Palti
PALTI (Heb. פַּלְטִי, a hypocoristicon of a name like פַּלְטִיאֵל, Paltiel; "God is [my] deliverance"), son of Laish from Gallim in Benjamin. Saul's daughter *Michal, who had been given in marriage to *David, was given in marriage to Palti when David incurred Saul's jealousy and had to flee the court to save his life. After Saul's death, *Abner, angered by Saul's son Ish-Bosheth, secretly offered David to win over the men of Israel for him. David, however, refused to even begin negotiations unless he brought Michal to him. It was probably under pressure of the powerful Abner that Ish-Bosheth took Michal away from Palti and returned her to David. It is related that the unhappy Palti followed Michal in tears until Abner ordered him to turn back (II Sam. 3:15–16).
Sources: Encyclopaedia Judaica. © 2007 The Gale Group. All Rights Reserved.