2 Samuel 3:5

2Sa 3:5 And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David’s wife. These were born to David in Hebron.

Ver. 5. Eglah David’s wife.] His wife by a specialty: most dearly beloved. {a} Some make her to be Michel, and her son to be Nathan: but that is not very likely.

{a} Praecipua et prima, ac prae aliis dilecta. - Lap.

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.

2Sa 3:5. By Eglah, David’s wife — This is added, either because she was of obscure parentage, and was known by no other title but her relation to David: or, because this was his first and most proper wife, best known by her other name of Michal, who, though she had no child by David after she scoffed at him for dancing before the ark, 2Sa 6:23, yet might have one before that time. And she might be named the last, because she was given away from David, and married to another man. Six sons in seven years. Some have had as numerous an offspring, and with much more honour and comfort, by one wife. And we know not that any of the six were famous: but three were very infamous.

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

Within seven years and six months.

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

Eglah David's wife--This addition has led many to think that Eglah was another name for Michal, the first and proper wife, who, though she had no family after her insolent ridicule of David (Sa2 6:23), might have had a child before.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

5. Eglah David’s wife] A Jewish tradition as old as the time of Jerome (Quaest. Hebr. in libros Regum) makes Eglah (= heifer, cp. Jdg_14:18) another name for Michal, who is supposed to be particularly distinguished both here and in 1Ch_3:3 as David’s wife, because she was his first and best-loved. If so, her position last in the list may be accounted for because she was separated from David for a time, and only returned to him towards the close of his residence in Hebron (2Sa_3:13), so that Ithream was the youngest of his sons born there.

Polygamy was tolerated by the Mosaic legislation as an existing custom, but discouraged as contrary to the original institution and true ideal of marriage (Deu_21:15-17; Deu_17:17; Gen_2:24, of which perhaps Gen_31:50 is a corrupt reminiscence). David’s family history is a standing monument of the pernicious effects of this practice, which are perpetuated to this day in Oriental countries, where “contentions, envyings, jealousies and quarrels among the wives, as well as between the different sets of children” still prevail. See Van Lennep’s Bible Lands, II. p. 559.

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.

And the sixth, Ithream, by Eglah David's wife,.... Who also is not spoken of in any other place; only, in a like chronological account as the former, it is remarked that the mother of this only is called David's wife; the reason of which is supposed to be, either because she was a person of no note, and had nothing else to distinguish her; but the same may be said of the two foregoing; or because she was his beloved wife, his heifer, as her name signifies; hence the Jews (y) take her to be Michal his first wife, whom he greatly loved, and who, though she had no children after her contempt of David for playing before the ark, unto the day of her death, yet might have before: but it should be observed, that as yet she was not returned to David in Hebron; and when she was returned, did not seem to continue there long enough to have a son there; and besides, being his first wife, would not be reckoned last; but still more foreign is another notion of the Jews (z), that she was Saul's widow, who though she might not be married to another might be married to a king, as David was; and this they suppose receives some confirmation from Sa2 12:8; but after all it may be this phrase "David's wife", as some have observed, by a figure the rhetoricians call "zeugma", or "hypozeugma", is to be joined to everyone of the women before mentioned, Sa2 3:2, who were his wives, and so called to distinguish them from his concubines, by whom he had sons also. Polygamy, or plurality of wives, which David gave into, is no favourable part of his character.

(y) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 21. 1. Hieron. Trad. Heb. in 2 Reg. fol. 77. F. (z) In Kimchi & Ben Gersom in loc.

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

Wife. She was otherwise of no nobility, but perhaps loved by David more than the rest, as Rachel was by Jacob. The Rabbins would infer that Egla and Michol are the same person. But the latter had no children, (chap. vi. 23.; Salien) and is mentioned [in] ver. 13.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

David’s wife: this is added, either because she was of obscure parentage, and was known by no other title but her relation to David; or to distinguish her from some other person of that name, who possibly might be of no good fame; or because this was his first and most proper wife, best known by her other name of Michal, who, though she had no child by David after she scoffed at him for dancing before the ark, 2Sa 6:23, yet might have one before that time. And she might be named the last of these here, because she was given away from David, and married to another man, when David took the other wives; and therefore though she had been first, yet now she was become the last of them. Or this title, being put in the last place, may belong to all the rest of the women above mentioned, by a figure called zeugma, to distinguish them from his concubines, 2Sa 5:13; 1Ch 3:9.

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

Eglah - This is added, either because she was of obscure parentage, and was known by no other title but her relation to David: or, because this was his first and most proper wife, best known by her other name of Michal, who, though she had no child by David after she scoffed at him for dancing before the ark, chap. vi, 23, yet might have one before that time. And she might be named the last, because she was given away from David, and married to another man. Six sons in seven years. Some have had as numerous an offspring, and with much more honour and comfort, by one wife. And we know not that any of the six were famous: but three were very infamous.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

By Egloh This refers to Michal who was cherished by him. Similarly it says "If you had not plowed with my calf" (Shoftim 14, 18). [But] it is written, "And Michal, the daughter of Shaul had no child until the day of her death" (Below, 6, 23) she didn't have one until the day of her death? From that incident and on [she had no children], but prior to that incident she did have [children].

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.