“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.”
My Notes
What Does 1 Samuel 18:21 Mean?
Saul's calculated cruelty is exposed: he offers his daughter Michal to David with the explicit intention that "she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him." The marriage offer is a death trap. The father who should protect his daughter uses her as bait. The king who should honor his bravest warrior weaponizes the reward.
The word "snare" (moqesh — a trap, a lure, a device for catching) reveals Saul's cold calculation: Michal isn't a wife being given. She's a trap being set. The bride price Saul demands (verse 25 — one hundred Philistine foreskins) is designed to get David killed in the collection process. The entire arrangement is an assassination attempt disguised as a wedding.
The phrase "that the hand of the Philistines may be against him" states the desired outcome plainly: Saul wants the Philistines to kill David. He won't do it himself (too visible, too risky) but he'll arrange circumstances where someone else does. The king outsources the assassination to the enemy.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Where have you received an 'offer' that looked generous but was actually designed to harm you?
- 2.What does Saul's use of his daughter as a weapon teach about authority misusing relationships?
- 3.How does David's success (doubling the requirement) demonstrate God's protection when you walk into a trap?
- 4.Where might you be offering something that looks generous while harboring a hidden agenda?
Devotional
Saul offers his daughter to David — not as a blessing but as a trap. The king uses his own child as bait in an assassination plot. The marriage proposal is a death sentence with a wedding dress.
The word "snare" is the most chilling detail: Saul has reduced his daughter to a mechanism. Michal isn't a person in this calculation. She's a device — a trap designed to lure David into a situation where the Philistines will kill him. The father who should protect his daughter's interests uses her as a weapon against the man she loves (verse 20 — Michal loved David).
The bride price of one hundred Philistine foreskins is the mechanism of the trap. Nobody collects a hundred foreskins from enemy soldiers without engaging in extremely dangerous combat. Saul's calculation: David will die trying to earn the bride. The wedding present requires risking your life against a hundred Philistine warriors. The king smiles while writing the death warrant.
David, of course, succeeds — bringing back two hundred foreskins (verse 27), doubling the requirement. The trap fails because the LORD is with David (verse 28). The snare designed to kill the warrior makes the warrior more famous. The assassination attempt produces the hero's wedding. Saul's plan backfires completely.
The pattern of authority misusing relationship as a weapon is the verse's lasting contribution. Whenever someone with power offers something that looks like a gift but is designed to destroy — whenever the opportunity is actually the trap — Saul's offer to David is the prototype. The smiling face. The generous words. The death warrant hidden inside the wedding invitation.
What "generous offer" in your life might be someone else's snare?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And Saul commanded his servants, saying, commune with David secretly,.... And persuade him to marry Michal, and assure…
In the one of the twain - Some prefer “the second time” Job 33:14. The first contract had been broken by giving Merab to…
That she may be a snare to him - Saul had already determined the condition on which he would give his daughter to David;…
Saul had now, in effect, proclaimed war with David. He began in open hostility when he threw the javelin at him. Now we…
a snare Michal was to he the baitto lure David into some venturesome raid upon the Philistines in which he might lose…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture