Phalti(phaltiel)
“My deliverance / God is my deliverance”
Summary
Phalti (also called Phaltiel) was the son of Laish from Gallim, to whom Saul gave Michal after separating her from David.
☩Michal's Second Husband
When Saul's jealousy drove David forth as an outlaw, Saul gave his daughter Michal—David's wife—to Phalti son of Laish of Gallim. This was likely a political move to attach Phalti to Saul's house and to further sever David's connection to the royal family.
☩Restoration of Michal to David
When David demanded the return of his wife Michal as a condition for alliance with Abner and Ish-bosheth, Phalti was forced to give her up. The touching scene of Phalti following his wife 'weeping behind her to Bahurim' until Abner commanded him to return reveals his deep attachment to Michal. He then disappears from the biblical narrative.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Phalti," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VIII (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Phalti," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).