I'd like to ask what Bible did you use to find this "slip-up"? Because in my NIV(New International Version) Bible, in II Samuel 21:8 it says this, "But the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah's daughter Rizpah, whom she had borne to Saul, together with the five sons of Saul's daughter MERAB, whom she had borne to Adriel son of Barzillai the Meholathite." So it's not Michal as you say it is, but it's MERAB, another daughter of Saul. So this is no "mistake" in the Bible!
Might be a mistake, might not be. Presumably, the first verse refers to the fact that she had no children with David, because she hated him after seeing him dance before the people. (And replacing her father as king didn't help either.) She thought him undignified.
Some Hebrew and Septuagint manuscripts say Merab instead of Michal, Merab was Michal's older sister. You left off the rest of the second verse if you're using the King James Version, which says Michal, "whom she brought up for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite:". Since elsewhere in 2 Samuel, we read that Saul's daughter Merab married Adriel, it could mean exactly what it says in the King James Version, that Michal, for some reason not explicitly stated, brought up the sons of her sister. Either because of the advantages she could give them by living in the palace, or perhaps Merab's death. It's very likely Merab died before her sons were fully grown. Or it could mean that in some of the manuscripts, the wrong daughter's name was written down. A copyist working with thousands of verses could certainly make a copying mistake. Since the father is explicitly named, though, and there's no mention of Michal committing adultery with her own brother-in-law, they probably weren't biologically hers. Probably they were Merab's sons, but she may have been responsible for their upbringing.
Got all the handy manuscript references from http://bible.gospelcom.net/
Michal daughter of Saul was indeed barren, as a result of her jealousy (the peculiar trait also of her father, likely the reason she is so often referred to as "the daughter of Saul"). The "six sons of Michal the daughter of Saul," are thought by most Hebrew scholars to be referring to the children of her sister, Merab. (And some of the translations bear out this idea.) So why would they be called Michal's sons? Because it was Michal who reared them, raised them, so it would not be any more unusual to call them her children, than to call Jesus the son of Joseph the carpenter. - Not biologically, or course, but as the father who raised him.
You were all right about the verse. It says "Merab" in the NIV version. Not "Michal". However, if you read the little subnote at the bottom it says: "most Hebrew and Septuagint manuscripts 'Michal'". This means that the NIV version changed it to Merab but it was originally Michal.
The King James Version says: "...and the five sons of Michal the daughter of saul, whom she BROUGHT UP for Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite.
So the mystery is solved. This is not a slipup. The sons were not her direct blood sons but sons that she brought up for a friend. End of story.
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