1 Samuel 19:13

19:13 Then Michal took a household idol ¹  and put it on the bed. She put a quilt ²  made of goat’s hair over its head ³  and then covered the idol with a garment.

1 Samuel 28:23

28:23 But he refused, saying, “I won’t eat!” Both his servants and the woman urged ⁴  him to eat, so he gave in. ⁵  He got up from the ground and sat down on the bed.

[19:13]  ¹ tn Heb “teraphim” (also a second time in this verse and once in v. 16). These were statues that represented various deities. According to 2 Kgs 23:24 they were prohibited during the time of Josiah’s reform movement in the seventh century. The idol Michal placed under the covers was of sufficient size to give the mistaken impression that David lay in the bed, thus facilitating his escape.

[19:13]  ² tn The exact meaning of the Hebrew word כָּבִיר (kavir) is uncertain; it is found in the Hebrew Bible only here and in v. 16. It probably refers to a quilt made of goat’s hair, perhaps used as a fly net while one slept. See HALOT 458 s.v. *כָּבִיר. Cf. KJV, TEV “pillow”; NLT “cushion”; NAB, NRSV “net.”

[19:13]  ³ tn Heb “at the place of its head.”

[28:23]  ⁴ tc The translation follows many medieval Hebrew mss in reading וַיִּפְצְרוּ (vayyiftseru, “and they pressed”; from the root פצר, psr) rather than the MT’s וַיִּפְרְצוּ (vayyifretsu, “and they broke forth”; from the root פרצ, prs).

[28:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “he listened to their voice.”