שמואל ב, פרק ג׳, פסוק ה׳

The record of sons born to David during the early years of his reign in Hebron concludes before his eventual move to Jerusalem, where he would go on to have more children with other women [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The final focus of this family roster rests on the sixth son, Ithream, and his mother, Eglah. Her identity, along with the specific title attached to her name, has generated significant discussion.

There are three distinct ways to understand exactly who Eglah was. The most straightforward approach is that she is a woman unmentioned elsewhere in the biblical narrative. According to this view, David’s well-known wife Michal is missing from this list of mothers simply because she did not give birth to a son during the years in Hebron [רד"ק]. The primary approach, however, identifies Eglah as Michal herself. In this context, the name Eglah is understood not as a formal given name, but rather as a unique expression of intense love and deep affection [רש"י, רד"ק, מלבי"ם]. This identification naturally raises a question, as it is recorded elsewhere that Michal remained childless until the day she died. Commentators resolve this by explaining that her barrenness was a specific punishment imposed only after she mocked David for dancing before God. Before that incident, she did indeed have children [רש"י, רד"ק]. A third perspective suggests that Eglah was actually the widow of King Saul, whom David married following Saul's death as part of the formal transition of royal power [רלב"ג, רד"ק].

The description of Eglah specifically as David's wife also carries deeper meaning. Some understand this title as a sweeping reference to all the women listed previously, serving to emphasize that they were all full wives rather than concubines [מצודת דוד]. Most commentators, however, link the title exclusively to Eglah, interpreting it through the lens of her true identity. If she was an otherwise unknown woman from an ordinary family, the title serves to firmly establish her official status as a wife of the king [רד"ק]. If she was Michal, the description highlights her special position as David's very first wife [רד"ק], or emphasizes that as a princess, she was uniquely fitting to be married to David [מלבי"ם]. Finally, if Eglah was the widow of Saul, the title reflects a specific law governing the monarchy: a king's widow is strictly forbidden to marry a commoner and may only wed another king. Therefore, she could only ever become the wife of David [רלב"ג, רד"ק].