Bible Dictionaries
Michal

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

When Michal, the younger daughter of King Saul, fell in love with David, Saul promised her to David as wife, provided David could kill one hundred Philistines as the bride-price. Saul, being jealous of David, hoped David would be killed in the attempt, but David was spectacularly successful (1 Samuel 18:20-27).

Not long after the marriage, Saul laid a plot to kill David in David’s house, but Michal’s quick thinking saved him (1 Samuel 19:11-17). When David was forced to flee from Saul, Saul took Michal and gave her as wife to another man, Paltiel (1 Samuel 25:44).

After Saul died, David came out of hiding and was proclaimed king, though some of Saul’s former followers disputed his right to the throne. David then forced Michal’s return to him as his wife. This strengthened his claim to Saul’s throne, but it left Paltiel broken-hearted (2 Samuel 3:13-16). There seems to have been no revival of Michal’s original love for David. She was actually hostile to him when he danced for joy at bringing the ark to Jerusalem. She bore him no children (2 Samuel 6:16; 2 Samuel 6:20-23).

Bibliography Information
Fleming, Don. Entry for 'Michal'. Bridgeway Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​bbd/​m/michal.html. 2004.