1 Samuel 27

1 Samuel 27:1

David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will be swept away by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

1 Samuel 27:1 · BSB

am 2946 , bc 1058 , An , Ex , Is 433

I shall This was a rash conclusion . God had caused him to be anointed king of Israel , and promised his accession to the throne , and had so often interposed in his behalf , that he was authorised to believe the very re#### Verse.

perish Heb. be consumed

1 Samuel 27:2

So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.

1 Samuel 27:2 · BSB

David This measure of David's , in uniting himself to the enemies of his God and people , was highly blameable; was calculated to alienate the affections of the Israelites; and led to equivocation , if not downright falsehood.

1 Samuel 27:3

David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

1 Samuel 27:3 · BSB

1 Samuel 27:4

And when Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

1 Samuel 27:4 · BSB

1 Samuel 27:5

Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let me be assigned a place in one of the outlying towns, so I can live there. For why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”

1 Samuel 27:5 · BSB

1 Samuel 27:6

That day Achish gave him Ziklag, and to this day it still belongs to the kings of Judah.

1 Samuel 27:6 · BSB

1 Samuel 27:7

And the time that David lived in Philistine territory amounted to a year and four months.

1 Samuel 27:7 · BSB

the time Heb. the number of days

1 Samuel 27:8

Now David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (From ancient times these people had inhabited the land extending to Shur and Egypt.)

1 Samuel 27:8 · BSB

am 2948 , bc 1056 , An , Ex , Is , 435

Gezrites or , Gerzites , These people seem to be the Gerrhenians . 2; Mac 13 . 24 whose chief city , Gerrha , is mentioned by Strabo as lying between Gaza and Pelusium in Egypt.

1 Samuel 27:9

Whenever David attacked a territory, he did not leave a man or woman alive, but he took the flocks and herds, the donkeys, camels, and clothing. Then he would return to Achish,

1 Samuel 27:9 · BSB

1 Samuel 27:10

who would ask him, “What have you raided today?” And David would reply, “The Negev of Judah,” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel,” or “The Negev of the Kenites.”

1 Samuel 27:10 · BSB

Whither etc. or , Did you not make a road

Against David here meant the Geshurites , and Gezrites , and Amalekites , which people occupied that part of the country which lies to the south of Judah. But Achish , as was intended , understood him in a different sense , and believed that he had attacked his own countrymen. David's answer , therefore , though not an absolute falsehood , was certainly an equivocation intended to deceive , and therefore incompatible with that sense of truth and honour which became him as a prince , and a professor of true religion. From these , and similar passages , we may observe the strict impartiality of the Sacred Scriptures. They present us with the most faithful delineation of human nature; they exhibit the frailties of kings , priests , and prophets , with equal truth; and examples of vice and frailty , as well as of piety and virtue , are held up , that we may guard against the errors to which the best men are exposed.

1 Samuel 27:11

David did not leave a man or woman alive to be brought to Gath, for he said, “Otherwise they will report us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” And this was David’s custom the whole time he lived in Philistine territory.

1 Samuel 27:11 · BSB

1 Samuel 27:12

So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”

1 Samuel 27:12 · BSB