Lexicon
חָתָן
cha.tan
H2860
H:N-M Hebrew

son-in-law

20
Occurrences
10
Books
Hebrew
Language

cha.tan denotes a male connected by marriage, including a bridegroom in wedding imagery.

The term most often identifies a man in relation to a wife’s family or a household joined by marriage; it also occurs in wedding scenes for the groom, including imagery of bridal joy and adornment.

Senses in use

  1. Male relative by marriage · dominant

    In 1 Samuel 18:18, the singular absolute form occurs in David’s question about becoming connected to the king’s family; the APB renders the clause "that I should become the king's son-in-law?" Construct forms mark the relation to another household in 1 Samuel 22:14 and 2 Kings 8:27, while Genesis 19:14 uses plural construct forms for Lot’s daughters’ prospective husbands.

  2. Bridegroom in wedding settings · common

    In Isaiah 61:10, the singular absolute form appears in a comparison involving festive adornment, and the APB renders "as a bridegroom decks himself with a headdress." In Jeremiah 16:9 and Jeremiah 33:11, it occurs with the bride and with voices of joy or gladness; Joel 2:16 places the bridegroom leaving his chamber alongside the bride.

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the family-relation use as "son-in-law," while wedding contexts use "bridegroom." Because the APB is a whole-verse translation, these renderings are read alongside the Hebrew forms and their clauses.

Passages featuring this word

Across Scripture