1 Samuel 19:13

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

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.

An image, Heb. teraphim, which was an image made in human shape; which she might keep secretly, either out of a superstitious regard to it, or out of mere curiosity. This stratagem she used, because knowing her father’ s unquiet, and jealous, and furious temper, she suspected he might come or send to see whether David was there or no. Put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, or, put great goats’ hair upon his bolster, i.e. upon the head and face of the image, which lay upon his bolster, that it might have some kind of resemblance of David’ s head and hair, at least in a sick man’ s bed, where there useth to be but a glimmering light. Goats is here put for goats’ hair, as it manifestly Isaiah 26:7 35:26. It is acknowledged by learned writers, that in those eastern countries goats had much longer hair than ours have, and were shorn like sheep, and that their hair was not unlike to a man’ s or woman’ s hair; as may also be gathered from , Thy hair is as a flock of goats, i.e. as the hair of a flock of goats. And as there was goats’ hair of several colours, (as the wool of sheep in divers parts is of very differing colours, as white, or black, or yellow, &c.) so it is most probable she took that colour which was likest the colour of David’ s hair. And she took this rather than the hair of another man, because the procuring and ordering of that would have taken up some time; whereas she had goats’ hair of all sorts at hand, as being used in spinning or weaving, &c. Or the sense may be this, according to our translation, that she put a pillow of the softest part of goats’ hair under the head of the image, as they used to put under the heads of sick men; whereby also the head of the image sinking into the pillow might be less discerned, especially when it was either wholly or in part covered with a cloth. And all this art was used, that David being supposed, and, some persons who were sent to inquire, perceived, as thought, to be in the bed, Saul might be hindered from pursuing and overtaking him before he had got into some place. Covered it with a cloth, upon pretence of being sick, and needing some such covering, but really to prevent the discovery of her deceit.

1 Samuel 19:13 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.Ver. 13. And Michal took an image.] Either a statue, David’ s own statue, or else some superstitious image (the Hebrew is teraphim) which she kept secretly, as Rachel had done, David knowing nothing of it. Some have probably gathered that Michal, though a good wife, yet was no good woman: both because she had an image in the house, and afterward she mocked David for his devotion. And put a pillow of goats’ hair.] Which might make the messengers believe it was the hair of David’ s head. This she did that she might gain more time for her fleeing husband. Or such a pillow, as for ease and warmth.

(13) An image.—An image in the Hebrew is teraphim—a plural form, but used as a singular. We have no instance of the singular. The Latin equivalent, “penates,” singularly enough, is also only found in the plural form. In this case, probably, it was a life-size figure or bust. The word has been discussed above (1 Samuel 15:23). It is singular how, in spite of the stern command to avoid idolatry, the children of Israel seemed to love to possess these lifeless images. The teraphim were probably a remnant of the idolatry originally brought by some of Abraham’s family from their Chaldaean home. These idols, we know, varied in size, from the diminutive image which Rachel (Genesis 31:34) was able to conceal under the camel saddle to the life-size figure which the Princess Michal here used to make her father’s guards believe that her sick husband, David, was in bed. They appear to have been looked on as tutelary deities, the dispensers of domestic and family good fortune. It has been suggested, with some probability, that Michal, like Rachel, kept this teraphim in secret, because of her barrenness. A pillow of goats’ hair.—More accurately, a goat’s skin about its head. So render the Syriac and Vulgate Versions. The reason of this act apparently was to imitate the effect of a man’s hair round the teraphim’s head. Its body, we read in the next clause, was covered “with a cloth.” Some scholars have suggested that this goat’s skin was a net-work of goat’s hair to keep off the flies from the supposed sleeper. The LXX., instead of k’vir (skin), read in their Hebrew copies keaved (liver). As the vowel points were introduced much later, such a confusion (especially as the difference between d and r in Hebrew is very slight) would be likely enough to occur in the MSS. Josephus, adopting the LXX. reading, explains Michal’s conduct thus—“Michal put a palpitating goat’s liver into the bed, to represent a breathing sick man.” With a cloth.—Heb., beged. This was David’s every-day garment, which he was in the habit of wearing. This, loosely thrown over the image, would materially assist the deception. The fifty-ninth Psalm bears the following title—“A michtam(or song of deep import) of David, when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.” The internal evidence, however, is scarcely confirmatory of the accuracy of the title. The sacred song in question is very probably one of David’s own composition, and it is likely enough that the danger he incurred on this occasion was in his mind when he wrote the solemn words; but there are references in this psalm which must apply to other events in his troubled, anxious life.

Verse 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.

13. an image] The teraphim. These were the penates or house-hold images of the Israelites, brought originally from their Chaldean home (Genesis 31:19). In spite of the strict prohibition of idols, they were used by those who professed to worship Jehovah in the time of the Judges (Judges 17:5; Judges 18:14 ff.), and even down to the later days of the Kings (2 Kings 23:24). They seem to have been a kind of fetish or household charm for good luck, rather than an object of worship, and were used in divination (Zechariah 10:2; Ezekiel 21:19-22). It is surprising to find teraphim in David’s house. It has been conjectured that Michal, like Rachel, kept them secretly on account of her barrenness. The plural teraphim here denotes a single image, in human form, apparently of life-size. put a pillow, &c.] Put the quilt of goat’s hair at its head, and covered it with the coverlet. Michal wrapped the head of the image in a rough rug, either to hide it, or to imitate a man’s hair, and covered up the whole with the beged, a square piece of woollen cloth, which was used for an upper garment, or for a bed-covering. Cp. Deuteronomy 24:12-13.

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.

13. An image — Margin, teraphim. See on Genesis 31:17, and Joshua 24:14. These images were common in Israel, as we may readily infer from the fact that they were tolerated in the house of the pious David.