The Meaning of 1 Samuel 18:21 Explained

1 Samuel 18:21

KJV: 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.

YLT: and Saul saith, 'I give her to him, and she is to him for a snare, and the hand of the Philistines is on him;' and Saul saith unto David, 'By the second -- thou dost become my son-in-law to-day.'

Darby: 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 upon him. And Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law a second time.

ASV: 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 a second time.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does 1 Samuel 18:21 Mean?

Context Summary

1 Samuel 18:10-21 - Protected From Dastardly Assaults
The Lord was evidently with David. Mark how the sacred chronicle keeps this fact in view, 1 Samuel 18:12; 1 Samuel 18:14; 1 Samuel 18:28. And David behaved himself wisely, 1 Samuel 18:5; 1 Samuel 18:14-15; 1 Samuel 18:30. How judicious it would have been for Saul to bind David to himself! Instead of this he cherished his mad passion until it broke out in irresistible fury. Oh, beware of jealousy! It opens the soul's door to the devil. The best way of meeting it, apart from prayer, is to compel yourself to take an interest in your rival, and to put yourself loyally in his place. Overcome your mean and wicked soul, in the power of the Lord Jesus. "Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh," Romans 13:14.
The evil spirit that possessed Saul is said to have come from God; that is, God permitted it to come. It came according to the ordered rule of the universe. "God," says one, "must be something to us; what He shall be depends on ourselves and on what we are to Him." See Psalms 18:25-26. The king, having failed to murder David, encouraged him in dangerous undertakings. But if David had fallen in battle, his death would still have been justly laid at Saul's door. [source]

Chapter Summary: 1 Samuel 18

1  Jonathan befriends David
5  Saul envies his praise
10  seeks to kill him in his fury
12  fears him for his good success
17  offers him his daughters for snare
23  David persuaded to be the king's son-in-law,
25  gives two hundred foreskins of the Philistines for Michal's dowry
28  Saul's hatred and David's glory increase

What do the individual words in 1 Samuel 18:21 mean?

So said Saul I will give her to him that she may be to him a snare that may be against him the hand of the Philistines therefore said Saul to David a second [time] You shall be my son-in-law in today
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר שָׁא֜וּל אֶתְּנֶ֤נָּה לּוֹ֙ וּתְהִי־ ל֣וֹ לְמוֹקֵ֔שׁ וּתְהִי־ ב֖וֹ יַד־ פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים וַיֹּ֤אמֶר שָׁאוּל֙ אֶל־ דָּוִ֔ד בִּשְׁתַּ֛יִם תִּתְחַתֵּ֥ן בִּ֖י הַיּֽוֹם

וַיֹּ֨אמֶר  So  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
שָׁא֜וּל  Saul 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁאוּל  
Sense: a Benjamite, son of Kish, and the st king of Israel.
אֶתְּנֶ֤נָּה  I  will  give  her 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common singular, third person feminine singular
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
לּוֹ֙  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
וּתְהִי־  that  she  may  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Jussive, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
ל֣וֹ  to  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
לְמוֹקֵ֔שׁ  a  snare 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֹוקֵשׁ  
Sense: bait, lure, snare.
וּתְהִי־  that  may  be 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Jussive, third person feminine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
ב֖וֹ  against  him 
Parse: Preposition, third person masculine singular
יַד־  the  hand 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: יָד  
Sense: hand.
פְּלִשְׁתִּ֑ים  of  the  Philistines 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine plural
Root: פְּלִשְׁתִּי  
Sense: an inhabitant of Philistia; descendants of Mizraim who immigrated from Caphtor (Crete?) to the western seacoast of Canaan.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר  therefore  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
שָׁאוּל֙  Saul 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׁאוּל  
Sense: a Benjamite, son of Kish, and the st king of Israel.
דָּוִ֔ד  David 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: דָּוִד  
Sense: youngest son of Jesse and second king of Israel.
בִּשְׁתַּ֛יִם  a  second  [time] 
Parse: Preposition-b, Number, fd
Root: שְׁנַיִם  
Sense: two.
תִּתְחַתֵּ֥ן  You  shall  be  my  son-in-law 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, second person masculine singular
Root: חָתַן 
Sense: to become a son-in-law, make oneself a daughter’s husband.
הַיּֽוֹם  today 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.