1 Samuel 19 17

1 Samuel 19:17 kjv

And Saul said unto Michal, Why hast thou deceived me so, and sent away mine enemy, that he is escaped? And Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, Let me go; why should I kill thee?

1 Samuel 19:17 nkjv

Then Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped?" And Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go! Why should I kill you?' "

1 Samuel 19:17 niv

Saul said to Michal, "Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?" Michal told him, "He said to me, 'Let me get away. Why should I kill you?'?"

1 Samuel 19:17 esv

Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me thus and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?" And Michal answered Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go. Why should I kill you?'"

1 Samuel 19:17 nlt

"Why have you betrayed me like this and let my enemy escape?" Saul demanded of Michal. "I had to," Michal replied. "He threatened to kill me if I didn't help him."

1 Samuel 19 verses

1 Samuel 19 17 Meaning

In 1 Samuel 19:17, King Saul confronts his daughter Michal, questioning her for allowing David, whom he considers his enemy, to escape. Michal responds by claiming David threatened her life, stating he would kill her if she did not let him go. This exchange reveals Saul's intense hatred and paranoia towards David, Michal's cunning and immediate lie to protect her husband, and the high-stakes survival struggle David faced against Saul's relentless pursuit. The verse highlights Saul's self-centered perspective, viewing David primarily as "my enemy" rather than the anointed of the Lord.

1 Samuel 19 17 Context

Verse Context: 1 Samuel 19:17 marks the immediate aftermath of Michal's brave and decisive action to save David. Saul has just discovered David's effigy in the bed and, realizing he's been fooled, immediately confronts Michal. This verse captures her quick-witted and morally ambiguous response. It highlights the direct confrontation between a furious king and his daughter, who has defied him for her husband.

Chapter Context: Chapter 19 is a vivid account of Saul's escalating attempts to murder David, showcasing David's narrow escapes. It begins with Jonathan intervening on David's behalf, momentarily pacifying Saul, but Saul's evil spirit returns, and he again tries to spear David. Michal's actions in verses 11-16, by lowering David through a window and placing an idol (teraphim) in his bed to feign sickness, directly precede Saul's interrogation in verse 17. The chapter continues with David fleeing to Samuel at Naioth and Saul's frustrated pursuits, eventually leading to Saul's own prophetic trance.

Historical/Cultural Context: This event occurs during a tumultuous period when the kingdom was transitioning. Saul, chosen by God but later rejected due to disobedience, is losing his sanity and God's favor. David, chosen and anointed by Samuel, is God's designated successor, constantly facing life-threatening situations from Saul. In this culture, paternal authority was supreme, making Michal's defiance significant. Wives were generally expected to be loyal to their fathers until marriage, and then primarily to their husbands. Michal's choice reflects a critical shift in allegiance, prioritizing David's life over absolute obedience to her increasingly tyrannical father. Saul's paranoid labeling of David as "my enemy" underscores his self-serving view of kingship, failing to recognize God's will.

1 Samuel 19 17 Word analysis

• And Saul said to Michal: This immediately establishes the direct confrontation and power dynamic. Saul is the interrogator, Michal is the questioned.
• 'Why': לָמָּה (lamah) - A direct, strong interrogative indicating perplexity mixed with anger and accusation. It demands an explanation for a perceived betrayal.
• 'have you deceived me': רִמִּיתִינִי (rimmitini) - From the root רמה (ramah), meaning to cast, hurl, shoot, but also to deceive or mislead. The Piel stem emphasizes intentional and active deception, implying a cunning trickery rather than accidental misdirection. Saul views this as a personal betrayal from his own daughter.
• 'thus': כֹּה (koh) - Implies "in this manner," pointing to the specific, clever trick with the idol and the window, emphasizing the audacity of the deception.
• 'and sent away': וַתְּשַׁלְּחִי (vatteshallahi) - From the root שלח (shalach), meaning to send, dispatch, let go. The Piel stem here also denotes a deliberate, purposeful act of dismissal or letting go, highlighting Michal's active participation in David's escape.
• 'my enemy': אֹיְבִי (oyvi) - From the root איב (aiv), meaning to be an enemy. The first person suffix "my" emphasizes Saul's personal vendetta and perception. David is not merely a political rival or a public threat, but Saul's personal "enemy," highlighting his deep-seated animosity, fear, and obsession. This term contrasts with David's status as the Lord's anointed, underscoring Saul's opposition to God's chosen path.
• 'so that he has escaped?': וַיִּמָּלֵט (vayyimmalet) - From the root מלט (malat), meaning to escape, be delivered, save oneself. The Niphal stem suggests being snatched away or delivered, emphasizing the successful evasion despite Saul's best efforts. Saul's frustration stems from David slipping through his grasp.
• And Michal answered Saul: Her immediate response signifies a quick-witted reaction to a life-threatening situation, suggesting she had already considered a plausible lie.
• 'He said to me': הוּא אָמַר לִי (hu amar li) - Michal directly quotes David, giving her fabricated story credibility and shifting blame. This phrasing is used to introduce direct speech in Hebrew narratives.
• '"Let me go,"': שַׁלְּחֵנִי (shallakheni) - A Piel imperative from שלח (shalach), meaning "send me away," or "let me go." Attributing this command to David makes her action appear as coerced, rather than voluntary.
• '"why should I kill you?"': לָמָּה אֲמִיתֵךְ (lamah amitekha) - This is Michal's invented justification, painting David as a dangerous aggressor and her as a helpless victim of circumstance. She portrays David as ruthless, threatening to kill her if she did not comply. This lie serves to alleviate her direct responsibility and exploit Saul's fear and misunderstanding of David, possibly even flattering Saul by implying David's desperate fear of Saul's reprisal if he didn't escape. It's a plausible threat that explains why she, his daughter, would disobey him.

1 Samuel 19 17 Bonus section

• Michal's choice between her father and her husband, especially with her father being unrighteous and seeking to kill her innocent husband, placed her in an exceptionally difficult moral position. Her decision aligns with a principle of saving an innocent life from an aggressor, a theme found in other biblical instances of deception for preservation.
• The use of the "teraphim" (household idol) in verse 13 to create the effigy in David's bed suggests Michal's household (and likely Saul's) was not entirely pure in its worship, indicating the syncretistic practices that existed in Israel at this time, or simply Michal using whatever available to save David. This detail becomes a significant point later when David distances himself from such practices.
• This escape emphasizes that David's future kingship was not merely a matter of human appointment, but divinely orchestrated protection against all human obstacles, including a king driven by a malevolent spirit and personal vengeance.
• Saul's use of "my enemy" reflects a deeper spiritual blindness. David was the Lord's anointed and protected by God. By calling David "my enemy," Saul positioned himself as God's enemy, as he was directly opposing God's chosen path.
• The dramatic pace of this chapter, from one escape to another, underscores the constant danger David lived under, and the immediate, resourceful actions required for his survival.

1 Samuel 19 17 Commentary

1 Samuel 19:17 provides a critical insight into the character of Saul and Michal, and the overarching theme of God's protection of David. Saul's fury highlights his tyrannical grip on power and his inability to grasp God's plan. He views David purely as a personal threat, an "enemy" to be eliminated, rather than acknowledging God's hand on David's life. This obsessive pursuit reveals his spiritual decline and paranoid mindset. Michal's lie, while ethically challenging, demonstrates her intense loyalty to her husband David and her remarkable quick thinking under extreme duress. In the face of an immediate threat to David's life, she prioritizes his safety over strict adherence to truth or obedience to her unrighteous father. Her fabricated threat against her own life successfully deceives Saul, allowing God's purpose for David to continue unimpeded. This instance illustrates that even through human deception and defiance, God's ultimate plan of placing David on the throne could not be thwarted by Saul's malicious intent. The narrative emphasizes divine providence, where David is consistently delivered despite the schemes of men.