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But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
1 Samuel 25:44 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Now Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was of Gallim.
  • KJV But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Phalti the son of Laish, which was of Gallim.
  • NKJV But Saul had given Michal his daughter, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
  • NASB But Saul had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to Palti the son of Laish, who was from Gallim.
  • NLT Saul, meanwhile, had given his daughter Michal, David’s wife, to a man from Gallim named Palti son of Laish.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Saul had given David's wife Michal to another man, Palti. Saul's act severs David's earlier marriage tie and deepens the breach.

Overview

The narrator notes that Saul had given his daughter Michal, David's rightful wife, to Palti of Gallim. This action both wrongs David and signals Saul's continued hostility despite his earlier confession. The detail sets up later events when David, reigning as king, reclaims Michal, underscoring the tangled consequences of Saul's defiance of God's chosen king.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • 2 Sam 3:14Then David sent messengers to say to Ish-bosheth son of Saul, “Give me back my wife, Michal, whom I betrothed to myself for a hundred Philistine foreskins.”
  • 1 Sam 18:27David and his men went out and killed two hundred Philistines. He brought their foreskins and presented them as payment in full to become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave his daughter Michal to David in marriage.
  • Isa 10:30Cry aloud, O Daughter of Gallim! Listen, O Laishah! O wretched Anathoth!
  • 1 Sam 18:20Now Saul’s daughter Michal loved David, and when this was reported to Saul, it pleased him.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — 1 Samuel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on 1 Samuel 25:44YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on 1 SamuelMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The rise of the anointed king after Israel's failed first choice points to the true Anointed One (Messiah means 'anointed'), the shepherd-king after God's own heart from Bethlehem.

How 1 Samuel 25:44 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.