How is this not a contradiction?

Question

How many children did Michal have?
2 Samuel 6:23
Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no child unto the day of her death.

2 Samuel 21:8
And the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul.

Answer 1

the day she died, she had quintuplets?

Answer 2

There are at least two possible explanations. Notice the following quoted article on this subject:

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Michal enjoyed the delicacies, privileges, and riches of the king’s palace, but she was never blessed with children. Or was she? The passage in 2 Samuel 6:23 reads, “Therefore Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death,” yet 2 Samuel 21:8 reads, “So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, and the five sons of Michal the daughter of Saul, whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite” (emp. added).

Michal was the younger daughter of the first king of Israel, Saul (1 Samuel 14:49), and she married the successor to the throne, David (1 Samuel 18:27). Because Saul wanted to kill David, David had to flee, leaving his bride behind (1 Samuel 19:11-12). When David returned some years later, Saul had cancelled the marriage, and Michal was married to Phalti (1 Samuel 25:44). David reclaimed her, but both Michal and David were very different people by this time, and a sharp disagreement drove them apart (2 Samuel 6:12-23). It is in the context of the disturbance of Michal’s marriage to David that the Bible reveals she had no children until the day of her death. If Michal indeed had no children, it might seem that the Bible has contradicted itself in this instance.

Before believing that the inspired writer got “mixed up,” consider the following: Michal’s sister, Merab, married Adriel the Meholathite (1 Samuel 18:19), and it was Adriel’s children that, according to 2 Samuel 21:8, belonged to Michal and were “brought up” by Michal. The Hebrew word translated “brought up” could mean that Michal actually gave birth to the children, but it also could mean that Michal acted as a midwife when the children were born, or that she reared the children. It is altogether possible that Merab died, and Michal, having the resources to provide for a family, and being childless herself, “adopted” Merab’s children (Coffman, 1992, p. 297). In that case, it would be perfectly reasonable to assume that the children, for all practical purposes, belonged to Michal, and that Michal “brought them up.”

Another possibility is that a copyist of the Hebrew Old Testament made a mistake. Since it is clear that Michal was married to David and not Adriel, and that Michal had no offspring, some have suggested that a copyist of long ago simply got the two sisters confused (Clarke, n.d., p. 367). There are manuscripts, including the Kennicott and Chaldee, that use the name of Merab in the place of Michal in 2 Samuel 21:8 (p. 367). Some translations, including the New American Standard Bible, the New International Version, and the English Standard Version, also render 2 Samuel 21:8 with the name of Merab rather than Michal.

We know that Michal had no children, but we will probably always be uncertain of what role (if any) Michal played in the rearing of the children of Adriel. With the two possible explanations given, we can see that a contradiction does not exist in this case.

REFERENCES
Clarke, Adam (no date), Clarke’s Commentary: Joshua-Esther (Nashville, TN: Abingdon).

Coffman, James Burton (1992), Commentary on Second Samuel (Abilene, TX: ACU Press).



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Answer 3

2 Samuel 21:8

Other manuscripts have Merab, not Michal, also a daughter of Saul who was given to Adriel as his wife (1 Sam 18:19). This is more likely since Michal bore no children because of her anger at David upon the return of the ark of the covenant (6:23).

Answer 4

Saul had two daughters: Merab and Michal. 1 Samuel 14:49, says "Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchishua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal." Since 2 Samuel 6:23 states that Michal had no children, we can conclude that 2 Sam. 21:8 is a copyist error that should have read Merab.

In fact, many scholars substitute Merab for Michal in 2 Sam. 21:8, regarding it as an ancient scribal error, saying that after her death her sons were hanged to atone for Saul’s slaughter of the Gibeonites, a breaking of Israel’s covenant.

Answer 5

IISamuel6:23 states that Michal had no children but i think maybe you might have misunderstood IISamuel 21:8 states the king took the 2 sons of Rizpah daughter of Aiah whom she bore to Saul,Armoni and Mephibosheth and the 5 sons of Merab(daughter of Saul)that gave birth to Adreil son of Barzillai the Metholathite

Answer 6

Did Michal have any children or not?
(2 Samuel 6:23 and 2 Samuel 21:8)



No children (2 Samuel 6:23) - "And Michal the daughter of Saul had no child to the day of her death."

Five sons (2 Sam. 21:8) - "But the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, 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" (KJV).

(2 Samuel 21:8, NASB) - "So the king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, Armoni and Mephibosheth whom she had born to Saul, and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she had born to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite."

(2 Samuel 21:8, NIV) - "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."

Saul had two daughters: Merab and Michal. 1 Samuel 14:49, says "Now the sons of Saul were Jonathan, and Ishui, and Melchishua: and the names of his two daughters were these; the name of the firstborn Merab, and the name of the younger Michal." Since 2 Samuel 6:23 states that Michal had no children, we can conclude that this is a copyist error that should have read Merab. "Many scholars substitute Merab for Michal in 2 Sam. 21:8, regarding it as an ancient scribal error, saying that after her death her sons were hanged to atone for Saul’s slaughter of the Gibeonites, a breaking of Israel’s covenant."1


Ha, Gothcha

Answer 7

My notes show that the 5 sons were of Merab or that Merab bore the children and that they were raised by Michal. Michal didn't have children of her own, but being a princess(daughter of King Saul), raised the 5 boys as her own. They were her sons in that she raised them.

Answer 8

2 Samuel 21:8 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.

1 Samuel 14:49 Saul's sons were Jonathan, Ishvi and Malki-Shua. The name of his older daughter was Merab, and that of the younger was Michal.

So which version did you haul 2 Samuel 21:8 out of?

Answer 9

They were the sons of Merob, who was married to Hadriel: but they are here called the sons of Michol, because she adopted them, and brought them up as her own.