Please help me with this bible verse? 2 Samual 21:8?

Question

It says Michal had NO children till the day of her death?

I am a believer, and I am sur I am missing the true message


2 Samual 21:8
But the king took the two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Alah whom she bare unto Saul, Armoni and mephibosheth; and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the meholathite.

I am not sure about anything on this question or the whoe book of 2 Samuel got me lost..

Going back to the new testiment where name make since

Answer 1

My Bible says the "five sons of Merab" the daughter of Saul. Are you sure you have the right daughter? The KJV adds - the sister of Mical.

Answer 2

There were two manuscripts - One was used in the King James translation... THE OTHER one which is used in the New International Version. The King James translation for that passage used the wrong manuscript..., an obvious conflict.

THAT is why I love to stick with the NIV (New International Version) Bible because they point out any small errors and use correct verse translations, etc.

Read the same verse in the NIV...,

2 SAMUEL 21:8 [NIV]
8 But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah's daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul's daughter Merab, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite.

[ NIV FOOTNOTE ]
Two Hebrew manuscripts, some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac (see also 1 Samuel 18:19 most Hebrew and Septuagint manuscripts Michal

Answer 3

It is apparently a coppiest error in the manuscript used in the KJV. Clark's Coommentary has this note:
"Verse 8. Five sons of Michal-whom she brought up] Michal, Saul's daughter, was never married to Adriel, but to David, and afterwards to Phaltiel; though it is here said she bore yaledah, not brought up, as we falsely translate it: but we learn from 1Sa 18:19, that
Merab, one of Saul's daughters, was married to Adriel."

Answer 4

Part of the problem here is that there are two names depending on the version that your translation relies on. Some say it is Sauls daughter Merab, others say his daughter Michal. either way, the essence of the passage is about how people were put to death and exposed at the request of the Gibeonites.

The point of the passage is a little harder to understand. unlike the first person who answered the question for you, the OT has a lot to say, I encourage you to read it more (the more you read it the more you will get stuff out of it).

This passage, in really simple terms,describes the way that the sin of Saul to try and snare David (see 1 Sam 18) comes back to cause grief. David is forced to give the Gibeonites something to avenge them as Saul brike a vow with them. The result is a woman (Sauls Daughter) who had previously been offered to David as a wife (which would have made him the kings son-in-law, an offer he refused in humility, see 1 Sam 18:18), ends up being killed and 'exposed' with others in her family.

What does this teach us, well, to put it simply, this story describes the effect that the sin of Saul against Gods guidelines on how to take and rule over the promise land.

The verse you quote, and the particulars of which sister it is is not really important to the whole story. the point is this is to see first how the stupidity of Saul effects generations to come. But more importantly to see how David, in his wisdom, using the strength and insught God gave him, managed to deal with a difficult situation.

The old testament is full of stories which remind is of Gods faithfullness to his people (believers). It is a collection of stories with significance. The Psalms talk about how certian people (especially David) felt about different situations the people of God found themselves in. The books of Samual talk about how the leadership of David and Saul did and didnt honor God and we can learn a great deal about God's faithfulness to his people, and also about leadership from them.

In the NT (2 Tim 1:11-13) we hear that God will always be faithful, for he cannot disown himself. In the Old Testament, we see heaps of examples of this. Where the NT states the truth about Jesus, the OT, properly understood, gives down to earth, real and challenging examples of how that looks on the ground.

I hope this is a little helpful.

Answer 5

21:8—How can it be said that Saul’s daughter Michal had five sons, when 2 Samuel 6:23 states that she died childless? The most widely accepted explanation is that these were the sons of Michal’s sister Merab, who married Adriel. Likely, Merab died early, and childless Michal brought up the boys.

In this account Michal rather than Merab is spoken of as the mother of Adriel’s five sons. Since Michal died childless (2 Samuel 6:23.) and is nowhere spoken of as having been the wife of Adriel, some translators view the appearance of Michal’s name as a scribal error. Nearly all Hebrew manuscripts, however, use Michal’s name, and the traditional explanation is that Merab, Michal’s older sister, died early after having borne five sons to Adriel and that Michal thereafter undertook the bringing up of her sister’s five boys, thus resulting in their being spoken of as her sons. Isaac Leeser’s translation reads at 2 Samuel 21:8: “And the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she had brought up for Adriel.”
This seems apparent from the fact that the Greek Septuagint (Lagardian edition) and two Hebrew manuscripts read “Merab” in this verse. However, a traditional explanation of 2 Samuel 21:8 as it appears in almost all other Hebrew manuscripts is as follows:

Michal’s sister Merab was the wife of Adriel and bore him the five sons in question. But Merab died early, and her sister Michal, rejected by David and childless, undertook the rearing, or bringing up, of the five boys. Hence, they were spoken of as Michal’s children instead of those of Merab. In harmony with this view of 2 Samuel 21:8, the Bible translation by Isaac Leeser speaks of “the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she had brought up for Adriel,” and a footnote thereon states: “As Michal was David’s wife; but the children were those of Merab, the oldest daughter of Saul, who were probably educated by her sister.” The Targums read: “The five sons of Merab (which Michal, Saul’s daughter, brought up) which she bare.” Other factors, not revealed in the Scriptures, may have a bearing on the way the text was set down.

If you would like further information or a free home Bible study with no obligation, please contact Jehovah's Witnesses at the local Kingdom Hall. Or visit http://www.watchtower.org

Answer 6

This is a mistranslation in the KJV version, it should be Merab, Saul's other daughter. This is one of the reasons why the 8th Article of Faith of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints states "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly."

Answer 7

I try not to dwell on the old Jewish books. Jesus set me free with A new Testament. the Genealogy is endless and serves no purpose. as Christian we are spiritual not Fleshly.

Answer 8

Sure you got lost, cause the people who wrote it weren't really focusing on what they were doing, and the council of Constantine didn't care to edit it properly

Answer 9

Can you please mention as to where this is mentioned - i've not been able to find it


'It says Michal had NO children till the day of her death?"
It would help a lot

Answer 10

It was the 5 sons of Marob...please read again