Meaning of the Name Michal
Michal is usually explained as a shortened form of Michael (Mikha'el), carrying the same question: 'Who is like God?'. This explanation is widely accepted, although other proposals exist, so the etymology cannot be called certain.
Origin
The name Michal is of Hebrew origin.
Who is Michal in the Bible?
Michal is King Saul's younger daughter and David's first wife. She loves David and saves his life by letting him escape through a window on the night her father seeks to kill him. Later she despises David for dancing with abandon before the Ark of the Covenant, and Scripture remembers her as a complex and poignant figure.
The story of Michal in the Bible
Michal appears in one of the rare places in Scripture where a woman's love for a man is stated plainly: Saul's daughter Michal loves the young warrior David. But Saul turns this love into a trap; as the bride-price he demands a dangerous feat against the Philistines, hoping David will die in battle. David returns alive and marries Michal. As Saul's jealousy grows, Michal stands by her husband: one night, when Saul's men surround the house, she lets David down through a window, lays a household idol in the bed with goat hair at its head, and delays the pursuers. While David lives as a fugitive, Saul gives Michal to another man, Palti. When David becomes king he demands her back, and Palti follows her, weeping. The saddest scene comes on the day the Ark of the Covenant is brought into the City of David: Michal looks out of a window, sees David dancing with all his might before the LORD, and despises him in her heart. After harsh words between them, the narrative notes that Michal had no child to her dying day. Her life reads as the story of love and dignity bruised by court politics.
Is Michal mentioned in the Quran?
The name Michal does not appear in the Quran. In the Bible, Michal is King Saul's daughter and David's first wife, whose story is told in the books of Samuel.
Verses where Michal appears
- 1 Samuel 18:20 —
Michal, Saul’s daughter, loved David; and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
- 1 Samuel 19:12 —
So Michal let David down through the window. He went, fled, and escaped.
- 2 Samuel 3:13 —
He said, “Good; I will make a treaty with you; but one thing I require of you. That is, you shall not see my face, unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see my face.”