The Michal Affair: From Zimri-Lim to the Rabbis (Hebrew Bible Monographs)

180 Pages·2005·1.32 MB·English

by  Daniel Bodi

THE MICHAL AFFAIR
from zimri-lim to the rabbis
DANIEL BODI
THE MICHAL AFFAIR

Hebrew Bible Monographs, 3

Series Editors
David J.A. Clines, J. Cheryl Exum, Keith W. Whitelam

Editorial Board
A Graeme Auld, Francis Landy, Hugh S. Pyper, Stuart D.E. Weeks

THE MICHAL AFFAIR
FROM ZIMRI-LIM TO THE RABBIS
Daniel Bodi
in collaboration with Brigitte Donnet-Guez
SHEFFIELD PHOENIX PRESS
2005
Copyright © 2005 Sheffield Phoenix Press

Published by Sheffield Phoenix Press
Department of Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield
Sheffield S10 2TN

www.sheffieldphoenix.com

All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information
storage or retrieval system, without the publishers’ permission in writing.

A CIP catalogue record for this book
is available from the British Library

Typeset by Forthcoming Publications
Printed on acid-free paper by Antony Rowe, Chippenham, Wiltshire

ISBN 1-905048-17-3
CONTENTS

Abbreviations vii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1
A POLITICAL READING OF THE MICHAL STORY:
THE TRAGEDY OF MICHAL AS A CRITIQUE OF THE
ISRAELITE MONARCHY AND THE PREFIGURATION OF ITS END 5
1. Introduction 5
2. Fragments of the Michal Tradition and Considerations
about Methodology 6
3. Love as an Emotion and as Political Allegiance
in the Michal Tradition 11
4. Michal Sides with David against her Father 22
5. Saul Severs David’s Bonds of Kinship with the Royal Family 28
6. David Re-establishes his Ties with the Royal Family 34
7. David the King and Michal the Intractable Queen 40
8. David Exterminates the Last Members of Saul’s Dynasty 53
9. Conclusions 58

Chapter 2
THE DAUGHTERS OF SAUL AND THE DAUGHTERS OF ZIMRI-LIM 64
1. The Historical Problem: Saul Offers his Two Daughters
to David 64
2. The Daughters of Zimri-Lim: A Mari Analogy 68
3. The Suicide Motif in Mari and in One Greek Tragedy 78
4. The Marriage Gift or Counter-Gift in Israel and Mari 80
5. The Two Daughters of Hatshepsut Given to the Same Prince 83
6. Conclusions 85

Chapter 3
MICHAL IN RABBINIC LITERATURE 88
1. Introduction 88
2. Emotional Aspects of Michal’s Marriage with David 89
3. Legal Aspects of David’s Marriages with Saul’s Daughters 91
4. Abrabanel’s Interpretation 94

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5. David’s Apparent Humility 96
6. One Hundred Foreskins as a Counter-Gift 97
7. David and the Military Conflicts 98
8. Michal Saves David’s Life 100
9. The Problem of the Teraphim 102
10. Michal’s Marriage with Palti 103
11. Was Michal’s Marriage with Palti Legal? 104
12. Doeg the Edomite’s Treachery 105
13. David’s Supposed Letter of Divorce (g(cid:211)) 106
14. The Invalidity of Michal and Merab’s Marriages
with Palti and Adriel 109
15. David Demands the Return of his Wife Michal 110
16. Was it Legitimate for David to take Michal Back? 111
17. David’s Dance before the Ark and the Dispute with Michal 116
18. The Conflict 118
19. The Ark at Obed-Edom’s House 121
20. David’s Fault 123
21. David’s Guilt according to the Talmudic Literature 126
22. Did Michal Have Children? 130
23. The Equation of Eglah with Michal 131
24. The Five Sons of Michal or of Merab? 133
25. The Michal–Rachel Analogy 135
26. Michal as an Exceptionally Beautiful Woman 137
27. Michal as a Strong-Willed Woman 138
28. Michal, a Pious Woman Wearing Phylacteries
and Studying the Torah 138
29. Michal as David’s Wife in the World to Come 141
30. Michal a ‘Helpmate Opposing’ David 142

Conclusions 143

Bibliography 146
Index of Select References 162
Index of Authors 166

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ABBREVIATIONS

ABL R.F. Harper, Assyrian and Babylonian Letters (14 vols.; London:
British Museum; Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1892–1914)
AEM Archives épistolaires de Mari (Archives royales de Mari, XXVI; Paris:
Editions Recherche sur les Civilisations, 1988)
AB Anchor Bible
ABD David Noel Freedman (ed.), The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York:
Doubleday, 1992)
AfO Archiv für Orientforschung
AHw Wolfram von Soden (ed.), Akkadisches Handwörterbuch (3 vols.;
Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1965–81)
AJSL American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures
ANEP James B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near East in Pictures Relating to the
Old Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1954)
ANET James B. Pritchard (ed.), Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the
Old Testament (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1950)
AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament
AOS American Oriental Series
ARM Archives royales de Mari
ARMT Archives royales de Mari, Textes
AS Assyriological Studies
BETL Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium
b. Babylonian Talmud
Bib Biblica
BibOr Biblica et orientalia
BZ Biblische Zeitschrift
BZAW Beihefte zur ZAW
CAD Ignace J. Gelb et al. (eds.), The Assyrian Dictionary of the Oriental
Institute of the University of Chicago (18 vols.; Chicago: Oriental
Institute, 1956–)
CAT Commentaire de l’Ancien Testament
CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly
CDA J. Black, A. George and N. Postgate (eds.), A Concise Dictionary of
Akkadian (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 2000)
CH Codex Hammurabi
EA El Amarna
ErIsr Eretz Israel
EThL Ephemerides theologicae lovanienses

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viii The Mical Affair
ETR Etudes théologiques et religieuses
EvTh Evangelische Theologie
HALOT L. Koehler, W. Baumgartner, J.J. Stamm, B. Hartmann, Z. Ben-
Hayyim, E.Y. Kutscher and Ph. Raymond (eds.), The Hebrew and
Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (trans. M.E.J. Richardson;
5 vols.; Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000)
HSM Harvard Semitic Monographs
HSS Harvard Semitic Studies
HTR Harvard Theological Review
HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual
IBK Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Kulturwissenschaft
IDB George Arthur Buttrick (ed.), The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible
(4 vols.; Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1962)
IEJ Israel Exploration JournaI
Int Interpretation
IOSCS International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies
JANES Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University
JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society
JBL Journal of Biblical Literature
JCS Journal of Cuneiform Studies
JESHO Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient
JJS Journal of Jewish Studies
JNWSL Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages
JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series
JTS Journal of Theological Studies
KAT Kommentar zum Alten Testament
LAPO Littératures anciennes du Proche-Orient
LD Lectio divina
LXX Septauagint
MARI Mari annales de recherches interdisciplinaires
NEB New English Bible
NIV New International Version
NJPS New Jewish Publication Society Version
OBO Orbis biblicus et orientalis
OLZ Orientalistische Literaturzeitung
Or Orientalia
OTL Old Testament Library
PEQ Palestine Exploration Quarterly
RA Revue d’assyriologie et d’archéologie orientale
RAI Rencontre assyriologique internationale
RB Revue biblique
REJ Revue des études juives
RSV Revised Standard Version
SBT Studies in Biblical Theology
SSN Studia semitica neerlandica

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Abbreviations ix
THAT Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann (eds.), Theologisches
Handwörterbuch zum Alten Testament (Munich: Chr. Kaiser, 1971–76)
ThLZ Theologische Literaturzeitung
TOB Traduction œcuménique de la Bible
UF Ugarit-Forschungen
UISK Untersuchungen zur indogermanischen Sprach- und Kulturwissen-
schaft
VAB Vorderasiatische Bibliothek
VT Vetus Testamentum
WMANT Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament
y. Jerusalem Talmud
YOS Yale Oriental Series
ZA Zeitschrift für Assyriologie
ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft
ZDMG Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenländischen Gesellschaft

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