards went in, all they found in the bed was the statue with the goat hair on its head. 17 "Why have you tricked me this way?" Saul asked Michal. "You helped my enemy get away!" She answered, "He said he would kill me if I didn't help him escape!"

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, פן ךשםשנויןץ, from ךשםשר, 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

Genesis 13:13
where the people were evil and sinned terribly against the Lord .
Genesis 18:20
The Lord said, "Abraham, I have heard that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah are doing all kinds of evil things.
Genesis 19:1
That evening the two angels arrived in Sodom, while Lot was sitting near the city gate. When Lot saw them, he got up, bowed down low,
Genesis 19:5
and started shouting, "Where are your visitors? Send them out, so we can have sex with them!"
Genesis 19:6
Lot went outside and shut the door behind him.
Genesis 19:8
I have two daughters who have never been married. I'll bring them out, and you can do what you want with them. But don't harm these men. They are guests in my home."
Genesis 19:9
"Don't get in our way," the crowd answered. "You're an outsider. What right do you have to order us around? We'll do worse things to you than we're going to do to them." The crowd kept arguing with Lot. Finally, they rushed toward the door to break it down.
Genesis 19:12
The two angels said to Lot, "The Lord has heard many terrible things about the people of Sodom, and he has sent us here to destroy the city. Take your family and leave. Take every relative you have in the city, as well as the men your daughters are going to marry."
Genesis 19:15
Early the next morning the two angels tried to make Lot hurry and leave. They said, "Take your wife and your two daughters and get out of here as fast as you can! If you don't, every one of you will be killed when the Lord destroys the city."
Genesis 19:16
At first, Lot just stood there. But the Lord wanted to save him. So the angels took Lot, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and led them out of the city.

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 - “Teraphim” (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 goats’ 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 — את התרפים 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.


 
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