We had reached out to the first kings of Israel in our review of the Old Testament to offer you suggestions of female names for the babies worn by the ancient heroines of the Bible .
Today we come to King David and the women in his life , who were many. David appears to us portrayed in the Bible as a brave and intelligent man, but whose passions sometimes lead him to commit real sins, terrible acts and actions full of selfishness. Sensitive too, full of love for music and poetry, he was a man full of attractiveness and who tried to be fair, even if he was not always so.
Among the passions that undoubtedly take away from him are those of love and the flesh, although many times his loves had more to do with politics than with the heart. His wives and concubines were many and now we will present the best known, telling their stories.
David was born in Bethlehem, his father was Isai, great-grandson of Boaz and Ruth, and great-great-grandson of Rahab and Salmon, descendant of Judah. King Saul having displeased God, the prophet Samuel seeks a next king and will choose this boy.
David will become the king of Israel and will move the capital to the city that will be known as Jerusalem. But we are going to focus not on him, but on his wives, who were many, and on his daughter , who was sadly fated.
David’s women are perhaps one of the best portrayed female groups in antiquity. Several contemporaries who live their lives depending, almost always, on the whims and policies of men and who adapt, as they can, to their designs. The life of the oriental harem, the bad relations between the wives, the confrontations between the children of different women, the ambition and the desire, everything is mixed in this passionate fresco.
They are not happy women, and although some will be able to fulfill their wishes and accumulate power, the majority succumb to loneliness or doze, turned into objects that are taken and left, with whom they trade and gain support from the tribe to which they they belong.
Michal, daughter of Saul
Michal is the first of his wives, although the marriage would never be consummated. His name comes from the Hebrew Mikha’el, which means “Who is like God?”, Just like Michael. That is, in Spanish it would be Micaela, a beautiful name. Let’s get to know her a little more.
Michal was the daughter of King Saul. The Bible tells us that she was very much in love with David, that he was one of her father’s trusted men but that he had already awakened hatred and jealousy in him. When Mical expresses his love, the two men are not shocked that she was so unmodest, but both, each one separately, decide to take advantage of her to achieve their goals. Saul to set a trap for the pretender to the throne, David to achieve his purposes.
Saúl offers her as his wife, which is a very interesting political alliance for David, but he asks for the “foreskins of a hundred Philistines.” David kills 200 and offers that part of their bodies as double the dowry requested by the king. And Saul must give him Michal as his wife.
Mical saves David
However, the adventure does not end here. Saúl prepares an ambush and Michal finds out: he plans to send a group of men at night to kill David while he sleeps. She alerts her escaping husband and she tries to trick the murderers by placing an idol on the bed. When Saúl discovers it, he becomes enraged with his daughter, who considers that she has betrayed him. She will tell him that David forced her to let him go by threatening her with death. Michal will be married to another man, considering that David had disowned her and this new husband seems to have loved her.
David does not remember her again for a long time, until she becomes necessary in his harem as part of the political alliances that would make him a unifier of all Israel. She has her husband taken away from her, who continues to cry desperately until he has to turn around for fear for her life, and she is taken to Jerusalem where she will become part of the royal harem.
Although it is mentioned that Michal did not have children, there is a passage in which five of her children are mentioned who were later assassinated by order of the king, it is not clear and is a reason for doubts.
Mical’s unfortunate love
A long time later we hear from her again. David, fired with joy, dances before the Ark and she comments on how inappropriate his behavior seems to her. David speaks harsh words full of contempt and after that we never hear from her again, but it is not difficult to imagine her leading a lonely life, without the respect of her husband or children who love her. It seems that that adolescent love was never fulfilled.
Possibly Mical regretted many times having trusted his heart and given it to his father’s beautiful harpist, but above all for not having silenced his love. It paid dearly for being so spontaneous. Surely, any woman who has suffered a love disappointment can identify with Mical .
We will continue in the next topic presenting more heroines from the Bible , continuing with other of King David’s wives and their stories, hoping that you enjoy reading and that they will also inspire you as feminine names for babies .
In Babies and more | Female baby names: Old Testament characters (I), (II) and ( III ), (IV), (V), VI, VII
