1 Samuel 19 · Verse 13

1 Samuel 19:13

And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.
1 Samuel 19:13, King James Version

1 Samuel 19:13 in other translations

BSBThen Michal took a household idol and laid it in the bed, placed some goat hair on its head, and covered it with a garment.
WEBMichal took the teraphim and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair at its head and covered it with clothes.
ASVAnd Michal took the teraphim, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair at the head thereof, and covered it with the clothes.
YLTand Michal taketh the teraphim, and layeth on the bed, and the mattress of goats' hair she hath put for his pillows, and covereth with a garment.
DARBYAnd Michal took the image, and laid it in the bed, and put the net of goats' hair at its head, and covered it with the coverlet.
BBEThen Michal took the image and put it in the bed, with a cushion of goat's hair at its head, and she put clothing over it.
WebsterAnd Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goat's hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.

What does 1 Samuel 19:13 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 1 Samuel 19:13-14
13-14. And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed--"an image," literally, "the teraphim," and laid, not in the bed, but literally on the "divan"; and "the pillows," that is, the cushion, which usually lay at the back of the divan and was stuffed with "goat's hair," she took from its bolster or heading at the upper part of the divan. This she placed lower down, and covered with a mantle, as if to foster a proper warmth in a patient; at the same time spreading the goat's hair skin, so as to resemble human hair in a dishevelled state. The pretext was that David lay there sick. The first messengers of Saul, keeping at a respectable distance, were deceived; but the imposition was detected on a closer inspection.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 13 Michal took an image - את התרפים eth hatteraphim, the teraphim. The Hebrew word appears to mean any kind of image, in any kind of form, as a representative of some reality. Here it must have been something in the human form; because it was intended to represent a man lying in bed indisposed. A pillow of goats' hair - Perhaps she formed the appearance of a sick man's head muffled up by this pillow or bag of goats' hair. So I think the original might be understood. The goats' hair was merely accidental; unless we could suppose that it was designed to represent the hair of David's head, which is not improbable.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on 1 Samuel 19:11-24

Michal's stratagem to gain time till David got to a distance was allowable, but her falsehood had not even the plea of necessity to excuse it, and manifests that she was not influenced by the same spirit of piety which had dictated Jonathan's language to Saul. In flying to Samuel, David made God his refuge. Samuel, as a prophet, was best able to advise him what to do in this day of distress. He met with little rest…

Read the full comment on 1 Samuel 19:11-24 →

1 Samuel 19:13 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַתִּקַּ֨חva.ti.Kachand she tookH3947
מִיכַ֜לmi.KhalMichalH4324
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַתְּרָפִ֗יםha.te.ra.Fimthe teraphimH8655
וַתָּ֙שֶׂם֙va.Ta.semand she put [it]H7760
אֶל\־'el-intoH413
הַמִּטָּ֔הha.mi.Tahthe bedH4296
וְאֵת֙ve.'Etand <obj.>H853
כְּבִ֣ירke.Vir<the> quilt ofH3523
הָֽעִזִּ֔יםha.'i.Zim<the> goat hair<s>H5795
שָׂ֖מָהSa.mahshe putH7760
מְרַֽאֲשֹׁתָ֑יוme.ra.'a.sho.Tav[the] place of head itsH4763
וַתְּכַ֖סva.te.Khasand she covered [it]H3680
בַּבָּֽגֶד\׃\ \סba.Ba.gedwith the garmentH899

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for 1 Samuel 19:13

  • Genesis 31:19

    And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.

  • Judges 18:17

    And the five men that went to spy out the land went up, and came in thither, and took the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood in the entering of the gate with the six hundred men that were appointed with weapons of war.

  • Judges 18:14

    Then answered the five men that went to spy out the country of Laish, and said unto their brethren, Do ye know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a graven image, and a molten image? now therefore consider what ye have to do.

  • Judges 17:5

    And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

  • Hosea 3:4

    For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
an image. Heb. teraphim.
Ge 31:19; *marg:
Jud 17:5; 18:14,17; Ho 3:4
a pillow.Rather, "the net-work of goat's hair at its (the Teraphim's) pillow;" for the {kevir,} (whence the Chaldee and Syriac {kavreetho,} a honey-comb, from its net-like form), seems to have been a kind of mosquito-net, which, says Dr. Shaw, is "a close curtain of gauze, used all over the East, by people of fashion, to keep out the flies." That they had such anciently cannot be doubted. Thus when Judith had beheaded Holofernes in his bed, (ch. 13:9, 15) "she pulled down the canopy (or the mosquito net, [ ,] from [ ,] a gnat, or mosquito, whence our word canopy) wherein he did lie in his drunkenness, from the pillars."

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • 1 Samuel 19:12

    So Michal let David down through a window: and he went, and fled, and escaped.

  • 1 Samuel 19:13

    And Michal took an image, and laid it in the bed, and put a pillow of goats’ hair for his bolster, and covered it with a cloth.

  • 1 Samuel 19:14

    And when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.

Read all of 1 Samuel 19

1 Samuel 19:13 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Tomó luego Michâl una estatua, y púsola sobre la cama, y acomodóle por cabecera una almohada de pelos de cabra, y cubrióla con una ropa.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et Mical prit le théraphim et le mit dans le lit, et mit à son chevet un tissu de poils de chèvre, et le couvrit d’un tapis.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Michal nahm den Teraphim und legte ihn ins Bett und legte das Geflecht von Ziegenhaar zu seinen Häupten und deckte ihn mit dem Tuche zu.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Tulit autem Michol statuam, et posuit eam super lectum, et pellem pilosam caprarum posuit ad caput ejus, et operuit eam vestimentis.