diff --git a/lib/utils.js b/lib/utils.js
index 32a83c75..9095b9d1 100644
--- a/lib/utils.js
+++ b/lib/utils.js
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ exports.merge = function (target, source, options) {
         return target;
     }
 
-    if (typeof target !== 'object') {
+    if (!target || typeof target !== 'object') {
         return [target].concat(source);
     }
 
diff --git a/test/utils.js b/test/utils.js
index 67ef9369..3c7ee523 100644
--- a/test/utils.js
+++ b/test/utils.js
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ var utils = require('../lib/utils');
 test('merge()', function (t) {
     t.deepEqual(utils.merge(null, true), [null, true], 'merges true into null');
 
+    t.deepEqual(utils.merge(null, [42]), [null, 42], 'merges null into an array');
+
     t.deepEqual(utils.merge({ a: 'b' }, { a: 'c' }), { a: ['b', 'c'] }, 'merges two objects with the same key');
 
     var oneMerged = utils.merge({ foo: 'bar' }, { foo: { first: '123' } });