1 Samuel 19:12

1Sa 19:12 So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.

Ver. 12. So Michal let down David through a window.] She bestirred her every way; love is laborious. Antiochus the Great gave Cleopatra his daughter to Ptolomy Epiphanes, king of Egypt, thinking to use her as an instrument to destroy him; but she, contrary to his expectation, clave to her husband, according as Daniel had before prophesied of her, "She shall not stand on his side." {Dan 11:17}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa_19:12

So Michal let David down through a window; and he went, and fled, and escaped.

David a fugitive

In this passage there is a minute account of an appalling danger to which David was exposed.

I. Gods servants are frequently exposed to alarming dangers.

1. This danger came at an unexpected time. David was now the kings son-in-law, a great hero in the eyes of the nation, and beloved by all the people, and yet Saul thirsted for his blood.

2. This danger proceeded from a powerful enemy. Saul was himself a formidable antagonist, but he also had many servants, watching to do his bidding.

3. The danger assumed an alarming aspect. The kings assassins had tracked Davids steps to Gibeah, and surrounded the palace, and apparently guarded every way of escape. The dangers to which David was exposed are typical of the dangers that beset Gods servants now. We are surrounded by dangers ovary moment. Many dangers arise from natural onuses. Many dangers arise from spiritual influences: personal habits, social engagements, and Satanic agency.

II. Gods servants are frequently warned of approaching danger. Before God destroyed the old world He warned Noah, and commanded him to prepare an ark for himself and family. Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah He revealed His purpose to Abraham, and warned Lot of the impending danger. Before Herod sent forth to day all the children that wars in Bethlehem God warned Joseph in a dream, not to return to his own country. Before Saul had completed his plan far the murder of David, Michal, his wife, told him saying: If thou save not thy life tonight, tomorrow thou shalt be slain.

1. Davids warning came from different sources. Jonathan and Michal warned David. Intimation of approaching danger comes in many ways. By dreams, suggestions, and Divine impulses. God speaks clearly by His word, earnestly by His son, and constantly by His Spirit.

2. Davids warning demanded immediate attention.

3. Davids warning led to decisive action. He listened to his wife and saved his life. Our safety depends upon decisive action.

III. Gods servants are frequently delivered from impending dangers. The context shows that God delivers His servants in four ways.

1. By friendly mediation. Jonathans prudent and persuasive intercession softened the kings obduracy. God can touch the hearts of our bitterest enemies.

2. By personal watchfulness. Saul had made the most solemn profession of reconciliation; but David kept his eye upon Sauls javelin, while his fingers were upon his own harp. The enemy of our souls never slumbers; whether we watch or not, he watches.

3. By conjugal fidelity. Saul gave David Michal to be a snare to him, but she proved a protector. The devil is sometimes outshot with his own bow.

4. By Divine interposition. The path marked out for David was dark and dangerous, but God saw him, led him, and defended him. (J. T. Woodhouse.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1Sa 19:12. He fled and escaped — It seems likely that a considerable part of the eighteenth Psalm, namely, from the 1st to the 29th verse, refers to this escape of David. The 29th verse seems entirely descriptive of it, and applicable to no other event of David’s life that we read of. “By thee I have run through a troop, and by my God have I leaped over a wall.” Saul’s messengers, that were sent to slay him in the morning, undoubtedly surrounded his house, and were upon the watch, and therefore David had reason to look upon his escaping them to be a wonderful deliverance, in which the providence of God was concerned.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Thus God moved both the son and daughter of this tyrant to favor David against their father.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 12. Let David down through a window] As Saul's messengers were sent to David's house to watch him, they would naturally guard the gate, or lie in wait in that place by which David would come out. Michal, seeing this let him down to the ground through a window probably at the back part of the house; and there being neither entrance nor issue that way, the liers in wait were easily eluded.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(12) So Michal let David down.—The princess, his wife, knew well her father’s character, and conscious, now that the veil of his dark design was publicly lifted, that there was no hope for her husband any longer save in his instant flight, she “let David down through a window,” because the king’s guards were watching the door. With this desperate flight began those long weary wanderings, those perpetual risks of his life, which went on until the death of King Saul released David from his deadly enemy.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12–17. David’s escape by the aid of Michal

12. through a window] Compare the escape of the spies from Jericho (Jos_2:15), and St Paul from Damascus (2Co_11:33). If David’s house, like Rahab’s, was upon the town wall, it would be easy for him to escape thus though the door was watched by Saul’s men.

fled, and escaped] Thus began that fugitive life of hardship and peril, which was to form a new element in the education of the future king. See Introd. p. 40.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

So Michal let David down through a window,.... In like manner as Rahab let down the spies from her house in Jericho, when the king's messengers were in quest of them, Jos 2:15; and as the disciples let down the Apostle Paul at Damascus, to preserve him from the designs of the Jews upon him:

and he went, and fled, and escaped; he departed from his house, and ran with all the haste he could, and escaped the messengers that had beset the house, and were waiting for him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Michal let David down through a window; because they lay in wait for him at the doors of the house, whensoever he should come forth there.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

General Information:

Michal helps David escape King Saul. She uses a household idol to make David's bed look like he is sleeping in it.

she put a pillow of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with the clothes

Possible meanings are 1) the head of the idol was lying on the goat's hair pillow and Michal dressed the idol in David's clothes or 2) Michal used David's clothes as a blanket to completely cover the idol and made the "pillow" of goat's hair look like David's hair sticking out from under the blanket of clothes.

translationWords

false god

goat

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.