2 Samuel 6:16

And as the ark of the LORD came into the city of David, Michal Saul’s daughter looked through a window, and saw king David leaping and dancing before the LORD; and she despised him in her heart.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
ark	אֲר֣וֹן 'a.Ron	H727	a box · noun, common masculine singular construct
LORD	יְהוָ֔ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
came	בָּ֖א ba'	H935	to go or come (in a wide variety of applications) · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person masculine singular
city	עִ֣יר 'ir	H5892	a city (a place guarded by waking or a watch) in the wi… · noun, common feminine singular construct
David	דָּוִ֑ד da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
Michal	וּמִיכַ֨ל u.mi.Khal	H4324	Mikal · conjunction + proper noun, a woman's name
Saul’s	שָׁא֜וּל sha.'Ul	H7586	Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
daughter	בַּת bat-	H1323	a daughter (used in the same wide sense as other terms… · noun, common feminine singular construct
looked	נִשְׁקְפָ֣ה nish.ke.Fah	H8259	properly · verb, niphal perfect, 3rd person feminine singular
window	הַחַלּ֗וֹן ha.cha.Lon	H2474	a window (as perforated) · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
saw	וַתֵּ֨רֶא va.Te.re'	H7200	to see · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
king	הַמֶּ֤לֶךְ ha.Me.lekh	H4428	a king · definite article + noun, common masculine singular absolute
David	דָּוִד֙ da.Vid	H1732	David · proper noun, a man's name
leaping	מְפַזֵּ֤ז me.fa.Zez	H6339	to solidify (as if by refining) · verb, piel active participle, masculine singular absolute
dancing	וּמְכַרְכֵּר֙ u.me.khar.Ker	H3769	to dance (i.e. whirl) · conjunction + verb, piel active participle, masculine singular absolute
before	לִפְנֵ֣י lif.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
LORD	יְהוָ֔ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
despised	וַתִּ֥בֶז va.Ti.vez	H959	to disesteem · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 3rd person feminine singular
heart	בְּלִבָּֽהּ be.li.Bah	H3820	the heart · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they…
1 Chronicles 15:29 And it came to pass, as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came to the city of David, that Michal the daughter of Saul looking out at a win…
2 Samuel 3:14 And David sent messengers to Ish-bosheth Saul’s son, saying, Deliver me my wife Michal, which I espoused to me for an hundred foreskins of t…
Acts 2:13 Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
Psalms 69:7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.
Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised,…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 6:12-19

We have here the second attempt to bring the ark home to the city of David; and this succeeded, though the former miscarried. I. It should seem the blessing with which the house of Obed-edom was blessed for the ark's sake was a great inducement to David to bring it forward; for when that was told him (Sa2 6:12) he hastened to fetch it to him. For, 1. It was an evidence that God was reconciled to them, and his anger was turned away. As David could read God's frowns upon them all in Uzzah's stroke, so he could read God's favour to them all in Obed-edom's prosperity; and, if God be at peace with them, they can cheerfully go on with their design. 2. It was an evidence that the ark was not such a…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 6:14

David danced before the Lord--The Hebrews, like other ancient people, had their sacred dances, which were performed on their solemn anniversaries and other great occasions of commemorating some special token of the divine goodness and favor. with all his might--intimating violent efforts of leaping, and divested of his royal mantle (in a state of undress), conduct apparently unsuitable to the gravity of age or the dignity of a king. But it was unquestionably done as an act of religious homage, his attitudes and dress being symbolic, as they have always been in Oriental countries, of penitence, joy, thankfulness, and devotion. [See on Ch1 15:27.]

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 6:16

She despised him in her heart - She did not blame him outwardly; she thought he had disgraced himself, but she kept her mind to herself.

John Gill on 2 Samuel 6:16

And as the ark of the Lord came into the city of David,.... Being brought thither on the shoulders of the Levites: Michal, Saul's daughter, looked through a window; in the king's palace, to see the procession, which was very grand, and in great pomp, attended by a vast number of people, and with music of all sorts. She is said to be Saul's daughter, though David's wife, as having a good deal of her father's haughty temper and disposition, as appears by what follows: and saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord; the ark of the Lord, by these outward gestures expressing the inward joy of his heart on this occasion: and she despised him in her heart; as acting a mean part, quite be…

The Church Fathers

But even the dancing of the body is considered praiseworthy in honor of God. In fact, David danced before the Ark of the Lord and Michal, the daughter of Saul, saw him dancing and playing musical instruments in the presence of the Lord. After he returned home, she said to him, 'How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today! He has exposed himself in the sight of the maidservants of his servants, as one of the rabble might shamelessly expose himself!' David said to Michal in the presence of the Lord, 'It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel and Judah. I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.' And Michal, he said, had no son to the daughter of Saul until the day of his death. It is a clear example, therefore, that even the Prophet who played on the musical instruments and danced before the Ark of the Lord, was justified; and she who criticized him was condemned to barrenness.
— Ambrose of Milan, Exposition On Psalm 118, 7.27

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Chidon — Dart, the name of the threshing-floor at which the death of Uzzah took place (1 Chr. 13:9). In the parallel passage in Samuel (2 Sam. 6:6) it is called “Nachon’s threshing-floor.” It was a place not…
Chronicles, Books of — The two books were originally one. They bore the title in the Massoretic Hebrew Dibre hayyamim, i.e., “Acts of the Days.” This title was rendered by Jerome in his Latin version “Chronicon,” and hence…
David — Beloved, the eighth and youngest son of Jesse, a citizen of Bethlehem. His father seems to have been a man in humble life. His mother’s name is not recorded. Some think she was the Nahash of 2 Sam.…
Tabernacle — (1.) A house or dwelling-place (Job 5:24; 18:6, etc.). (2.) A portable shrine (comp. Acts 19:24) containing the image of Moloch (Amos 5:26; marg. and R.V., “Siccuth”). (3.) The human body (2 Cor.…
Contempt · Exemplified: Michal — Exemplified: Michal
Dancing · 11:34;21:19-21; — 11:34;21:19-21;
Wives · Bad — Exemplified: Michal — Bad — Exemplified: Michal
Zion · General references — General references

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

2 Samuel 6:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 6:12-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 6:14

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 6:16

John Gill on 2 Samuel 6:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

2 Samuel 6:16

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on 2 Samuel 6:12-19

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on 2 Samuel 6:14

Adam Clarke on 2 Samuel 6:16

John Gill on 2 Samuel 6:16

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Keil & Delitzsch on 2 Samuel 6:16

Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Samuel 6:16

Rashi on 2 Samuel 6:14