Bible Strands
1 Samuel 18:21
“I will give her to David,” Saul thought, “so that she may be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “For a second time now you can be my son-in-law.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Saul voices this plan to himself and then verbally to David, immediately after learning that Michal loves him. He frames the marriage proposal as a royal opportunity while secretly plotting to use it to expose David to Philistine attack.
The words — The Hebrew word מוֹקֵשׁ (mo.Kesh) literally means “a snare” or “a trap,” defining Saul’s intent to use Michal as bait. The phrase יַד פְּלִשְׁתִּים (yad pe.lish.Tim) translates directly to “the hand of the Philistines,” denoting their military force or hostile action against David.
The thread — This pattern of a royal marriage functioning as a trap mirrors Saul’s earlier proposal of Merab in 1 Samuel 18:17 and recalls the political warning in Exodus 10:7 about a leader becoming a snare. The narrative later shows the plot’s failure when David willingly accepts the terms in 1 Samuel 18:26.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to distinguish between outward offers of honor and the hidden motives driving them. It asks the reader to recognize how those in power can weaponize relationships to achieve destructive ends.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Wherefore Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son in law in the one of the twain.
Cross-references
- 1 Samuel 18:17 Then Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you in marriage. Only be valiant for me and fight the LORD’s battles.” But Saul was thinking, “I need not raise my hand against him; let the hand of the Philistines be against him.”
- Exodus 10:7 Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the LORD their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt lies in ruins?”
- 1 Samuel 18:26 When the servants reported these terms to David, he was pleased to become the king’s son-in-law. Before the wedding day arrived,
- 1 Samuel 19:11 Then Saul sent messengers to David’s house to watch him and kill him in the morning. But David’s wife Michal warned him, “If you do not run for your life tonight, tomorrow you will be dead!”
- Jeremiah 9:8 Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
- Psalms 7:14 Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.
- Psalms 38:12 Those who seek my life lay snares; those who wish me harm speak destruction, plotting deceit all day long.
- Proverbs 26:24 A hateful man disguises himself with his speech, but he lays up deceit in his heart.
- Proverbs 29:5 A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.
- Jeremiah 5:26 For among My people are wicked men; they watch like fowlers lying in wait; they set a trap to catch men.