1 SAMUEL 29 COMMENTARYEDITED BY GLENN PEASE

Achish Sends David Back to Ziklag

1 The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel.

BARNES, "A fountain - Probably, the fine spring Ain-Jalud. It is impossible to say what the special circumstances were which led to the struggle between Israel and the Philistines taking place so far north as the plain of Jezreel. Possibly it was connected with some movements of the Aramaic tribes to the north of Palestine. See 2 Sam. 8.

CLARKE, "To Aphek - This was a place in the valley of Jezreel, between Mounts Tabor and Gilboa.

Pitched by a fountain - To be near a fountain, or copious spring of water, was a point of great importance to an army in countries such as these, where water was so very scarce. It is supposed, as William of Tyre says, that it was at this same fountain that Saladin pitched his camp, while Baldwin, king of Jerusalem, pitched his by another fountain between Nazareth and Sephoris; each being anxious to secure that without which it was impossible for their armies to subsist.

GILL, "Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek,.... Not the city in the tribe of Judah of that name, Jos_15:53; where the Philistines had a camp in the time of Samuel, 1Sa_4:1; but rather that in the tribe of Asher, Jos_19:30; unless there was one of this name in the tribe of Issachar, not mentioned, since it seems to have been near Jezreel and Shunem, which were both in that tribe, Jos_19:18, and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel; in the valley of Jezreel; of which See Gill on Jos_19:18 and See Gill on Hos_1:5.

Here is, I. The great strait that David was in, which we may suppose he himself was 1

aware of, though we read not of his asking advice from God, nor of any project of his own to get clear of it. The two armies of the Philistines and the Israelites were encamped and ready to engage, 1Sa_29:1. Achish, who had been kind to David, had obliged him to come himself and bring the forces he had into his service. David came accordingly, and, upon a review of the army, was found with Achish, in the post assigned him in the rear, 1Sa_29:2. Now, 1. If, when the armies engaged, he should retire, and quit his post, he would fall under the indelible reproach, not only of cowardice and treachery, but of base ingratitude to Achish, who had been his protector and benefactor and had reposed a confidence in him, and from whom he had received a very honourable commission. Such an unprincipled thing as this he could by no means persuade himself to do. 2. If he should, as was expected from him, fight for the Philistines against Israel, he would incur the imputation of being an enemy to the Israel of God and a traitor to his country, would make his own people hate him, and unanimously oppose his coming to the crown, as unworthy the name of an Israelite, much more the honour and trust of a king of Israel, when he had fought against them under the banner of the uncircumcised. If Saul should be killed (as it proved he was) in this engagement, the fault would be laid at David's door, as if he had killed him. So that on each side there seemed to be both sin and scandal. This was the strait he was in; and a great strait it was to a good man, greater to see sin before him than to see trouble. Into this strait he brought himself by his own unadvisedness, in quitting the land of Judah, and going among the uncircumcised. It is strange if those that associate themselves with wicked people, and grow intimate with them, come off without guilt, or grief, or both. What he himself proposed to do does not appear. Perhaps he designed to act only as keeper to the king's head, the post assigned him (1Sa_28:2) and not to do any thing offensively against Israel. But it would have been very hard to come so near the brink of sin and not to fall in. Therefore, though God might justly have left him in this difficulty, to chastise him for his folly, yet, because his heart was upright with him, he would not suffer him to be tempted above what he was able, but with the temptation made a way for him to escape, 1Co_10:13.JAMISON, "1Sa_29:1-5. David marching with the Philistines to fight with Israel.Aphek — (Jos_12:8), in the tribe of Issachar, and in the plain of Esdraelon. A person who compares the Bible account of Saul’s last battle with the Philistines, with the region around Gilboa, has the same sort of evidence that the account relates what is true, that a person would have that such a battle as Waterloo really took place. Gilboa, Jezreel, Shunem, En-dor, are all found, still bearing the same names. They lie within sight of each other. Aphek is the only one of the cluster not yet identified. Jezreel on the northern slope of Gilboa, and at the distance of twenty minutes to the east, is a large fountain, and a smaller one still nearer; just the position which a chieftain would select, both on account of its elevation and the supply of water needed for his troops [Hackett, Scripture Illustrated].K&D, "Whilst Saul derived no comfort from his visit to the witch at Endor, but simply heard from the mouth of Samuel the confirmation of his rejection on the part of God, and an announcement of his approaching fate, David was delivered, through the interposition of God, from the danger of having to fight against his own people.

1Sa_29:1The account of this is introduced by a fuller description of the position of the hostile army. “The Philistines gathered all their armies together towards Aphek, but Israel

2

encamped at the fountain in (at) Jezreel.” This fountain is the present Ain Jalûd (or Ain Jalût, i.e., Goliath's fountain, probably so called because it was regarded as the scene of the defeat of Goliath), a very large fountain, which issues from a cleft in the rock at the foot of the mountain on the north-eastern border of Gilboa, forming a beautifully limpid pool of about forty or fifty feet in diameter, and then flowing in a brook through the valley (Rob. Pal. iii. p. 168). Consequently Aphek, which must be carefully distinguished from the towns of the same name in Asher (Jos_19:30; Jdg_1:31) and upon the mountains of Judah (Jos_15:53) and also at Ebenezer (1Sa_4:1), is to be sought for not very far from Shunem, in the plain of Jezreel; according to Van de Velde's Mem., by the side of the present el Afûleh, though the situation has not been exactly determined. The statement in the Onom., “near Endor of Jezreel where Saul fought,” is merely founded upon the Septuagint, in which ָּבַעִין is erroneously rendered ἐν Ἐνδώρ.

PULPIT, "1Sa_29:1The Philistines gathered, etc. The narrative, broken off for the description of Saul’s abasement, is again resumed from 1Sa_28:1. Aphek. As we saw on 1Sa_4:1, this word, signifying a fortress, is a very common name for places. If it was the Aphek in Judah there mentioned, David’s dismissal would have taken place near Gath, and so soon after Achish joined the Philistine army. Mr. Conder thinks it was the place represented by the modern village Fuku’a, near Mount Gilboa, in the tribe of Issachar; but as this was distant from Ziklag eighty or ninety miles, it would not have been possible for David to have reached home thence on the third day (1Sa_30:1), nor was it probable that his presence with his little army would remain long unnoticed. A fountain which is in Jezreel. Hebrew, "the fountain." Conder says, "Crossing the valley we see before us the site of Jezreel, on a knoll 500 feet high. The position is very peculiar, for whilst on the north and northeast the slopes are steep and rugged, on the south the ascent is very gradual, and the traveller coming northward is astonished to look down suddenly on the valley with its two springs: one, ’Ain Jalud, welling out from a conglomerate cliff, and forming a pool 100 yards long with muddy borders; the other, the Crusaders’ fountain of Tubania" (’Tent-Work,’ 1:124). The former is the fountain mentioned here; and it is evident that even now Saul had chosen a strong position for his army. The reading of the Septuagint, En-dor instead of "the fountain" (Hebrew, ’En, or ’Ain), is indefensible, as the Israelites were many miles to the southward.

GUZIK, "THE PHILISTINES REJECT DAVIDA. The Philistine rulers object to David’s presence among the Philistine army.

1. (1Sa_29:1-3) Achish defends David in the face of accusations from the other leaders Philistines.Then the Philistines gathered together all their armies at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel. And the lords of the Philistines passed in review by hundreds and by thousands, but David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish. Then the princes of the Philistines said, “What are these Hebrews doing here?” And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Is this not David, the servant of Saul king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me.”

a. Then the Philistines gathered together all their armies: The battle 3

lines were drawn in the previous chapter, when the Philistines made a deep incursion into Israelite territory. The Philistines were intent on delivering a death-blow to Israel, and the two armies square off in anticipation of battle.i. Where is Saul? The night before, Saul sought the help of a spirit medium, wanting to hear from God. Through a strange appearance of the prophet Samuel, God told Saul he would die the next day in battle. Instead of humbling himself in repentance before the LORD, Saul simply resigned himself to this fate.

b. The lords of the Philistines passed in review . . . David and his men passed in review at the rear: What is David doing among the Philistines? David, in the midst of great discouragement, left the people of God and the land of Israel, and cast his lot with the Philistines instead (1Sa_27:1-12). i. David now finds himself in a place he thought he would never be: among the ungodly, ready to fight against God’s people! When we sin, when we backslide, when we turn away from the things of God, we may soon find ourselves in a place we never thought we would be.

c. What are these Hebrews doing here: Leaders among the Philistines looked at David and his men, and said, “They aren’t one of us. They are Hebrews. The worship another God. They live in the land God promised to them. We don’t belong together!”i. The Philistine leaders could see what David was blinded to. David had started to think and act like a Philistine, and was ready to fight with them against the people of God. But the Philistine leaders could see that this wasn’t right, even when David couldn’t!ii. The Philistine leaders knew who David really was - that is, a Hebrew, a part of God’s people. David seems to have forgotten this, but the Philistine leaders knew. David would have never slipped into this sinful place if he had remembered who he really was, and what His destiny was. This is a sad example of a time when we wish David had the wisdom of the Philistines!iii. “It is very terrible when the children of the world have a higher sense of Christian propriety and fitness than Christians themselves, and say to one another, ‘What do these Hebrews here?’“ (Meyer)

d. Is this not David . . . who has been with me these days, or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to me: It is a sad thing that a Philistine ruler will defend David so confidently! David has identified himself so much with the ungodly, that Achish knows he has David in his pocket.i. Hearing these words from Achish should have grieved David. To hear an ungodly ruler say, “David has been with me” and “I have found no fault in him” and “he defected to me” should have been a great wake-up call to David. It would be as if an ungodly coworker insisted to others that you really weren’t a Christian after all, because they had seen how you live! God was speaking to David through this, but was David listening?ii. It is also important to see that Achish wasn’t just making this up. David had said as much in 1Sa_28:1-2 and Achish had every reason to believe that

4

David would fight on his side.

Robert Roe, "which is about 30 miles northwest of Jerusalem on the coastal plains] while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in Jezreel [up north about 30 miles southwest of Galilee. In other words the two armies are gathered together about 40-50 miles apart. One on the plain. One up in the mountains. The Philistines are going to come sweeping up just below Galilee and assault the Israelites. The Israelites having a lesser force and being more lightly armed, want the Philistines in the mountains where they have the advantageBENSON, "1 Samuel 29:1-2. The Philistines gathered, the Israelites pitched — Or rather, had gathered, had pitched; for we are informed in the foregoing chapter that the Philistines were come to Shunen, and it is probable David’s departure from their army was prior to Saul’s consulting the woman at Endor. The lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, &c. — When they took a view of their army, the great men appeared, some at the head of a hundred, some of a thousand soldiers. David and his men passed on with Achish — Who seems to have been the general of the army, and to have made David and his men his life-guard, according to his resolution, chap. 1 Samuel 28:2. From this we may learn how dangerous a thing it is to deviate from truth, and what inconveniences it often brings us into. The pretences which David made to Achish (as related chap. 28.) of his inveteracy to the Israelites, and of the damage he had done them in making incursions upon them, were the inducements that prompted Achish to make David and his men his life-guard; whereby David was brought into the grievous strait of either fighting against his own countrymen, or betraying his benefactor.ELLICOTT, " (1) Aphek.—The name Aphek was a common one, and was given to several “places of arms” in Canaan. It signifies a fort or a strong place. This Aphek was most likely situated in the Plain of Jezreel. Eusebius places it in the neighbourhood of En-dor.By a fountain which is in Jezreel.—“By a fountain.” The LXX. wrongly adds “dor,” supposing the spring or fountain to be the well-known En-dor—spring of Dor—but En-dor, we know, lay many miles away from the camp of Saul. This “fountain” has been identified by modern travellers as Ain-Jalûd, the Fountain of Goliath, because it was traditionally regarded as the scene of the old combat with the giant. It is a large spring which flows from under the cavern in the rock which forms the base of Gilboa. “There is every reason to regard this as the ancient fountain of Jezreel, where Saul and Jonathan pitched before their last fatal battle, and where, too, in the days of the Crusades, Saladin and the Christians successively encamped.”—Robinson, Palestine, , 8.

COKE, "1 Samuel 29:1. The Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel— As we are informed in the foregoing chapter, 1 Samuel 29:4 that the Philistines were come to Shunem, the verbs in this verse should be read in the past tense, had

5

gathered,—had pitched:—David's departure from the army of the Philistines being prior to Saul's consulting the woman at Endor. The archbishop of Tyre tells us, that the Christian kings of Jerusalem used to assemble their forces at a fountain betwixt Nazareth and Sephoris, which was greatly celebrated on that account. This being looked upon to be nearly the centre of their kingdom, they could from thence consequently march to any place where their presence was wanted. He mentions also another fountain, near a town called Little Gerinum, which, he says, was the ancient Jezreel. Near this fountain Saladine pitched his camp for the benefit of its waters, while Baldwin king of Jerusalem had, as usual, assembled his army at the first mentioned place. This solicitude, in the princes of these sultry climes, to pitch near fountains; this mention of one by Jezreel, and this custom of assembling their armies in the centre of their kingdom, all serve to illustrate the present passage, which speaks of the encampment of Israel at a fountain, considerably distant from the proper country of the Philistines, just before the fatal battle which concluded the reign of Saul. If the Philistines had extended their territories at this time to mount Carmel; if they were wont to make their irruptions into the land of Israel that way, in that age; or if Saul had received intelligence of such a design at this time; these circumstances, or any of them, would farther explain the propriety of this pitching by the fountain of Jezreel: but what William of Tyre says about the managements of the Christian kings of Jerusalem of his days, and of their predecessors, is alone a more clear illustration of this passage than commentators have furnished us with. Observations, p. 335. COFFMAN, "It would have been some kind of a miracle if David's long association with Achish had not resulted in his being sucked into the vortex of war against his own people; and only the intervention of God Himself prevented that from happening, as revealed here. Fortunately, the temptation that came to David in this trial brought with it the promised "way of escape," as the Lord promised (1 Corinthians 10:13). David wrote in Psalms that, "I do not sit with false men ... I hate the company of evildoers" (Psalms 26:4-5); but at this juncture in his life he had been closely associated with the wicked for years. God alone could have spared him from the disastrous results which might have ensued.WHY THE PHILISTINE COMMANDERS REJECTED DAVIDWillis cited no less that four reasons why the commanders of the Philistines vetoed the intention of Achish to take David and his men into the battle against Israel. These were:(1) The long enmity between the Philistines and the Hebrews had resulted in deep mistrust on both sides.(2) In the battle of Geba (1 Samuel 14:21), the Hebrews who had deserted to the Philistines defected to their fellow-Israelites and aided Saul in destroying the Philistines. As Caird noted, "That was an unanswerable objection to David's being allowed to join their army."[1]

6

(3) If David and his men decided to go back to Saul, they would easily do so by slaughtering the Philistines (any great number of them) and taking their heads to Saul. An opportunity like that, the lords of the Philistines were determined not to put into the hands of David.(4) David had a reputation of having slain "tens of thousands" of Philistines; and the lords of the Philistines were not about to forget it.[2]It is surprising that H. P. Smith wrote that there is, "An absence of any allusion to Goliath,"[3] in this chapter, but the quotation of the Philistine lords of that song which was sung following David's killing Goliath is just about the strongest allusion to David's killing that giant that could be imagined."David ... has been with me now for days and years" (1 Samuel 29:3). These words from Achish indicate the indefinite chronology of this whole chapter. As noted earlier, the Bible does not tell us how long David's total sojourn in Philistia actually lasted. R. P. Smith wrote that, "This passage refers to an indefinitely long time."[4]"I have found no fault in him to this day" (1 Samuel 29:3). David had completely deceived Achish; but fortunately for the Philistines, the other lords of the Philistines were not so gullible."They were angry ... Send him back" (1 Samuel 29:4). Regardless of the wishes of Achish, the Philistine lords outvoted Achish and successfully removed David and his men from their forces."In this manner David was saved from making war on his own people and was returned to Ziklag exactly at the right time to save his wives and property from their confiscation by the Amalekites."[5]How marvelous are the ways of God in the protection that He casts like a cloak around his saints!WHEDON, " 1. Aphek — Supposed by some to be the modern el Afuleh, a little to the northwest of Shunem, but it has not been identified with certainty. More likely it is the same as the Aphek of chap. 41, somewhere northwest of Jerusalem, and this gathering of the Philistines is to be understood as occurring before they “came and pitched in Shunem.” 1 Samuel 28:4. The historian goes back in this chapter to narrate events that took place before the two armies approached very near to each other. This is the more likely, since the Philistine lords would have objected to David’s presence before he had gone with them as far as Shunem.A fountain which is in Jezreel — The modern Ain Jalud, situated about six miles south of Shunem, at the base of the mountains of Gilboa. It is “a very large fountain, flowing out from under a sort of cavern in the conglomerate rock which here forms

7

the base of Gilboa. The water is excellent, and, issuing from crevices in the rocks, it spreads out at once into a fine limpid pool, forty or fifty feet in diameter, in which great numbers of small fish were sporting. From the reservoir, a stream sufficient to turn a mill flows off eastward down the valley. There is every reason to regard this as the ancient fountain of Jezreel, where Saul and Jonathan pitched before their last fatal battle.” — Robinson.CONSTABLE, "One cannot help wondering if all that undeserved praise which Achish heaped upon David did not hurt his conscience. Another source of acute curiosity on our part is the question of, "What did David really intend to do during that approaching battle?" Was he planning to betray Achish, attack the Philistines and to aid Israel? Who knows?"What have you found in your servant ... that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king" (1 Samuel 29:8). Of course, Achish conceitedly applied David's words here as a pledge that he would fight for Achish and the Philistines, but THE WORDS DO NOT SAY THAT. This is another of those ambiguous remarks which David so skillfully employed in his phenomenal deceit of Achish. David's fighting against the enemies of "my lord the king," applies to Saul as well as to Achish.As was his custom for years during this period of David's life, he prevaricated continually. Here he pretended that he really wanted to go to battle with Achish, but it is very likely that such was not David's real wish at all. Still he kept up his persistent line of falsehoods to Achish, but his reason for doing so is by no means clear. It is difficult to realize that the David who appears in these chapters is the same David who wrote:O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tent?Who shall dwell on thy holy hill?He who walks blamelessly,And does what is right,And speaks truth in his heart (Psalms 15:1,2).That the man's conscience was indeed wounded by such continual lying as is seen in these chapters is indicated by Psalms 51, in which David wrote:Behold thou desirest truth in the inward being ...Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow ...

8

Hide thy face from my sins,And blot out all my iniquities (Psalms 51:1-9)."You are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God" (1 Samuel 29:9). "What Achish said of David here, God by the voice of his prophet said of `the house of David,' `On that day the Lord will put a shield about the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, at their head' (Zechariah 12:8)."[6] Of course, this reference in Zechariah has in view the Messiah and the new Israel of God, the heavenly Jerusalem."With the servants of your lord who came with you" (1 Samuel 29:10). This rather ambiguous statement was clarified by Cook. "The clue to this is in 1 Chronicles 12:19-21, where it appears that a considerable number of Manassites "fell" to David just at this time, and went back with him to Ziklag. It was to these newcomers that Achish applied the expression here."[7]Philbeck's comment on David's professed reluctance to be sent back to Ziklag indicated that, "Although David was relieved, his role as a loyal subject of Achish required him to protest the decision. Nevertheless, he and his troops were ready to leave the next morning at daylight."[8]Keil's concluding comment on this chapter catches the probable emotion of David regarding this development. "In accordance with Achish's orders, David returned the next morning into the land of the Philistines, to Ziklag; no doubt very light in heart, and praising God for having so graciously rescued him out of the disastrous situation into which he had been brought, and not altogether without some fault of his own, rejoicing that he had not committed either sin, he had neither violated his loyalty to Achish nor had he fought against his own people."[9]HAWKERS, "Verse 1-2(1) ¶ Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek: and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel. (2) And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish.It is to be supposed, though it be not said so in the history, that David must have felt himself most awkwardly situated in the army of the Philistines. To have declined going to the battle would have betrayed him to the Philistines: and to have been found fighting against his country, how was this possible to a generous patriot like David? Had David's want of faith been less, and he had remained in Judah, this could not have happened. See Reader! how even good men when going, out of the

9

path of duty, expose themselves to temptation. Now if the Lord doth not interpose for him, we cannot see any way by which he may escape. Blessed be God! there is a promise to this purport, and though we deserve it not, yet not our merit but divine grace, becomes the source of our deliverance. See the promise; 1 Corinthians 10:13.LANGE, " II. David’s Dismissal from the Philistine Army1 Samuel 29:1-111Now [And] the Philistines gathered together all their armies[FN1] to Aphek; and 2 the Israelites pitched by a [the] fountain[FN2] which is in Jezreel. And the lords[FN3] of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands, but [and] David and his 3 men passed on in the rearward [rear] with Achish. Then said the princes[FN4] of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the [om. the] king of Israel, which [who] hath been with me these days or these years,[FN5] and I have found no 4 fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day? And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow [the man] return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary[FN6] to us; for wherewith should he reconcile himself [make himself accept 5 able] unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?6Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely [om. surely], as the Lord [As Jehovah] liveth, thou hast been [art] upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight; for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day; nevertheless the lords favour thee 7 not [but in the eyes of the lords thou art not good]. Wherefore [And] now return, 8and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines. And David said unto Achish, But[FN7] what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee [from the day[FN8] when I was in thy presence] unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king? 9And Achish answered and said unto David, I know[FN9] that thou art good in my sight as an angel[FN10] of God; notwithstanding [but] the princes of the Philistines have said, 10He shall not go up with us to the battle. Wherefore [And] now, rise up early in the morning with thy master’s servants that are come with thee;[FN11] and as soon as 11 ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart. So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to[FN12] Jezreel.EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL1 Samuel 29:1. Resumption of the narrative of the war between the Philistines and Israelites, 1 Samuel 28:1-4, with an exacter description of the positions of the two

10

armies. Aphek—to be distinguished from the places of the same name in Asher ( Joshua 19:30; Judges 1:31), in Judah on the mountain ( Joshua 15:53), and near Ebenezer ( 1 Samuel 4:1)—belonged to Issachar, and is probably the same with the present el Afuleh near Solam=Sunem (v. d. Velde, Mem., p286; Ew, Gesch., III, 142, A2). Southeast of this Philistine rendezvous the Israelites were encamped “at the spring near Jezreel,” the present Zerin (Rob, III, i395) [Am. ed, ii319–323, where Robinson explains the identity of the names Jezreel and Zerin, the Heb. el often becoming in in Arabic, as Beitin = Bethel; so Zerel=Zerin.—Tr.] Ain [= “spring”] is not = Endor, as the Sept. wrongly gives it, whence it is adopted by Euseb. in the Onomasticon, but the present Ain Jalud,[FN13] a very bold spring on the northwest declivity of Gilboa, whence flows a brook through the Wady Jalud into the Jordan. There the Israelitish army encamped opposite the Phlistine in a well-watered spot near Jezreel. “Elsewhere also a spring gives name to a stopping-place or border line, 2 Samuel 17:17; Numbers 34:11” (Böttch.).PETT, "Verses 1-11The Philistines Gather In Readiness For The Invasion of Israel And Refuse To Have David In Their Company (1 Samuel 29:1-11).This passage brings out how very much the concentration of the writer of Samuel is on the personalities involved, and how little on the history. Here was one of the great moments of history when the massed hosts of the Philistines, stronger than ever before, were about to overwhelm Israel, and, probably for the first time since their arrival in Canaan, extend their empire over the River Jordan. It is covering the period of the establishment of the Philistine Empire at its largest, and the total subjugation of most of Israel. And what is the writer’s concentration on? The one who did not take part in the battle because he was not to be trusted by the Philistines (David), and what he meanwhile accomplished against a gathering of the tribes of Amalekites. In other words what the writer is interested in is what happened with David, and what subsequently happened to Saul (and had happened in 1 Samuel 28). His interest is in YHWH’s activity in history. The Philistines’ activities are simply colourful background. What he is concerned with here is the outworking of YHWH’s purposes. This is the story of YHWH.David was certainly put on the spot as a result of the call to join in the invasion of Israel. Had he actually had to do so it is questionable whether he would ever have been able to re-establish his acceptability to the Israelites. But we are expected to see that YHWH intervened and prevented him from having to do so.This being turned back was also providential for another reason, for while the Philistine army was on the march, unknown to anyone the Amalekites had taken advantage of the situation in order to invade the southern parts of Judah and Philistia, including Ziklag. With David on war duty, and gone for the duration, and both Judah and Philistia emptied of its main fighting troops, it was seen by them as too good an opportunity to be missed. And it would give them even more satisfaction

11

in that they would be gaining vengeance for what David had done to their fellow-tribesmen (1 Samuel 27:8-9). They never dreamed that because YHWH was at work watching over His people David might return so soon.Analysis.a Now the Philistines gathered together all their hosts to Aphek: and the Israelites encamped by the fountain which is in Jezreel (1 Samuel 29:1).b And the lords of the Philistines passed on by ‘hundreds’, and by ‘thousands’ (smaller and larger military units), and David and his men passed on in the rearward with Achish (1 Samuel 29:2).c Then said the princes of the Philistines, “What do these Hebrews here?” And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell away to me unto this day?” But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him, and the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where you have appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For by what method should this fellow reconcile himself to his lord? Should it not be with the heads of these men?” (1 Samuel 29:3-4).d “Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands?” (1 Samuel 29:5).e Then Achish called David, and said to him, “As YHWH lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the host is good in my sight, for I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day (1 Samuel 29:6 a).f Nevertheless the lords do not favour you. For this reason now return, and go in peace, that you displease not the lords of the Philistines” (1 Samuel 29:6-7).e And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant for as long as I have been before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” (1 Samuel 29:8).d And Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are good in my sight, as an angel of God.”c “Notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle’. For this reason now rise up early in the morning with the servants of your lord who are come with you, and as soon as you are up early in the morning, and have light, depart” (1 Samuel 29:9-10).

12

b So David rose up early, he and his men, to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines (1 Samuel 29:11 a).a And the Philistines went up to Jezreel (1 Samuel 29:11 b).Note that in ‘a’ Israel were encamped by the spring which is in Jezreel, and in the parallel the Philistines went up to Jezreel. In ‘b’ David went up with the Philistines, and in the parallel he returns from following the Philistines. In ‘c’ the Philistines refuse to let him ‘go down to battle’ and command that he return to Philistia, and in the parallel Achish points this out and tells him to return to Philistia. In ‘d’ the women of Israel sang of David’s glory, and in the parallel Achish sees him as ‘like an angel of God’. In ‘e’ Achish declares him faithful and reliable and in the parallel David argues that he is faithful and reliable. In ‘f’ it is stressed that David is not favoured by the lords of the Philistines, and that he must therefore go in peace and return to Ziklag.1 Samuel 29:1‘Now the Philistines gathered together all their hosts to Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by the spring which is in Jezreel.’The writer was not really interested in the details of the invasion, but only in its consequences. However, we can gather from what he does tell us something of what happened. It would appear that the speed of movement of the invasion forces had taken Saul by surprise, so that although the call went out to the tribes in the north and in Transjordan, neither sets of levies had time to reach him prior to the battle with the result that they could only watch in dismay, (the northern tribes from across the valley of Jezreel), while those whom Saul had been able to gather initially were cut to pieces, first at Jezreel and then as they fled over Mount Gilboa (1 Samuel 31:7).There are two possible scenarios depending on whether we take the Aphek here to be that near Bethhoron (1 Samuel 4:1), or another Aphek further northward. Either is possible for we know that ‘Aphek’ in fact means ‘a fortress’ and we also know that there were a number of Apheks (fortress cities). Thus this Aphek may have been in or near the valley of Jezreel.Some, however, see this verse as a flashback, referring to the initial gathering of the Philistine forces prior to their advance on Shunem (1 Samuel 28:4). This would place the David incident in 1 Samuel 29 prior to the Philistine movement on Shunem. Others see it as occurring after the Philistines had initially gathered, and had arrived at Shunem, being the next stage in their advance towards Jezreel. This ties in better with the impression we get from 1 Samuel 28 that David was with Achish at Shunem.Either way Saul may have encamped where he did, rather than further southward,

13

precisely because he was in expectancy of being joined by the tribal levies from the northern tribes, and hoped that they might arrive before the Philistines did, something which unfortunately for him may never have occurred (1 Samuel 31:7), simply because of the early Philistine arrival in Jezreel. If that is so it would appear that the Transjordanian levies also never had time to reach him (1 Samuel 31:7).On the other hand the ‘men of Israel’ mentioned in 1 Samuel 31:7 may merely have been those left behind to guard their cities, in which case Saul would have had his full forces, with the description in 1 Samuel 31:7 simply bringing out the consequence of the battle, that the cities of Israel were subjugated by the Philistines to an extent never known before, as the Philistine empire reached its maximum extent.But the writer is not over interested in all this. What he is concerned to present is the fact that while Saul and all Israel were in process of being hopelessly defeated and decimated, as YHWH had declared, David was marching off towards victory and triumph, maintaining the integrity of his ‘kingdom’, again within the purposes of YHWH. The Philistine triumph would not be the end of Israel.“The spring of Jezreel.” This spring is probably the present Ain Jalûd (or Ain Jalût, i.e. ‘Goliath's spring’, so called because it was regarded as the scene of the defeat of Goliath). It is a very large spring, which issues from a cleft in the rock at the foot of the mountain on the north-eastern border of Gilboa, forming a beautifully limpid pool of about forty or fifty feet in diameter, and then flowing in a stream through the valley, being sufficient to turn a millwheel.

2 As the Philistine rulers marched with their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish.

Here is a paradoxical picture, for it is David the future king of Israel marching with the Philistines going off to fight king Saul the present king of Israel in a war that leaves him dead, and the door open for David to be the king. Fortunately, David and his men were dismissed so they did not have to fight against their own people, and be a part of a war that killed David's best friend Jonathan.

BARNES, "The lords - See Jdg_3:3 note, as distinguished from ordinary “princes” 1Sa_29:3. The military divisions of the Philistine army were by hundreds and by thousands, like those of the Israelites 1Sa_8:12. David and his men formed a body-guard

14

to Achish 1Sa_28:2.

CLARKE, "By hundreds, and by thousands - They were probably divided, as the Jewish armies, by fifties, hundreds, and thousands; each having its proper officer or captain.GILL, "And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands,.... Not that there were so many lords, for there were but five of them; but these marched, some at the head of hundreds with them, and others at the head of thousands: but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish; who being the generalissimo brought up the rear, and David, whom he had appointed captain of his bodyguards, attended him with his men, which in point of gratitude he could not refuse; and yet was in the greatest strait and difficulty how to act, it being both against his conscience and his interest to fight against Israel, and was waiting and hoping for some appearance of Providence to deliver him out of this dilemma, and which was quickly seen; but Abarbinel thinks David had no other notion in going to the battle, but of being the bodyguard of Achish, and accompanying him, and that he should not fight against Israel, nor for the Philistines: neither harm the one, nor help the other.HENRY, " A door opened for his deliverance out of this strait. God inclined the hearts of the princes of the Philistines to oppose his being employed in the battle, and to insist upon his being dismissed. Thus their enmity befriended him, when no friend he had was capable of doing him such a kindness. 1. It was a proper question which they asked, upon the mustering of the forces, “What do these Hebrews here? 1Sa_29:3. What confidence can we put in them, or what service can we expect from them?” A Hebrew is out of his place, and, if he has the spirit of a Hebrew, is out of his element, when he is in the camp of the Philistines, and deserves to be made uneasy there. David used to hate the congregation of evil doers, however he came now to be among them, Psa_26:5. It was an honourable testimony which Achish, on this occasion, gave to David. He looked upon him as a refugee, that fled from a wrongful prosecution in his own country, and had put himself under his protection, whom therefore he was obliged, in justice, to take care of, and thought he might in prudence employ; “for (says he) he has been with me these days, or these years,” that is, a considerable time, many days at his court and a year or two in his country, and he never found any fault in him, nor saw any cause to distrust his fidelity, or to think any other than that he had heartily come over to him. By this it appears that David had conducted himself with a great deal of caution, and had prudently concealed the affection he still retained for his own people. We have need to walk in wisdom towards those that are without, to keep our mouth when the wicked is before us, and to be upon the reserve. 3. Yet the princes are peremptory in it, that he must be sent home; and they give good reasons for their insisting on it.

JAMISON, "David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish — as the commander of the lifeguards of Achish, who was general of this invading army of the Philistines.

15

K&D, "1Sa_29:2-3When the princes of the Philistines (sarne, as in Jos_13:3) advanced by hundreds and thousands (i.e., arranged in companies of hundreds and thousands), and David and his men came behind with Achish (i.e., forming the rear-guard), the (other) princes pronounced against their allowing David and his men to go with them. The did not occur at the time of their setting out, but on the road, when they had already gone some distance (compare 1Sa_29:11 with 1Sa_30:1), probably when the five princes (Jos_13:3) of the Philistines had effected a junction. To the inquiry, “What are these Hebrews doing?” Achish replied, “Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me days already, or years already? and I have found nothing in him

since his coming over unto this day.” ְמאּוָמה, anything at all that could render his suspicious, or his fidelity doubtful. ָנַפל, to fall away and go over to a person; generally construed with ֶאל (Jer_37:13; Jer_38:19, etc.) or ַעל (Jer_21:9; Jer_37:14; 1Ch_12:19-20), but here absolutely, as the more precise meaning can be gathered from the context.PULPIT, "1Sa_29:2, 1Sa_29:3The lords of the Philistines passed on. Evidently they were on their march northward, with their troops arranged in divisions, when David’s presence in the rearward with the contingent of Achish was noticed. The princes—not the strict word for the Philistine lords (see on 1Sa_5:8), but a loose, general term used again in 1Sa_29:4—on having it reported to them in the course of a day or two that there was a body of strange troops in the army of Gath, asked, What do these Hebrews here? Hebrew, "What these Hebrews?" i.e. What mean these Hebrews? using of them the ordinary Philistine term of contempt. Achish answers that these men were the followers of David, who, having deserted from Saul, had been with him these days or these years, i.e. an indefinitely long time, during which he had conducted himself with the utmost fidelity to his new master.

Deffinbaugh, "The “rear guard” of the entire Philistine army is none other than David and his men. It has taken a while (and a bit of prompting) for me to grasp the significance of this, since I have no military experience. You recall that Achish “honored” David by making him his lifetime bodyguard. I take it that of the five divisions of soldiers who pass by that day, the fifth division is that led by Achish. David is at the back of the entire army.151 This is a most crucial position, for if at all possible, the opposing army will try to flank their enemy and then attack them from behind, as well as from in front. Those stationed at the back are some of the finest, bravest, and most highly skilled warriors. David and his men are given this honor."What Achish regards as an “honor” is perceived as a “horror” to the other Philistine commanders. While we are not told what David is thinking or planning to do here, we are allowed to overhear the exchange between Achish and his four commander colleagues as this top level military summit takes place. The other four commanders are livid. They cannot imagine how Achish could be so nave as to take David into battle with them, and to do so by placing him in a very strategic position.

16

They are not at all happy with the situation and waste no time calling Achish to account for his folly. What in the world are David and his 600 warriors (these Hebrews) doing in the Philistine army?Robert H. Roe, "The Philistines were an oligarchy not a monarchy. There were five lords who ruled over the country. Each one had his own capitol city. Achish had Gath. There was one at Gaza, one at Ashkelon, one at Ashdod and one at Ekron. Normally they each ran their own little territory but on occasion, they united for military and self-preservation purposes. This was one of those occasions. Israel had been disintegrating while Saul wasted his time chasing David. Now thousands of Philistines were moving up the coastal plain to gather into a vast army and move against the Israelites. David, as part of Achish's army, was at the head of the army surrounding the king, so thousands of Achish's men were behind him. Also thousands upon thousands of the men of the other four Lords were ahead of him. He was boxed in with nowhere to go. He couldn't just suddenly fade away."ELLICOTT, " (2) And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands.—The orderly advance of this great military nation is thus described. The “lords” a different term to the expression “princes.” There were apparently in the Philistine federation five sovereign princes, of whom Achish of Gath was one. Beneath these were other chieftains, who seemingly had great control over the sovereign princes.David and his men.—David, in return for the lands round Ziklag given him by the King of Gath, seems to have owed a kind of military service to his suzerain Achish. The difference in the arms and equipment of the Israelitish warriors in the division of David, which was marching under the standard of Gath, no doubt excited questions. The general appearance of the Hebrews was, of course, well known to their hereditary Philistine foes.TRAPP, " 11. The Philistines went up to Jezreel — The village of Jezreel, the modern Zerin, (see on Joshua 19:18,) was about three miles south of Shunem, so that in this movement the Philistines advanced towards the Israelites. The modern village stands “upon the brow of a very steep rocky descent of one hundred feet or more towards the northeast.” — Robinson.LANGE, " II. David’s Dismissal from the Philistine Army1 Samuel 29:1-111Now [And] the Philistines gathered together all their armies[FN1] to Aphek; and 2 the Israelites pitched by a [the] fountain[FN2] which is in Jezreel. And the lords[FN3] of the Philistines passed on by hundreds and by thousands, but [and] David and his 3 men passed on in the rearward [rear] with Achish. Then said the princes[FN4] of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the [om. the] king

17

of Israel, which [who] hath been with me these days or these years,[FN5] and I have found no 4 fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day? And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow [the man] return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary[FN6] to us; for wherewith should he reconcile himself [make himself accept 5 able] unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?6Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely [om. surely], as the Lord [As Jehovah] liveth, thou hast been [art] upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight; for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day; nevertheless the lords favour thee 7 not [but in the eyes of the lords thou art not good]. Wherefore [And] now return, 8and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines. And David said unto Achish, But[FN7] what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee [from the day[FN8] when I was in thy presence] unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king? 9And Achish answered and said unto David, I know[FN9] that thou art good in my sight as an angel[FN10] of God; notwithstanding [but] the princes of the Philistines have said, 10He shall not go up with us to the battle. Wherefore [And] now, rise up early in the morning with thy master’s servants that are come with thee;[FN11] and as soon as 11 ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart. So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to[FN12] Jezreel.EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL1 Samuel 29:1. Resumption of the narrative of the war between the Philistines and Israelites, 1 Samuel 28:1-4, with an exacter description of the positions of the two armies. Aphek—to be distinguished from the places of the same name in Asher ( Joshua 19:30; Judges 1:31), in Judah on the mountain ( Joshua 15:53), and near Ebenezer ( 1 Samuel 4:1)—belonged to Issachar, and is probably the same with the present el Afuleh near Solam=Sunem (v. d. Velde, Mem., p286; Ew, Gesch., III, 142, A2). Southeast of this Philistine rendezvous the Israelites were encamped “at the spring near Jezreel,” the present Zerin (Rob, III, i395) [Am. ed, ii319–323, where Robinson explains the identity of the names Jezreel and Zerin, the Heb. el often becoming in in Arabic, as Beitin = Bethel; so Zerel=Zerin.—Tr.] Ain [= “spring”] is not = Endor, as the Sept. wrongly gives it, whence it is adopted by Euseb. in the Onomasticon, but the present Ain Jalud,[FN13] a very bold spring on the northwest declivity of Gilboa, whence flows a brook through the Wady Jalud into the Jordan. There the Israelitish army encamped opposite the Phlistine in a well-watered spot near Jezreel. “Elsewhere also a spring gives name to a stopping-place or border line, 2 Samuel 17:17; Numbers 34:11” (Böttch.).

18

3 The commanders of the Philistines asked, "What about these Hebrews?" Achish replied, "Is this not David, who was an officer of Saul king of Israel? He has already been with me for over a year, and from the day he left Saul until now, I have found no fault in him."

BARNES, "He fell unto me - The regular word for deserting and going over to the other side. See Jer_37:13; Jer_38:19.

CLARKE, "These days, or these years - I suppose these words to mark no definite time, and may be understood thus: “Is not this David, who has been with me for a considerable time?”

GILL, "Then said the princes of the Philistines,.... To Achish; not those of the court of Achish, who were his subjects, but the confederate princes with him in this war, the lords of the other principalities, as appears by the freedom they took with him, 1Sa_29:4, what do these Hebrews here? or Jews, as the Targum; what hast thou to do with them, or they to be with thee? men of another nation and religion, and known enemies to the Philistines: and Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines; in order to soften them, and reconcile them to these men, and their being with him: is not this David the servant of Saul the king of Israel; between whom there had been a quarrel, and the former had fled from the latter to him: which hath been with me these days, or these years; had been with him many days, and he might say years, as he had been with him one whole year, and part of another, see 1Sa_27:7; and he might have known him longer, if he was the same Achish David first fled to; Kimchi interprets it, that he knew him as well as if he had been with him as many years as days: and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day? the affair of David's going against the Geshurites, &c. not being yet known by him, or, if it was, he

19

approved of it, they being enemies of his; this shows that David behaved with a great deal of prudence to have such a character as this from a king of the Philistines.HENRY, " A door opened for his deliverance out of this strait. God inclined the hearts of the princes of the Philistines to oppose his being employed in the battle, and to insist upon his being dismissed. Thus their enmity befriended him, when no friend he had was capable of doing him such a kindness. 1. It was a proper question which they asked, upon the mustering of the forces, “What do these Hebrews here? 1Sa_29:3. What confidence can we put in them, or what service can we expect from them?” A Hebrew is out of his place, and, if he has the spirit of a Hebrew, is out of his element, when he is in the camp of the Philistines, and deserves to be made uneasy there. David used to hate the congregation of evil doers, however he came now to be among them, Psa_26:5. It was an honourable testimony which Achish, on this occasion, gave to David. He looked upon him as a refugee, that fled from a wrongful prosecution in his own country, and had put himself under his protection, whom therefore he was obliged, in justice, to take care of, and thought he might in prudence employ; “for (says he) he has been with me these days, or these years,” that is, a considerable time, many days at his court and a year or two in his country, and he never found any fault in him, nor saw any cause to distrust his fidelity, or to think any other than that he had heartily come over to him. By this it appears that David had conducted himself with a great deal of caution, and had prudently concealed the affection he still retained for his own people. We have need to walk in wisdom towards those that are without, to keep our mouth when the wicked is before us, and to be upon the reserve.

JAMISON, "these days, or these years — He had now been with the Philistines a full year and four months (1Sa_27:7), and also some years before. It has been thought that David kept up a private correspondence with this Philistine prince, either on account of his native generosity, or in the anticipation that an asylum in his territories would sooner or later be needed.BI, "What do these Hebrews here?One question with two meaningsDavid was almost at the lowest point of his fortunes when he fled into foreign territory. The Philistine commanders, very naturally, were suspicious of these allies, just as Englishmen would have been if, the night before Waterloo, a brigade of Frenchmen had deserted and offered their help to fight, Napoleon. So the question, “What, do these Hebrews here?”—amongst our ranks—was an extremely natural one, and it was answered in the only possible way, by the subsequent departure of David and his men from the unnatural and ill-omened alliance. Now, that suggests to us that Christian people are out of their places, even in the eyes of worldly people, when they are fighting shoulder to shoulder with them in certain causes; and it suggests the propriety of keeping apart. “Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord.” “What do these Hebrews here?” is a question that, Philistia often asks. But now turn to the other question. Elijah had fallen into the mood of depression which so often follows great nervous tension. The usually undaunted prophet, in the reaction after the great effort, was fearful for his life, and deserted his work, and flung himself into solitude, and shook the dust off his feet against Israel. Was that not just doing what I have been saying that Christian people ought to do—separating himself from the world? In a sense yes,

20

and the voice came, “What dost thou here, Elijah?” “Go back to your work; to Ahab, to Jezebel.” “Go back to death if need be. Do not shirk your duty on the pretence of separating yourself from the world.” So we put the two questions together. They limit one another, and they suggest the via media, the course between, and lead me to say one or two plain things about that duty of Christian separation from an evil world.I. The first thing I would suggest to you is the inevitable intermingling, which is the law of God, and therefore can never be broken with impunity. Christ’s parable about the Kingdom of Heaven in the world being like a man that sowed good seed in his field, which sprung up intermingled with tares, contains the lesson, not so much of the purity or non-purity of the Church as of the inseparable intertwining in the world of Christian people with others. Society at present, and the earthly form of the Kingdom of God, are not organised on the basis of religious affinity, but upon a great many other things, such as family, kindred, business, a thousand ties of all sorts. There are types of Christian life today unwholesomely self-engrossed, and too much occupied with their own spiritual condition, to realize and discharge the duty of witnessing, in the world. Wherever you find a Christian man that tries more to keep himself apart, in the enjoyment and cultivation of his own religious life, than to fling himself into the midst of the world’s worst evil, in order to fight and to cure it, you get a man who is sharing in Elijah’s transgression, and needs Elijah’s rebuke. The intermingling is inevitable in the present state of things.II. And now let me say a word about the second thing, and that is—the imperative separation. “What do these Israelites here?” is the question. What do we do when we are left to do as we like? Where do we go? When the half-cwt fastened by the bit of string is taken off the sapling it starts back to its original uprightedness. Is that what, your Christianity does? Let us look at the spirit. Where do I turn to? What do I like to do? Where are my chosen companions? What are my recreations? Is my life of such a sort as that the world will turn to ms and say, “What! you here!” “A man is known by the company he keeps,” says an old Latin proverb, and I am bound to say that I do not think it is a good sign of the depth of a Christian professor’s religion if he feels himself more at home in the company of the people that do not share his religion than in the company of those that do. There are two questions which every Christian professor ought to ask himself about such subjects. One is, Can I ask God to bless this, and my doing it? And the other is, Does this help or hinder my religion?III. Now there is one last suggestion that I wish to make, and that is the double questioning that we shall have to stand. The lords of the Philistines said, “What do these Hebrews here?” They saw the inconsistency, if David and his men did not. They were sharp to detect it, and David and his band did not rise in their opinion. So let me tell you, you will neither recommend your religion nor yourselves to men of the world, by inconsistently trying to identify yourselves with them. The world respects an out-and-out Christian; and neither God nor the world respects an inconsistent one. But there is another question, and another questioner—“What dost, thou hers, Elijah?” That question is put to us all in the moment when we are truest to our professions and ourselves. What do you think you would say if, in some of these moments of unnecessary intermingling with questionable things and doubtful people, you were brought suddenly to this, that you had to formulate into some kind of plausibility your reason for being there? Let us cleave to Christ, and that will separate us from the world. If we cleave to the world, that will separate us from Christ. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

21

The Philistines will have Hebrews in front of them, and Hebrewsbehind them, and this begins to bother them. Achish, quickly, comes tothe defense of David and his men. He is not aware that David killed asmany Philistines as he did. You remember, he thought David was raidingIsraelites, when he came and shared his animals he had won in battle.

TRAPP, "1 Samuel 29:3 Then said the princes of the Philistines, What [do] these Hebrews [here]? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, [Is] not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell [unto me] unto this day?Ver. 3. What do these Hebrews here?] A people ever as much hated by the heathens for their religion, as afterwards the Christians were: but now more than ordinarily by these Philistines, because their mortal enemies.And I have found no fault in him.] Faults David had not a few, [Psalms 19:12] and if the best man’s faults were written in his forehead, it would make him pull his hat over his eyes, but God had hid them from public notice; which was to him a greater mercy than it is to us, that the filth and stench that is within us annoyeth us not. If Seneca could say of Cato, that he was the lively image of all virtues: and Valerius Maximus of Scipio, that he was the man whom God would have [to be] born, ut esset in quo virtus per omnes numeros hominibus efficaciter se ostenderet, that he might be a perfect pattern to men of unblamable conversation: how much more might the same be said of the holy David?HAWKERS, "(3) Then said the princes of the Philistines, What do these Hebrews here? And Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines, Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, which hath been with me these days, or these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto this day? (4) And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the heads of these men? (5) Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands?Reader! do not fail to observe, how God opened a door of escape for David. Surely it was God's superintendance over him; that prompted the minds of the Philistine princes thus to reason, and thus to insist upon his departure. The Lord hath the hearts of all men at his disposal, and like rivers of waters, turneth them whithersoever he pleaseth; Proverbs 21:1. It is very sweet and precious to eye God's hand in all our concerns.

22

LANGE, " 1 Samuel 29:3. The other leaders object to the presence of David and his men: What do these Hebrews here? As it is said in 1 Samuel 29:11 that David returned to the land of the Philistines, and according to 1 Samuel 30:1 they reached Ziklag after a three days march, the objection of the Philistine princes must have been made on Israelitish soil, or near the Palestinian border, but not at the commencement of the march. From Achish’s reply it appears that the princes distrusted David, suspecting that he would go over to his own people and fight against the Philistines. Achish observes1) that David is servant of Saul, king of Israel, thus alluding to his enmity with Saul, 2) that he has already been allied with him a long time against Saul, “these days or these years” = “a year and a day,” indefinite statement of the time mentioned in 1 Samuel 27:7 : “a year and four months,”—and3) that in all this time he has seen nothing in him to awaken suspicions of treachery. From the day of his falling (ָנְפלֹו, instead of [rather, used alongside of—Tr.] ִנְפלֹו, see Ew, § 255, d). The vss. add “to me,” according to the usual construction of the verb, though we need not therefore insert “to me” (ֵאַלי) in the text (Then.), “since it is understood from the context” (Keil). On these grounds Achish thought himself quite sure of David, comp. 1 Samuel 27:12.PETT, "1 Samuel 29:3‘Then said the princes of the Philistines, “What do these Hebrews here?” And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines, “Is not this David, the servant of Saul the king of Israel, who has been with me these days, or rather these years, and I have found no fault in him since he fell away to me unto this day?”But the other ‘lords’ of the Philistines, (here also described as ‘princes’, although this latter term may have indicated a wider group) were not pleased to see the Hebrew contingent among their forces. Possibly their memories went back to how Hebrew contingents had previously proved false when the heat of the battle was on (1 Samuel 14:21). So they asked Achish why he had brought these Hebrews along. Achish’s reply was that this was David, the former servant of Saul, who had proved himself a loyal servant to Achish through the years. The detailed reply was probably intended by the writer to be seen in the light of 1 Samuel 27:7-12, and to remind the reader and listener (when it was read out at feasts) how thoroughly David had duped Achish. He wanted David’s continued supremacy to be recognised. He was no one’s tool.“Is not this ---?” Compare the similar question in 1 Samuel 29:5. Note how the reply here parallels that in 1 Samuel 29:5. This first reply indicates that Achish, while glorying in David’s faithfulness, has been deceived by David’s wiles and is therefore really the plaything of David, while 1 Samuel 29:5 reveals David’s supremacy as a fighting man. In other words both are deliberately exalting David. This is part of the point of the passage. All are to recognise that he is YHWH’s man and no one else’s.MACLAREN, "WHAT DOEST THOU HERE?

23

1 Samuel 29:3. - 1 Kings 19:9.I have put these two verses together, not only because of their identity in form, though that is striking, but because they bear upon one and the same subject, as will appear, if, in a word or two, I set each of them in its setting. David was almost at the lowest point of his fortunes when he fled into foreign territory, and for awhile took service under one of the kings of the Philistines. He served him faithfully, and so, when the last great fight, in which Saul lost his life, was about to be waged between Philistia and Israel, David and his men came as a contingent to the army of the former. The Philistine commanders, very naturally, were suspicious of these allies, just as Englishmen would have been if, on the night before Waterloo, a brigade of Frenchmen had deserted and offered their help to fight Napoleon. So the question ‘What do these Hebrews here?’-amongst our ranks-was an extremely natural one, and it was answered in the only possible way, by the subsequent departure of David and his men from the unnatural and ill-omened alliance.Now, that suggests to us that Christian people are out of their places, even in the eyes of worldly people, when they are fighting shoulder to shoulder with them in certain causes; and it suggests the propriety of keeping apart. ‘Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord’ ‘What do these Hebrews here?’ is a question that Philistia often asks. But now turn to the other question. Elijah had fallen into the mood of depression which so often follows great nervous tension. He had just offered the sacrifice on Carmel, and brought all Israel back to the Lord, and Jezebel had flamed out and threatened his life. The usually undaunted prophet, in the reaction after his great effort, was fearful for his life and deserted his work, flung himself into solitude and shook the dust off his feet against Israel. Was that not just doing what I have been saying that Christian people ought to do-separating himself from the world? In a sense, yes, but the voice came, ‘What dost thou here, Elijah?’ ‘Go back to your work; to Ahab, to Jezebel. Go back to death if need be. Do not shirk your duty on the pretence of separating yourself from the world.’So we put the two questions together. They limit one another, and they suggest the via media, the course between, and lead me to say one or two plain things about that duty of Christian separation from an evil world.I. The first thing that I would suggest to you is the inevitable intermingling, which is the law of God, and therefore can never be broken with impunity.Christ’s parable about the Kingdom of Heaven in the world being like a man that sowed good seed in his field, which sprung up intermingled with tares, contains the lesson, not so much of the purity or nonpurity of the Church as of the inseparable intertwining in the world of Christian people with others. The roots are matted together, and you cannot pull up a tare without danger of pulling up a wheat-stalk that has got interlaced with it. That is but to say that Society at present, and the earthly form of the Kingdom of God, are not organised on the basis of religious

24

affinity, but upon a great many other things, such as family, kindred, business, a thousand ties of all sorts which mat men together, and make it undesirable, impossible, contrary to God’s intention, that the good people should club themselves together, and leave the bad ones to rot and stink. The two are meant to be in close contact. ‘Let both grow together till the harvest.’ If any Christian man were to do as the monks of old did, fly into solitude to look after his own soul, then the question which came to Elijah would be suitable to him, ‘What doest thou here?’ Is there not work enough for you out there, in that wicked world? Is that not the place for you? Where is the place for the ‘salt’? Where the meat is in danger of putrefaction. Rub it in! That is what it was meant for. ‘Ye are the light of the world.’ That suggests the picture of a lamp upon a pedestal that it may send out its rays, but itself remains apart. But the companion metaphor suggests the closest possible contact, and such contact is duty for us Christian people. Elijah ran away from his work. There are types of Christian life to-day unwholesomely self-engrossed, and too much occupied with their own spiritual condition, to realise and discharge the duty of witnessing in the world. Wherever you find a Christian man -whether he is a monk with bare foot, and a rope round his brown robe, and shaven head, or whether he is in the garb of modern Protestantism- that tries more to keep himself apart, in the enjoyment and cultivation of his own religious life, than to fling himself into the midst of the world’s worst evil, in order to fight and to cure it, you get a man who is sharing in Elijah’s transgression, and needs Elijah’s rebuke. The intermingling is inevitable in the present state of things; and family, kindred, business, social and political movements, all require that Christian people should work side by side with men who are not possessors of ‘like precious faith.’ If ever there have been individuals or communities that have tried to traverse that law, they have developed narrowness and bitterness and stunted growth, and a hundred evils that we all know.II. And now let me say a word about the second thing, and that is-the imperative separation.‘What do these Israelites here?’ is the question. Much of all our lives lies outside these necessary connections with the world, of which I have been speaking. And the question for each of us is, What do we do when we are left to do as we like? Where do we go? When the iron weight fastened by the bit of string is taken off the sapling, it starts back to its original uprightness. Is that what your Christianity does for you? When you are left to yourself, when you have done all the work that is required, and you are free, where do you turn naturally? It is of no use to lay down special regulations. There has been far too much regulation and red-tape in our Christianity all along. Do not let us put so much stress upon individual acts. Let us look at the spirit. Whither do I turn? What do I like to do? Who are my chosen companions? What are my recreations? Is my life of such a sort as that the world will point to me, and say, ‘What! you here I a professing Christian; what are you doing here?’I remember that in the autobiography of Mr. Spurgeon, there is a story told about

25

what he did when a child, and living with his grandfather, the pastor of a little country church. There was a very prominent member of that church who was in the habit of going into the public-house occasionally; and the small boy stepped into the sanded parlour where this inconsistent man was sitting, walked up to him, and said, ‘What doest thou here, Elijah?’ It was the turning-point of the man’s life. That is the question that I desire us all to ask ourselves-where do we go, and what sort of lives do we live in the moments when our own voluntary choice determines our action?‘A man is known by the company he keeps,’ says an old Latin proverb, and I am bound to say that I do not think that it is a good sign of the depth of a Christian professor’s religion if he feels himself more at home in the company of people who do not share his religion than in the company of those that do. I do not wish to be strait-laced and narrow, but I do not wish, either, to be so broad as to obliterate altogether the distinction between Christian people and others. The fact of the case is this, dear friends; if we are Christ’s servants we have more in common with the most uncongenial Christians than we have with the most congenial man who is not a Christian. And if we were nearer our Master we should feel that it was so. ‘Being let go they went to their own company.’ Where do you go when you can make your choice?I am not going to speak in detail about occupations or recreations. I can quite believe that the theatre might be made an instrument of morality. I can quite believe that a race-course might be a perfectly innocent place. I can quite believe that there may be no harm in a dance. All that I say is that there are two questions which every Christian professor ought to ask himself about such subjects. One is, Can I ask God to bless this thing, and my doing it? And the other is, Does this help or hinder my religion? If we will take these two questions with us as tests of conduct and companionship, I do not think that we shall go far wrong, either in the choice of our companions, or in the choice of our surroundings of any kind, or in the choice of our recreations and our occupations. But if we do not, then I am quite sure that we shall go wrong in them all. ‘What communion hath light with darkness?’ ‘What agreement hath the temple of God with idols? Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord.’The main question is, do I grasp the aim of life with clearness and decision as being to make myself by God’s help such a character as God has pleasure in? If I do I shall regulate all these things thereby.III. Now there is one last suggestion that I wish to make, and that is the double questioning that we shall have to stand.The lords of the Philistines said, ‘What do these Hebrews here?’ They saw the inconsistency, if David and his men did not. They were sharp to detect it, and David and his band did not rise in their opinion, but decidedly went down, when they saw them marching there, in such an unnatural place as ‘behind Achish,’ and ready to

26

flesh their swords in the blood of their brethren. So let me tell you, you will neither recommend your religion nor yourselves to men of the world, by inconsistently trying to identify yourselves with them. There are a great many professing Christians nowadays whose mouths are full of the word ‘liberality,’ and who seem to try to show how absolutely identical with a godless man’s a God-fearing one’s life may be made. Do you think that the world respects that type of Christian, or regards his religion as the kind of thing to be admired? No; the question that they fling at such people is the question which David was humiliated by having pitched at his head-’What do these Hebrews here?’ ‘Let them go back to their mountains. This is no place for them.’ The world respects an out-and-out Christian; but neither God nor the world respects an inconsistent one.But there is another question, and another Questioner-’What doest thou here, Elijah?’ God did not ask Elijah the question because he did not know the answer; but because he wished to make Elijah put his mood into words, since then Elijah would understand it a little better, and, when he found the tremendous difficulty of making a decent excuse, would begin to suspect that the conduct that wanted so much glozing was not exactly the conduct fit for a prophet. And so let us think that God is looking down upon us, in all our occupation of our free time, and that He is wishing us to put into words what we are about, and why we are where we are.What do you think you would say if, in some of these moments of unnecessary intermingling with questionable things and doubtful people, you were brought suddenly to this, that you had to formulate into some kind of plausibility your reason for being there? I am afraid it would be a very lame and ragged set of reasons that many of us would have to give. Well! better that we should now have to answer the question ‘What doest thou here?’ than that we should have to fail in answering the future question, after we have done with the world: ‘What didst thou there?’Dear brethren, let us cleave to Christ, and that will separate us from the world. If we cleave to the world, that will separate us from Christ. I do not insist on details of conduct, but I do beseech you, professing Christians, to recognise that you are set in the world in order to grow like your Master, and that their tendency to help you to that likeness is the one test of all occupations, recreations, and companionships, by which we may know whether we are in or out of the place that pleases Him. And if we are in it, that blessed hope which is held forth in the parable to which I have already referred, will come full of sweetness and of strength to us, that, yonder, men will be grouped according to their moral and religious character; that the tares will be taken away from the wheat, and, that as Christ says, ‘Then shall the righteous flame as the sun in their heavenly Father’s Kingdom.’

4 But the Philistine commanders were angry with him 27

and said, "Send the man back, that he may return to the place you assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn against us during the fighting. How better could he regain his master's favor than by taking the heads of our own men?

CLARKE, "The princes of the Philistines were wroth - It is strange that they had not yet heard of David’s destruction of a village of the Geshurites, Gezrites, and Amalekites, 1Sa_27:8, 1Sa_27:9. Had they heard of this, they would have seen much more cause for suspicion.

GILL, "And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him,.... With Achish, for giving such a character of David, and taking his part, in order to detain him, if possible: and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, make this fellow return; they speak of him with contempt, and insist on it that Achish order him to turn back, and go no further with them: that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him; to Ziklag, the place that Achish had given him for his residence, 1Sa_27:6; they did not desire to have him sent to his own country, and to Saul, since should a reconciliation be made between them, he would be of great service to Saul against them: and let him not go down with us to battle; into the valley of Jezreel, where the Israelites had pitched: lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: and fall upon them behind, being in the rear, while they were engaging in the front with Israel: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? to Saul he had offended, and fled from: should it not be with the heads of these men? the Philistines; or unless by the heads of these men (m); he had no other way of making his peace with his master but by cutting off the heads of the Philistines; and therefore he was a dangerous man to take with them into the battle.

HENRY, " Because he might be a most dangerous enemy to them, and do them more mischief then all Saul's army could (1Sa_29:4): “He may in the battle be an adversary to us, and surprise us with an attack in the rear, while their army charges us in the front;

28

and we have reason to think he will do so, that, by betraying us, he may reconcile himself to his master. Who can trust a man who, besides his affection to his country, will think it his interest to be false to us?” It is dangerous to put confidence in a reconciled enemy.JAMISON, "the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him — It must be

considered a happy circumstance in the overruling providence of God to rescue David out of the dangerous dilemma in which he was now placed. But David is not free from censure in his professions to Achish (1Sa_29:8), to do what he probably had not the smallest purpose of doing - of fighting with Achish against his enemies. It is just an instance of the unhappy consequences into which a false step - a departure from the straight course of duty - will betray everyone who commits it.

K&D, "1Sa_29:4But the princes, i.e., the four other princes of the Philistines, not the courtiers of Achish himself, were angry with Achish, and demanded, “Send the man back, that he may return to his place, which thou hast assigned him; that he may not go down with us into the war, and may not become an adversary (satan) to us in the war; for wherewith could he show himself acceptable to his lord (viz., Saul), if not with the heads

of these men?” א nonne, strictly speaking, introduces a new question to confirm the ,ֲהלprevious question. “Go down to the battle:” this expression is used as in 1Sa_26:10; 1Sa_30:24, because battles were generally fought in the plains, into which the Hebrews were obliged to come down from their mountainous land. “These men,” i.e., the soldiers of the Philistines, to whom the princes were pointing.PULPIT, "1Sa_29:4-6Angrily rejecting the testimony of Achish in David’s favour, they say, Make this fellow (Hebrew, "the man") return, that he may go again to his place, i.e. to Ziklag. He shall not go down with us to battle. Though the Philistines marched up into the Israelite territory, yet they speak naturally of going down into battle, because while armies usually encamped on opposite ranges of hills, they descended into the plain between for the encounter. An adversary. Hebrew, "a satan," without the article, and so in 1Ch_21:1. As a proper name it has the article, as in the books of Job and Zechariah. Should he reconcile himself. The verb means, "to make himself pleasing," "to commend himself." The heads of these men, pointing to the Philistine ranks. David of whom they sang, etc. The song of the Jewish maidens seems to have been as well known in Philistia as in the land of Israel On the former occasion it had made the Philistines drive him away from the court of Achish (1Sa_21:11-15); here, too, it made them drive him from their army, but he was thereby saved from the painful necessity of making war on his own country, and returned just in time to rescue his wives and property.

COKE, "1 Samuel 29:4. Make this fellow return— The lords of the Philistines were suspicious of David's purposes; and, instead of placing that confidence in him which Achish did, they insist upon his dismission. His pleasure must certainly have been great, to find himself extricated out of so delicate a situation as he had been in, where there 29

might have been a struggle between his gratitude to his friend, and his love to his country; and in which he did not possibly know what part he had to act, or was bound to act.

TRAPP, "1 Samuel 29:4 And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him; and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, Make this fellow return, that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? [should it] not [be] with the heads of these men?Ver. 4. And the princes of the Philistines were wroth.] Therefore it appeareth they were his fellow princes, of the four other Satrapies, since they thus roughly ruffle with him: as also did Achilles in Homer with Agamemnon, -“ οινοβαρες, κυνος ομματ εχων, κραδιην δ ελαφοιο”- Iliad., lib. i.Make this fellow return.] A happy word for David, who was now in a great perplexity and peril, either of betraying his trust or fighting against his own people: neither of which he could have done with a good conscience. Here, therefore, God cut asunder this gordian knot, which David knew not how to untie. It would be ill with us sometimes, were it not for God’s good providence, and others’ malice.Lest in the battle he be an adversary to us.] As some others have been. [1 Samuel 14:21] He is but a reconciled enemy at best: and Reconciliationes sunt vulpinae amicitiae: he is not to be trusted. This was military prudence in these princes, though Achish had endeavoured to justify David against their jealousies.

GUZIK, "(4-5) The Philistine leaders reject David.But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make this fellow return, that he may go back to the place which you have appointed for him, and do not let him go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his master, if not with the heads of these men? Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying: ‘Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands’?”

a. But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him: The other Philistine leaders were not in agreement with Achish at all. They didn’t trust David, and they feared he would turn against the Philistines in battle, to bring himself back into Saul’s favor.b. Is this not David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying: The faith-filled victory over Goliath seemed like a distant, distant memory for a backslidden David, but the Philistines remembered it well! The song of David’s victory has come back to haunt him again.

30

The other Philistines do not like the explanation, that Achishhas given for David and his men. Their fear that David's loyalty willreturn back to Saul, is really bothering them. They insist that Achishsend David back to wait out the battle. They do not want David and hismen to turn on them in battle, and they will have to fight on bothsides. They believe that David would become an adversary to them towin favor back with Saul. "Adversary" in this, means opponent, orarch-enemy. They are just sure that David and his men will turn onthem, to find favor with Saul.DeffinbaughWhat Achish regards as an “honor” is perceived as a “horror” to the other Philistine commanders. While we are not told what David is thinking or planning to do here, we are allowed to overhear the exchange between Achish and his four commander colleagues as this top level military summit takes place. The other four commanders are livid. They cannot imagine how Achish could be so nave as to take David into battle with them, and to do so by placing him in a very strategic position. They are not at all happy with the situation and waste no time calling Achish to account for his folly. What in the world are David and his 600 warriors (these Hebrews) doing in the Philistine army?Achish has a ready explanation. Is this not David, Saul’s servant, Saul the King of Israel? Achish sees things exactly opposite from the other four commanders. He looks upon David as an asset, precisely because of who he is. David is a turncoat, a man who is faithful to him rather than to Saul. Who cannot see the value in having one of Saul’s most trusted men as an ally, after it becomes apparent that David has indeed changed sides? David is now one of them. He cannot possibly go back to Israel. There is absolutely nothing to worry about, he assures his colleagues. In all the time since David has deserted Saul, Achish has found no fault in him. “Trust me, fellows, David is one of us, and he can do us a lot of good.”The four fellow-commanders are not impressed in the least by the confidence of Achish or by his assurances. If anything, the answer Achish gives them makes them even more angry with him. How can this man be so taken in by David? How can he be so stupid? How can he fail to see what David is really up to? David is a Hebrew. He is a Hebrew in exile. He will do anything he can to win the favor of King Saul. How better to accomplish this than to feign loyalty to the Philistines, and then turn against them in the heat of the battle?152 Has Achish forgotten David’s military genius and might, and his popularity among his own people? Let him hear the poem one more time: “Saul has killed his thousands; David his ten thousands.” BENSON, "1 Samuel 29:4. Make this fellow return to his place — To Ziklag, which they were content he should possess. For wherewith should he reconcile, &c. Should it not be with the heads of these men? — That is, of the Philistines. They reasoned wisely, according to the common maxims of prudence and true policy; for by such a course great enemies have sometimes been reconciled together. But the Divine

31

Providence was no doubt concerned in suggesting these prudential considerations to their minds; for by this means David was delivered from that great strait and difficulty into which he had brought himself, and from which no human wisdom could have extricated him; either of being an enemy to, and fighting against his country, (as before observed,) or being false to his friend and to his trust. And, by the same providential incident, he was sent back time enough to recover his wives, and the wives and children of his men, and his all, from the Amalekites, which would have been irrecoverably lost if he had gone to this battle. And the kindness of God to David was the greater, because it would have been most just for God to have left him in those distresses into which his own sinful counsel had brought him.LANGE, "1 Samuel 29:4. The twofold designation of the Philistine leaders, here “chiefs” [Eng. A. V. “princes”], in 1 Samuel 29:2, “princes” [Eng. A. V.“lords”] comes from the circumstantial character of the narration, not from oversight (Then.), though the Sept. and Vulg. omit the second name. The chiefs of the Philistines did not accept Achish ’s explanation, but were angry with him, and demanded of him that he send David back to his place, which he (Achish) had appointed him, that Isaiah, to Ziklag. They said: He shall not go down with us into the battle. “Go down” ֵיֵרד( ) is a regular technical military expression, derived from the necessity in that mountainous country of descending into the plain to fight,[FN14] comp. 1 Samuel 26:10; 1 Samuel 30:24. To Achish’s defence of David they reply: 1) he might become an adversary to them in battle, though he had hitherto been an ally; 2) he might wish to recommend himself to his lord, though he had up to this time opposed him,—with the heads of these men. The Hithpael of the verb (רצה) indicates zealous self-activity, “earnestly to commend one’s self,” or, “to seek to make one’s self acceptable” (Ew, § 124 a). “These,” they say, pointing to the Philistine troops. By defeating a part of our force, said they, he would try to regain Saul’s favor. Herein is a recognition of David ’s bravery and military ability, which they would be the less disposed to doubt when they recollected the defeat he had formerly inflicted on Goliath and the Palestine army. For they say3) Is this not David, of whom they sang in dances? &c. Comp. 1 Samuel 18:7 with 1 Samuel 16:11. It is the same argument that Achish ’s servants used against him on his first visit to Achish ’s court. The Philistines’recollection of that achievement is here to be the means of rescuing David from the painful necessity of going into battle with the Philistines against his own people.

32

PETT, "1 Samuel 29:4‘But the princes of the Philistines were angry with him, and the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Make the man return, that he may go back to his place where you have appointed him, and let him not go down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an adversary to us. For by what method should this one reconcile himself to his lord? Should it not be with the heads of these men?” ’The other leaders of the Philistines were, however, not impressed, and expressed their feelings forcefully. They demanded that David and his men return to the city that Achish had appointed him, and not go with them to battle, because they were afraid that in the heat of battle he might suddenly turn on them in order to win favour with Saul. They were, of course, totally unaware of the detailed history of the antipathy that Saul had for David. Given what had happened previously, and in the light of what they knew, their fears were perfectly justified.It should be noted that they appear to have had nothing personal against David and his men (apart from viewing him with contempt as expressed by‘the man’ and ‘this one’), and were quite content for Achish to employ them as mercenaries under any other circumstance. They were presumably even confident that David would not leave them and join up with Saul (what a difference it might have made). What they were not willing to do was have Hebrews among them when they were going to battle against Hebrews, and especially such a one as David. And they were clearly confident of their strength without him and his men.

5 Isn't this the David they sang about in their dances: 33

" 'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?"

GILL, "Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances,.... Long ago: saying, Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands; so that he is an old sworn enemy of ours; and the more valiant and victorious he has been, the less is he to be trusted, see 1Sa_18:7.HENRY, "Because he had been an old enemy to the Philistines; witness what was sung in honour of his triumphs over them: Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands, 1Sa_29:5. “It will be a reproach to us to harbour and trust so noted a destroyer of our people; nor can it be thought that he will now act heartily against Saul who then acted so vigorously with him and for him.” Who would be fond of popular praise or applause when, even that may, another time, be turned against a man to his reproach?PETT, "1 Samuel 29:5“Is not this David, of whom they sang one to another in dances, saying, Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands?”They then reminded Achish of David’s famed prowess in battle, and especially against Philistines. Had not the Israelite women in earlier days acclaimed him as the greatest warrior in Israel so that his name had become proverbial? For the citation compare 1 Samuel 18:7; 1 Samuel 21:11. This is the third time that it has been cited, emphasising the completeness of David’s superiority to Saul in the eyes of all. It brings out that his triumphs had never been forgotten in Israel, so much so that they were also well known in Philistia. (Had it only been said on one occasion it would not have become so prominently remembered. But it was clearly a sore point with the Philistines). They were thus pointing out to Achish that David was a famed slayer of Philistines. While they acknowledged that that was in the past they did not want that to happen again.

6 So Achish called David and said to him, "As surely as the LORD lives, you have been reliable, and I would be pleased to have you serve with me in the army. From the day you came to me until now, I have found no fault in you, but the rulers don't approve of you.

34

David had a very positive relationship with this pagan Philistine, and this pagan trusted David completely. It is possible for a pagan and a believer to work together in harmony with trust.

BARNES, "As the Lord liveth - The swearing by Yahweh seems strange in the mouth of a Philistine. But probably not the very words, but only the sense of this and such like speeches, is preserved.

CLARKE, "Thou hast been upright - So he thought, for as yet he had not heard of the above transaction; David having given him to understand that he had been fighting against Israel.GILL, "Then Achish called David,.... Being so near him, that he could call unto him himself, or he sent some person to him, to require his presence with him: and said unto him, surely, as the Lord liveth; or "Jehovah liveth"; an oath by the true God, of whom Achish might have some knowledge, as he also had of angels, from his conversation with David; though the Heathens had a notion of a supreme Being, and yet worshipped other gods, and whom they called Jove, from this name of Jehovah. Kimchi observes, that all confess a first cause; and therefore when he swore to David, he swore by him in whom David believed, perhaps out of complaisance to him, or that David might pay the greater regard to his oath: thou hast been upright; sincere, honest, faithful, and just in all his deportment; yet not so sincere as he thought him to be, witness the road he pretended he had taken against the south of Judah, 1Sa_27:1, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in sight; his behaviour in the army, attending him as the keeper of his head, or captain of his bodyguard, was exceeding agreeable to him, and he could wish to have him continued: for I have not found evil in thee, since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day; whatever he had done before to the Philistines, having greatly afflicted and distressed them in his wars with them, of which this seems to be an exception: nevertheless, the lords favour thee not; or thou art not acceptable to them, yea, very offensive and disagreeable.

HENRY 6-11, "If the reasons Achish had to trust David were stronger than the reasons which the princes offered why they should distrust him (as I do not see that, in policy, they were, for the princes were certainly in the right), yet Achish was but one of five, though the chief, and the only one that had the title of king; accordingly, in a

35

council of war held on this occasion, he was over-voted, and obliged to dismiss David, though he was extremely fond of him. Kings cannot always do as they would, nor have such as they would about them.I. The discharge Achish gives him is very honourable, and not a final discharge, but only from the present service. 1. He signifies the great pleasure and satisfaction he had taken in him and in his conversation: Thou art good in my sight as an angel of God,1Sa_29:9. Wise and good men will gain respect, wherever they go, from all that know how to make a right estimate of persons and things, though of different professions in religion. What Achish says of David, God, by the prophet, says of the house of David(Zec_12:8), that it shall be as the angel of the Lord. But the former is a court-compliment; the latter is a divine promise. 2. He gives him a testimonial of his good behaviour, 1Sa_29:6. It is very full and in obliging terms: “Thou hast been upright, and thy whole conduct has been good in my sight, and I have not found evil in thee.” Saul would not have given him such a testimonial, though he had done far more service to him than Achish. God's people should behave themselves always so inoffensively as if possible to get the good word of all they have dealings with; and it is a debt we owe to those who have acquitted themselves well to give them the praise of it. 3. He lays all the blame of his dismission upon the princes, who would by no means suffer him to continue in the camp. “The king loves thee entirely, and would venture his life in thy hand; but the lords favour thee not, and we must not disoblige them, nor can we oppose them; therefore return and go in peace.” He had better part with his favourite than occasion a disgust among his generals and a mutiny in his army. Achish intimates a reason why they were uneasy. It was not so much for David's own sake as for the sake of his soldiers that attended him, whom he calls his master's servants (namely, Saul's), 1Sa_29:10. They could trust him, but not them. (4.) He orders him to be gone early, as soon as it was light (1Sa_29:10), to prevent their further resentments, and the jealousies they would have been apt to conceive if he had lingered.K&D, "After this declaration on the part of the princes, Achish was obliged to send

David back.1Sa_29:6-7

With a solemn assertion, - swearing by Jehovah to convince David all the more thoroughly of the sincerity of his declaration, - Achish said to him, “Thou art honourable, and good in my eyes (i.e., quite right in my estimation) are thy going out and coming in (i.e., all thy conduct) with me in the camp, for I have not found anything bad in thee; but in the eyes of the princes thou art not good (i.e., the princes do not think thee honourable, do not trust thee). Turn now, and go in peace, that thou mayest do nothing displeasing to the princes of the Philistines.”

PULPIT, "1Sa_29:6, 1Sa_29:7As Jehovah liveth. These words are strange in the mouth of a Philistine, nor can we suppose that out of respect to David he would thus swear by David’s God. Probably they are the equivalent of the oath which Achish really used. He sends, however, David away with the utmost courtesy, assuring him that his own wish had been that he should remain with him, because all his conduct had been upright since he had come to him at Gath.

36

COKE, "1 Samuel 29:6. Surely, as the Lord liveth— It is observable, that Achish on this occasion makes use of that form of swearing which obtained among the Jews, as the Lord liveth; from which some have concluded, that Achish had learned a part of David's religion; and others go into great extremes on the other side; for which, I own, I can see no grounds. David was a man of sufficient address; he well knew how to converse with kings; nor was Achish the first whose favour his accomplishments had acquired him. In all probability, he stipulated for the free exercise of his religion, before he threw himself into his service; and such a stipulation might naturally be attended with an apology in its favour. Nor will David's character suffer us to suppose him so cold and unconcerned in that point, as to omit any opportunity of recommending his religion to the best advantage; for surely no mortal ever had it more at heart; especially after that declaration, which he himself has made in the 119th Psalm, sect. 6. (vau) I will speak of thy testimonies even before kings, and will not be ashamed. What wonder then if David should have instructed, and Achish profited in this point from David's conversation? But after all, possibly, Achish might have sworn by Jehovah on this occasion, as that Jew did by Jesus, whom the old duke of Ormond, (so properly, and with so fine a satire upon that profaneness too common among Christians,) reproved for his assurance, in presuming to swear like a Christian. GUZIK, " David heads back to Ziklag.

1. (1Sa_29:6-7) Achish tells David to go home.Then Achish called David and said to him, “Surely, as the LORD lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you. Therefore return now, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines.”

a. “As the Lord lives is unexpected in a Philistine oath; can it be that Achish has committed himself to David’s Lord, or is he being courteous to David in not swearing by Philistine gods? The latter is perhaps more likely.” (Baldwin)b. Nevertheless, the lords do not favor you: David thought he couldn’t be happy or at peace in the land of Israel (Now I shall perish someday by the hand of Saul. There is nothing better for me than that I should speedily escape to the land of the Philistines, 1Sa_27:1). Now he finds that his “Philistine friends” won’t accept him either. David has no home; he is trying to live in both worlds, so he has a home in neither world.

i. No doubt, David didn’t like being rejected by the Philistine rulers. Not many people like rejection. But God would use the rejection of ungodly people in David’s life. Many people are hesitant to live out-and-out for Jesus Christ because they are afraid of the rejection of the ungodly. How much better it is to be all out for Jesus, and to trust that if the ungodly reject us, God will use it for good - for our good and for theirs.c. In many ways, David is in the worst place for any child of God. He has too much of the world in him to be at peace in the LORD, and he has too much of the LORD in him to be at peace in the world. God is speaking to David through this, but is David listening?d. That you may not displease the lords of the Philistines: David used to

37

displease the lords of the Philistines all right; he used to be a mighty warrior for the cause of God, and he used to strike fear in the heart of every enemy of God. Now, David is concerned about displeasing the lords of the Philistines!i. Is this the same David who fought Goliath? Could you imagine someone coming to David before that battle, and saying, “Excuse me David, I don’t think you should do that. You might displease the lords of the Philistines.” What do you think David’s response would be? He might say, “Of course I will displease the lords of the Philistines! I want todisplease the lords of the Philistines! I can’t wait to displease the lords of the Philistines! Let me know if I ever stop displeasing the lords of the Philistines!” But all of that is a distant, distant memory, in this time of backsliding and compromise for David.

Deffinbaugh, "Achish now has the unpleasant task of “disappointing” David, and telling him he must go home. He does so, using language unbefitting a true pagan: “As the LORD lives, . . .” (29:6). This is not the pagan term for “gods,” but the Hebrew term Yahweh, for the one true God, the God of Israel. Later on in verse 9, this Philistine king tells David he is “like an angel of God.” These are strange words indeed. It is not David who is talking “God talk,” but Achish. It may be that he is carefully choosing words to accommodate David’s faith. It may be that David’s faith is having an effect on Achish.It is almost amusing to read the nice things Achish says about David. They are so flattering to David, and so false. Achish tells David he has been pleasing in his eyes, that from the day he first arrived to stay with him, he has done no wrong against him. Would Achish feel the same way and say the same things if he knew what David had really been doing, whom he had been raiding and killing, and that his reports to Achish were false? I think not! But Achish has more good things to say of David. He tells him that he is “like an angel of God” in his sight (verse 9). Achish is completely taken in by David, and the immensity of David’s deception is evident in the words of praise of this pagan king. Achish not only flatters David, he apologizes to him. He explains to David that while he wants David to accompany him in the coming battle with Israel, his four colleagues will have no part of such a plan. David and his men will return to Ziklag in the morning.David never ceases to amaze me. If I were in David’s sandals, I would be dancing in the streets after hearing what Achish has just said. Here he is, in a seemingly hopeless situation, caught between a rock and a hard place. The four Philistine commanders refuse to allow David to go into battle with them, and Achish sheepishly gives David the “bad news.” Bad news? This is fantastic! David does not need to fight with the Israelites, with Saul, or with Jonathan. Neither does David have to fight with Achish or any of the Philistines. All he needs do is go home to his

38

own place in Ziklag. Rather than humbly submit to these orders from Achish and the Philistine commanders, David protests, as though he would talk them out of their decision, as though he is bound and determined to go to war. Given a “way of escape,” it seems that David turns it down.Dale Ralph Davis does not miss the humor in this interchange between Achish and David, writing:“There is more than a little humor in this scene (vv. 6-8). Achish stands there, apologetically emphasizing how he thinks David should go with him in this campaign and extolling David’s faithfulness, which he has no reason to extol. On the other hand, David with disbelief on his face and exasperation in his voice protests the rejection he has no reason to protest. The deceived defends his deceiver, and the relieved disputes his relief!”153If David’s words of protest are an act, David is a magnificent actor. Gratefully, the minds of these four Philistine commanders cannot be changed. David will return to Ziklag in the morning.

Thank God for the disapproval of these Philistines, for had they said come along David would not have gotten home to find his families carried away captive, and maybe could never have recovered them. It was a blessing to be rejected, for it led to his preserving those he loved. Good out of evil is so common in God's providence. Robert Roe, " Then Achish called David and said to him, "As Yahweh lives [Boy, that must have struck David right in the heart. He hasn't called on Yahweh for months] you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day [What has David been doing for the last 16 months? Just exactly the opposite. He has been shafting Achish. He has been deceiving Achish. He has been butchering babies to hide his sin. He has been an evil man, a deceitful man and Achish comes up with Yahweh, David's God. The guilt must begin to weight a little heavy about now] Nevertheless you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords. [You are pleasing in my sight, but not in the sight of the lords] Now therefore return, and go in peace, that you may not displease the lords of the Philistines." One of the troubles with deceit is that even when you begin to feel guilt, there is no easy way out. You find you must keep on deceiving in order to work your way out. Liars need brilliant memories. Truth you can put in the air and forget it. If it comes out partial truth, it still ends up justified as truth. But deceit, no! You have to remember all the details. Poor David is caught here. Now he has to keep on deceiving and the guilt is getting pretty heavy. He can't agree to return. He must object somewhat in order to keep his poise, if he is loyal, yet not too strongly lest

39

Achish change his mind and keep him up front. So he gives another of his famous mean nothing answers.]COFFMAN, "One cannot help wondering if all that undeserved praise which Achish heaped upon David did not hurt his conscience. Another source of acute curiosity on our part is the question of, "What did David really intend to do during that approaching battle?" Was he planning to betray Achish, attack the Philistines and to aid Israel? Who knows?"What have you found in your servant ... that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king" (1 Samuel 29:8). Of course, Achish conceitedly applied David's words here as a pledge that he would fight for Achish and the Philistines, but THE WORDS DO NOT SAY THAT. This is another of those ambiguous remarks which David so skillfully employed in his phenomenal deceit of Achish. David's fighting against the enemies of "my lord the king," applies to Saul as well as to Achish.As was his custom for years during this period of David's life, he prevaricated continually. Here he pretended that he really wanted to go to battle with Achish, but it is very likely that such was not David's real wish at all. Still he kept up his persistent line of falsehoods to Achish, but his reason for doing so is by no means clear. It is difficult to realize that the David who appears in these chapters is the same David who wrote:O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tent?Who shall dwell on thy holy hill?He who walks blamelessly,And does what is right,And speaks truth in his heart (Psalms 15:1,2).That the man's conscience was indeed wounded by such continual lying as is seen in these chapters is indicated by Psalms 51, in which David wrote:Behold thou desirest truth in the inward being ...Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow ...Hide thy face from my sins,And blot out all my iniquities (Psalms 51:1-9).

40

"You are as blameless in my sight as an angel of God" (1 Samuel 29:9). "What Achish said of David here, God by the voice of his prophet said of `the house of David,' `On that day the Lord will put a shield about the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, at their head' (Zechariah 12:8)."[6] Of course, this reference in Zechariah has in view the Messiah and the new Israel of God, the heavenly Jerusalem."With the servants of your lord who came with you" (1 Samuel 29:10). This rather ambiguous statement was clarified by Cook. "The clue to this is in 1 Chronicles 12:19-21, where it appears that a considerable number of Manassites "fell" to David just at this time, and went back with him to Ziklag. It was to these newcomers that Achish applied the expression here."[7]Philbeck's comment on David's professed reluctance to be sent back to Ziklag indicated that, "Although David was relieved, his role as a loyal subject of Achish required him to protest the decision. Nevertheless, he and his troops were ready to leave the next morning at daylight."[8]Keil's concluding comment on this chapter catches the probable emotion of David regarding this development. "In accordance with Achish's orders, David returned the next morning into the land of the Philistines, to Ziklag; no doubt very light in heart, and praising God for having so graciously rescued him out of the disastrous situation into which he had been brought, and not altogether without some fault of his own, rejoicing that he had not committed either sin, he had neither violated his loyalty to Achish nor had he fought against his own people."[9]CONSTABLE, "David"s exemption from the battle29:6-11Achish swore in Yahweh"s name to David, probably to impress the truth of what he was saying on David, that David had been upright and pleasing to him. Nevertheless David had not won the confidence of the other Philistine commanders, and so he had to return to Philistia. David again (cf. 1 Samuel 17:29; 1 Samuel 20:1; 1 Samuel 26:18) asked, "What have I done?" He had done nothing to deserve this rejection. He then professed to want to go into the battle and to fight the enemies of "my lord the king." David probably wanted Achish to think that he was referring to Achish as "my lord," but he really meant Saul, I think. It seems incredible that David would really have entered the battle and fought for the Philistines against the Israelites. Thus David continued his deception. For the third time Achish vindicated David ( 1 Samuel 29:3; 1 Samuel 29:6; 1 Samuel 29:9). Note the parallel with Pilate"s threefold vindication of Jesus ( John 18:38; John 19:4; John 19:6; cf. Luke 23:22). [Note: Brueggemann, p200.] David had been as a divine messenger to the Philistine king, a source of much blessing to him (cf. Genesis 12:2-3). David may have shared the booty that he had taken in his battles against his southern enemies

41

with Achish (cf. 1 Samuel 27:7-10). [Note: Miscall, p174.] Nevertheless the other Philistine rulers would not allow David to enter the battle. Consequently David had to return south with his men, the former servants of David"s previous commander, Saul. David did as Achish ordered in the morning, and the Philistines proceeded north to engage Saul near Mt. Gilboa.This chapter is an encouraging revelation of how God takes care of His own when they are under extreme stress and not entirely obedient. David had come close to running out of ideas about how he could preserve his life (cf. 1 Samuel 27:1). He had apparently received no special guidance from God in answer to prayer. The name of God does not appear in chapter27 or in chapter29 , except in Achish"s references to Him, suggesting that God"s guidance was scarce while David was in Philistine territory. David had even resorted to deception to protect himself (cf. 1 Samuel 27:10-12; 1 Samuel 29:8). Nonetheless God continued to guard His anointed servant, even in a foreign land. He convinced Achish of David"s loyalty, which yielded a measure of protection for David. He also convinced the other Philistine commanders of David"s threat to themselves, which resulted in their sending him far from the field of battle."The very same Philistines who will finally dispose of Saul (ch31) are the ones who unwittingly rescue David." [Note: Brueggemann, First and . . ., p199.]In short, God providentially caused the reactions of people, as different as those reactions were, to protect David (cf. Romans 8:28). Even when we do not sense it, God cares for us, as a shepherd (cf. Psalm 23)."David"s sixteen months at Ziklag probably marked a low point in his spiritual walk with God. He displayed a lack of faith in going there, as though God could not protect him in his own land; he was not honest with Achish after he arrived there; and it was only because of God"s intervening grace that he was spared from having to fight his own people. Significantly, too, it was during this time that his men nearly mutinied against him, not being sure that he was leading them aright. He had been doing so well until this time, but here he definitely slipped." [Note: Wood, Israel"s United . . ., p211.]David"s wise leadership of the Israelites ch30This chapter reveals many qualities that marked David as an outstanding leader. As Saul continued to decline, God perfected the characteristics of leadership in David that prepared him for the throne. The Amalekites" capture of Ziklag at first looked as if tragedy had struck, but later it proved to be a great blessing. In this respect this event resembled David"s whole career (and that of Jesus Christ). As a result of this victory, the people of Judah came to regard David as the obvious successor to Saul"s throne.The chiastic structure of the chapter focuses attention on the defeat of the

42

Amalekites, the people that God had commissioned Israel"s leaders, including Saul, to annihilate."A. David reaches destroyed Ziklag and finds it plundered ( 1 Samuel 30:1-3).B. David and his men are promised the Lord"s help ( 1 Samuel 30:4-8).C. David defeats the Amalekites ( 1 Samuel 30:9-20)B". David shares the Lord"s plunder with his men ( 1 Samuel 30:21-25).A". David returns to Ziklag and distributes the remaining plunder ( 1 Samuel 30:26-31)." [Note: Youngblood, "1 , 2 Samuel ," p791.] HAWKERS, "(6) ¶ Then Achish called David, and said unto him, Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been upright, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is good in my sight: for I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day: nevertheless the lords favour thee not. (7) Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines.The Reader may perhaps be rather surprised, that Achish should have so little weight in his kingdom as not to be able to retain David in his service. But he should be told, that the Philistines were governed by five lords, and Gath was but one of their kingdoms. Ekron, Gaza, Ashdod, and Askelon, were the other four parts which these lords of the Philistines governed.LANGE, "1 Samuel 29:6. Achish is obliged to yield to the decided demand of his comrades. He assures David that his confidence in him is unshaken, that he regards him as an honorable and faithful man. Achish’s oath “by the life of Jehovah” is to be explained not by the fact that a Hebrew is here the narrator (Then.), or that Achish had learned from David to know and honor the God of Israel (S. Schmid), but by his desire to attest more strongly the truth of his words by invoking the God whom David worshipped. Achish, however, does not say that he had been pleased with David in former wars (Tremell. Vatablus), but his words refer to this campaign, he assuring him of his confidence in contrast with the distrust of the princes. He means to say: To me thou art the object of undoubting trust, but the princes do not wish thee to take part in the campaign. Thus he excuses himself, as it were, to David for the fact that he must now ( 1 Samuel 29:7) bid him return, that he may do nothing evil in the eyes of the princes of the Philistines.PETT, "1 Samuel 29:6‘Then Achish called David, and said to him, “As YHWH lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the host is good in my sight, for I have not found evil in you since the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless the lords do not favour you.”

43

Reluctantly Achish gave way to their request, and called David to him and explained that while he himself had every confidence in David’s loyalty, having never found any fault in him, the lords of the Philistines did not favour him, partly because he was a Hebrew (which was how foreigners would see him) and partly because of his reputation.It is noteworthy that Achish swears by YHWH. This would presumably be because in his dealings with David he had become used to this as a regular form of oath used by David, with the familiar form of oath intended to appease David by expressing a show of sympathy with his position in a way that was familiar to him. It suggests that he wanted David to know that his heart was with him. (Compare Ittai the Gittite in 2 Samuel 15:21)

7 Turn back and go in peace; do nothing to displease the Philistine rulers."

GILL, "Wherefore now return,.... To Ziklag: and go in peace; not only in a peaceable manner, easy and satisfied, as David was at his very heart to hear this, but all prosperity and happiness attend thee; the Jews (n)distinguish between wishing persons to go in peace, and to go to peace; the former they observe has not issued happily, when the other has, and they instance in the wish of Jethro to Moses, and of David to Absalom: that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines: and what would be the consequence of that he could not say, but suggests it would be most for his peace and safety to depart. HENRY, "JAMISON, "

8 "But what have I done?" asked David. "What have you found against your servant from the day I came to you until now? Why can't I go and fight against the

44

enemies of my lord the king?"

David was an expert liar, and he had this pagan ruler convinced he was happy to go and kill Israelites.

CLARKE, "David said - what have I done? - Dr. Chandler and others may say what they will to make David act a consistent part in this business; but it is most evident, whatever his intentions might be as to the part he was to take in the approaching battle, he did intend to persuade Achish that he would fight against Israel; and affects to feel his reputation injured by not being permitted on this occasion to show his fidelity to the king of Gath.

It was in the order of God’s gracious providence that the Philistine lords refused to let David go with them to this battle. Had he gone, he had his choice of two sins - First, If he had fought for the Philistines, he would have fought against God and his country. Secondly If he had in the battle gone over to the Israelites, he would have deceived and become a traitor to the hospitable Achish. God, therefore, so ordered it in his mercy that he was not permitted to go to a battle in which he was sure to be disgraced, whatever side he took, or with what success soever he might be crowned.

GILL, "And David said unto Achish, what have I done?.... This question is anticipated by the speech of Achish, who had declared he had found no evil in him; but David must say something to put on an appearance of concern for being dismissed, when he was heartily glad of it: and what hast thou found in thy servant, so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king? which cannot be excused of great dissimulation, since nothing was more foreign from his heart, and against his will, than fighting against the Israelites, and which he determined to avoid if possible; and glad at heart he was to be thus excused, and freed from the straits and difficulties he was involved in; but that the Philistines might have no cause of suspicion of him, and that he was warmly attached to their interest among whom he was still to continue, he put on these airs. Abarbinel is of opinion that the lords of the Philistines were only afraid of David, but not of his men, and therefore were not solicitous about their going, but his, which gave David a concern; and since he was particularly singled out, he desired to know what special evil had been found in him; but when he understood, by the following answer of Achish, that his servants were to go with him, he was content, and said no more; but the princes asked, "what do these Hebrews here?" 1Sa_29:3.

HENRY, "II. His reception of this discourse is very complimental; but, I fear, not 45

without some degree of dissimulation. “What?” says David, “must I leave my lord the king, whom I am bound by office to protect, just now when he is going to expose himself in the field? Why may not I go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 1Sa_29:8. He seemed anxious to serve him when he was at this juncture really anxious to leave him, but he was not willing that Achish should know that he was. No one knows how strong the temptation is to compliment and dissemble which those are in that attend great men, and how hard it is to avoid it.III. God's providence ordered it wisely and graciously for him. For, besides that the snare was broken and he was delivered out of the dilemma to which he was first reduced, it proved a happy hastening of him to the relief of his own city, which sorely wanted him, though he did not know it. Thus the disgrace which the lords of the Philistines put upon him prove, in more ways than one, an advantage to him. The steps of a good man ore ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. What he does with us we know not now, but we shall know hereafter, and shall see it was all for good.

K&D, "1Sa_29:8-9Partly for the sake of vindicating himself against this suspicion, and partly to put the sincerity of Achish's words to the test, David replied, “What have I done, and what hast thou found in thy servant, since I was with thee till this day, that I am not to come and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” These last words are also ambiguous, since the king whom David calls his lord might be understood as meaning either Achish or Saul. Achish, in his goodness of heart, applies them without suspicion to himself; for he assures David still more earnestly (1Sa_29:9), that he is firmly convinced of his uprightness. “I know that thou art good in my eyes as an angel of God,” i.e., I have the strongest conviction that thou hast behaved as well towards me as an angel could; but the princes have desired thy removal.

PULPIT, "1Sa_29:8David’s answer is subtle and prevaricating; he pretends that his honour has been attacked, when really he had tricked the unsuspecting Achish. But truth is a modern virtue, and though David extols it in the Psalms (Psa_15:2; Psa_51:6), we too often find him practising falsehood.

BENSON, "Verse 81 Samuel 29:8. David said, But what have I done? — This was deep dissimulation and flattery in David, no way to be justified. But who, that has not experienced it, can know how strong a temptation they who attend on great men are under to compliment them and dissemble. David, no doubt, heartily rejoiced at this dismission; but as he did not know how much longer he might be obliged to stay in the land of the Philistines, he seems to have yielded to a temptation that prudence required him to carry it fair toward them, and to pretend to have that concern upon this occasion which he certainly did not feel.

46

ELLICOTT, " (8) And David said unto Achish, But what have I done?—David’s words have a ring of falseness in them; he never contemplated fighting in the ranks against Israel, and yet he speaks thus. The generous confidence of the chivalrous Achish is here in painful contrast with the dissimulation of the Israelite chieftain, David.

It has been suggested that these suspicions of his loyalty on the part of the Philistine leaders had been aroused by David deliberately, in order to bring about his dismissal from the army in the field. This is possible, for the situation in which David now finds himself was most embarrassing from every point of view.

COKE, "1 Samuel 29:8. And David said—what have I done? &c.— Dr. Chandler observes, that "this answer was prudent, and such as became the circumstances in which he then stood; but promised nothing, and was only in general, that he never had given Achish any reason to suspect his gratitude and fidelity. He says nothing about fighting against Saul and the Hebrew army, but against the enemies of the king. Against the king's enemies, undoubtedly, he would have fought, where he could have done it consistently with his honour and duty; where he could not, whatever sense Achish might put upon David's words, David would have refused to have fought against them. Upon the whole, it is certain, that there is not the least intimation, in any thing he said, that he would impiously turn his arms against his king and country, which neither his conscience, nor his interest, would permit him to do; and it is certain, that if he could maintain his fidelity to Achish, without lending his assistance to the destruction of his nation, he would have done it." Dr. Delaney observes, "We may easily apprehend to what straits David was reduced, upon Achish's insisting that he must go with him against Saul. He was now under a necessity of warring against his country, or betraying his benefactor. The alternative, indeed, was distressful; but it is easy to see how a man of honour must determine himself under it. His prince had banished and outlawed him, innocent as he was; and his people had joined in the sentence. Nevertheless, he continued, as long as he could, not to injure either, but even to be beneficent to both. David would have still been beneficent if he could, but the times would not let him; and therefore, when things were brought to such an extremity, that either he must fight against a people who had made him their enemy, or betray a prince who had protected him in distress, he had no choice left. He owed Achish allegiance; for protection exacts allegiance: but he owed Saul none; and there is no question but he was determined to pay his debt; and therefore I cannot help thus far crediting the account that Josephus gives us of this matter, that he promised Achish his aid, and assured him that he would take this occasion to requite his kindness the best he could. That he promised him unwillingly, I have no doubt; and I can have none that he promised him faithfully. See Psalms 7. The man that could save Saul, could not betray Achish." But, whatever were his purposes, it pleased God, very providentially, to deliver him from this great dilemma.

WHEDON, "8. David said unto Achish — Whether David was really anxious to go into battle with the Philistines we have no means of clearly deciding. It is possible that, as the Philistine lords conjectured, he designed to reconcile himself unto Saul by treacherously fighting against Achish and his compeers, and so was much disappointed when he found 47

this opportunity cut off by the suspicions of the lords. In this case, by my lord the king David would have meant Saul, though he knew that Achish would understand him differently. He who had so deliberately lied to the king of Gath on a former occasion (1 Samuel 27:10) was none too good to betray his hospitality and kindness. But Divine Providence arranged for him a more excellent way.LANGE, "1 Samuel 29:8. As Achish remains true in word and deed to his honorable confidence in David, so David remains true to his rôle (27) of dishonorable prevarication to Achish; for, when he says: that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord, the king—this “my lord, the king,” may refer as well to Achish as to Saul; and, for the rest, he could not have been in earnest in saying that he would fight, for he certainly would not have fought against his own countrymen (Then.).HAWKERS, "Verses 8-11

(8) And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant so long as I have been with thee unto this day, that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord the king? (9) And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. (10) Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart. (11) So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

Beside the motives here assigned for removing David from the army of the Philistines, it appears by the following chapter, that the Lord had services for him at that time elsewhere. Thus the Lord ordereth all our ways, and the whole disposing of his people is of the Lord. Though David seemed hurt at the not being permitted to go up to the battle, yet no doubt, as he had no direction for this purpose from the Lord, he could not be very forward to it. Indeed David was conscious that he was out of the path of duty. And perhaps this had made a shyness in his visits to a throne of grace. Reader! what is related in this chapter, and indeed the whole of David's conduct, from the moment he took up the unbecoming thought, that he should one day perish by the hand of Saul, is not to David's credit. We see in him what we feel in ourselves, and what the best of men do but too fully manifest, that there is a great deal of the old stock of nature, as well as the new springs of grace in God's faithful servants. Much corruption mingled with much faith. Oh! how needful then is it, that the great author of faith should keep up his precious communications, to keep alive his grace in the soul! Sweetly David sung to this point, when he said: Hold thou me up and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually. Psalms 119:117.Verse 11

REFLECTIONS

48

I HOPE the Reader will feel his soul drawn out with mine, both to admire and adore the faithfulness of God, in his deliverance of poor David from the snare into which his want of faithfulness in his God had brought him. Surely none but a wise God could have found the means to have brought him out of the double danger into which his folly and sin had brought him. Apparently there was no way to escape, but either he must have proved a traitor to his country, or a traitor to his friend. And surely none but a faithful God would have given grace to have brought him out, when his own unfaithfulness had so justly forfeited the Lord's favour. But oh, thou dearest Lord! how plainly are we taught by this and every other instance, of thy passing by the worthlessness of thy people, that thou dust this not for our own sake, but for thine own great name's sake and thy glory. Hence, blessed Lord, thou dost manifest thy faithfulness in sending the trial upon the heels of our unfaithfulness. And thou dost manifest thy faithfulness in guiding us through the trial. And thou displayest the riches of thy grace and faith fulness, in making the termination of it minister to thy glory and our welfare. Oh precious Jesus! in every instance of my poor wanderings and unbelief, and fear, and the like, do thou so mercifully and so tenderly deal by me. And while thou dost compassionate my unworthiness, let thy grace be sufficient for me, and let thy strength be made perfect in my weakness. I lament, dearest Lord, that like David, I have too often thought and feared, that notwithstanding all thy past mercies and manifestations, I should one day be left to perish by the hand of the enemy. But in thy after grace in sending difficulties and hedging up my way with thorns, I have proved thy mercy. I can and do therefore set up my Ebenezer in all the proofs of thy love, and find cause to say with David, I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in very faithfulness hast caused me to be troubled.

GUZIK, " (1Sa_29:8-10) David appeals to Achish.So David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” Then Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart.”

a. But what have I done? David seems genuinely disappointed that he will not be able to fight for the Philistines against Israel. b. He shall not go up with us to the battle . . . as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart: David wanted to fight with the Philistines against Israel, but God wouldn’t let him. David’s heart is in a bad place, but God hasn’t abandoned him! We should praise God for the times when He kept us from sinning as bad as we wanted to sin!

3. (1Sa_29:11) David returns to Ziklag and the Philistines army prepares to meet Saul.So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

49

a. To return to the land of the Philistines: The Holy Spirit makes it clear. All of this that happened in this chapter should have waked David up. He should have heard God speaking in many ways, but he didn’t. Instead, he made his return to the land of the Philistines. What will it take to bring David around? Because God loves David, He will do what it takes.

PETT, "1 Samuel 29:8‘And David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant for as long as I have been before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”David’s response was to profess his total loyalty to Achish. He asked on what grounds he was being sent home, and challenged Achish to produce any evidence to support the doubt being cast on him. And he affirmed his willingness to fight on behalf of Achish against any of his enemies. By this David was ensuring that Achish would not have any suspicion about his being unwilling to fight.It is difficult, however, to believe that David was not secretly relieved. He could not have been looking forward to entering into battle against his own countrymen, as his past behaviour brings out (1 Samuel 27:10-12), and had he gone into battle alongside the Philistine forces he would almost certainly have lost the goodwill in Judah and Israel that he had carefully built up. But he would not want Achish to doubt his total loyalty, and thus strongly argued his position, probably quite well aware that any such argument would be pointless. The decision was no longer in Achish’s hands. Once again he is seen as leading Achish on a string. (It was probably Achish’s total confidence in David that prevented the Philistines from interfering with David’s later proclamation as king of Judah. He no doubt assured them that David was their man).

9 Achish answered, "I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, 'He must not go up with us into battle.'

50

CLARKE, "As an angel of God - There is some reason to think that Achish had actually embraced or was favourably disposed towards the Jewish religion. He speaks here of the angels of God, as a Jew might be expected to speak; and in 1Sa_29:6 he appeals to, and swears by Jehovah; which, perhaps, no Philistine ever did. It is possible that he might have learned many important truths from David, during the time he sojourned with him.

GILL, "And Achish answered and said unto David,.... In reply to the questions: I know that thou art good in my sight as an angel of God: for his great wisdom, and graceful behaviour, and inoffensive carriage: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, he shall not go up with us to the battle; though Achish had so good an opinion of him, and had declared it in council, yet an order had passed there that he should not go to battle with them; there were but five of them, and Achish was one of the five, so that there were four to one for the dismissing him; and Achish, though a king, was obliged to submit.HENRY, "He signifies the great pleasure and satisfaction he had taken in him and in his conversation: Thou art good in my sight as an angel of God, 1Sa_29:9. Wise and good men will gain respect, wherever they go, from all that know how to make a right estimate of persons and things, though of different professions in religion. What Achish says of David, God, by the prophet, says of the house of David (Zec_12:8), that it shall be as the angel of the Lord. But the former is a court-compliment; the latter is a divine promise.

JAMISON, "notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said — The Philistine government had constitutional checks - or at least the king was not an absolute sovereign; but his authority was limited - his proceedings liable to be controlled by “the powerful barons of that rude and early period - much as the kings of Europe in the Middle Ages were by the proud and lawless aristocracy which surrounded them” [Chalmers].BENSON, "1 Samuel 29:9. Achish said, Thou art good in my sight as an angel of God — In whom nothing is blame-worthy. The heathen acknowledged good spirits, which also they worshipped as an inferior sort of deities, who were messengers and ministers to the supreme God; Achish had learned the title of angels from the Israelites his neighbours, and especially from David’s conversation.1 Samuel 29:9. Achish said, Thou art good in my sight as an angel of God — In whom nothing is blame-worthy. The heathen acknowledged good spirits, which also they worshipped as an inferior sort of deities, who were messengers and ministers to the supreme God; Achish had learned the title of angels from the Israelites his neighbours, and especially from David’s conversation.

51

Even though David had killed so many Philistines, it appears hehad been loyal to Achish. Achish feels some kinship with David. Hefeels that David has ministered to him personally, as well, being agreat help. This reminds me so much of the following ScriptureProverbs 16:7 "When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even hisenemies to be at peace with him."Robert Roe, "Who else had the same problem about a thousand years before? One of God's great men, Abraham. And how many times did it happen to Abraham? Twice. And who were the kings? Pharaoh, king of Egypt and Abimelech, king of Gerar of the Philistines. In both cases these men had a higher standard of honor than Abraham did. God has given light to the pagans. There is a standard of justice among the pagans, and there are honorable men among the pagans. That is not enough for salvation, but there are some very fine pagans. You see this in Achish. Achish may be a pagan, and he may be a cruel Philistine, but the Philistines had a very high culture, don't forget. They are not a bunch of aborigines. They came out of the Aegean area through Crete down to Egypt. They fought the Egyptians and were driven up to the coastal plain of what is now the Gaza Strip. At least from their standpoint, they also apparently had a very high moral standard, well, honorable standard anyway. Their gods were abominable, Dagon, Ashtoreth and Baal, but their personal integrity, in spite of this black religious background, was phenomenal, and once they went to David, they stayed with David until the end, as I described in Lesson #17. They honored their word. David surrounded himself with Philistines not Jews.What had David told Goliath of Gath 15 years back? He told him he was fighting against God and "the armies of the living Lord." Here David is talking about those same armies as being enemies of God. He is having to carry on his deceit, down, down, farther and farther. So he makes this kind of vague statement. He also probably wants to find out, with probably a little deceit here too, just how much Achish really knows. He is beginning to have some real struggle with guilt by now. Here God sticks it to him worse.I Samuel, 29:9 But Achish answered and said to David, "I know that you are pleasing in my sight like an angel of God; [He didn't have to say that. That is a Hebrew idiom spoken of persons who are wonderful and gracious. It means you are like God in prudence and wisdom. David is neither prudent nor wise right now. He has been practicing evil for 16 months and all his wisdom has backfired and squeezed him into a sandwich.] nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us to the battle.' Now then arise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have arisen early in the morning and have light, depart." ["The Philistines don't want you in camp any longer than necessary. As soon as it becomes daylight get out of here." He is totally rejected.] So David arose early, he and his men, to depart in the morning, to return

52

to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. David goes back home in humiliation, but I suspect deep inside he is rejoicing a little, "Well, I got out of it and once again I made it." However, God has something waiting for him. He is dealing with the problem. First David's pride and now he has to deal with the problem of David's possessions, the lust of the eyes. There is also the problem of David's self-sufficiency regarding his personal security. By the way, it is interesting the depth at which God is operating. When David took the trip from Ziklag at the very foot of the Philistine country to Aphek at the very top of the Philistine country, he got a perfect picture of the geography where he will later fight. And the personal bodyguard of Achish sat in on the tactical, strategic maneuvers of the Philistines. So he learned both about their attack strategy and also about the kind of country in which he would later be fighting. And God brings him back now to bring the Philistines under subjection. So God does redeem something out of the situation even though he had to bring David back in humiliation.Now David, still walking in the flesh, let's see what happens to him.LANGE, " 1 Samuel 29:9. Achish trustingly accepts David’s words as referring to himself, and renews the assurance of confidence in his honor. The I know is the reply to David’s assertion of his faithfulness in the question: “What have I done?” etc. [Translate: “I know it, for thou art good,” etc.—Tr.] Achish’s testimony to David’s fidelity and honor (on the words: “yea, thou art in my eyes,” etc. comp. Genesis 48:19) rises to the point of comparing him with an “angel (= messenger)[FN15] of God,” see 2 Samuel 14:17; 2 Samuel 19:27. I esteem thee as highly, he would say, as if thou wert sent to me from God—but the princes say: “he shall not go up with us to the war.” The word “go up” refers to the progress of the march from the south upwards towards the north.PETT, "1 Samuel 29:9‘And Achish answered and said to David, “I know that you are good in my sight, as an angel of God. Notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, ‘He shall not go up with us to the battle.’ ”Achish strove to assure David that he himself had no doubt at all about his loyalty. Indeed to him David was so highly esteemed that he was as a messenger from God (compare 2 Samuel 14:17; 2 Samuel 14:20; 2 Samuel 19:27). But he then pointed out that the issue was no longer in his hands. In the circumstances he had no alternative but to bow to the will of the other lords of the Philistines, and they had forbidden David’s presence at the coming battle.

53

10 Now get up early, along with your master's servants who have come with you, and leave in the morning as soon as it is light."

BARNES, "With thy master’s servants - The clue to this may be found in 1Ch_12:19-21, where it appears that a considerable number of Manassites “fell” to David just at this time, and went back with him to Ziklag. It is therefore to these new comers that Achish applies the expression. It is impossible not to recognize here a merciful interposition of Providence, by which David was not only saved from fighting against his king and country, but sent home just in time to recover his wives and property from the Amalekites 1 Sam. 30. That David maintained his position by subtlety and falsehood, which were the invariable characteristics of his age and nation, is not in the least to be wondered at. No sanction is given by this narrative to the use of falsehood.

CLARKE, "With thy master’s servants - Who were these? has been very properly asked; and to this question there can be but two answers: -

1. The six hundred Israelites which were with him; and who might still be considered the subjects of Saul, though now residing in a foreign land.2. The servants of achish; i.e., David’s men thus considered; because on his coming to Gath, he had in effect given up himself and his men to Achish. But Saul may be the master to whom Achish refers, and the words convey a delicate information to David that he is no vassal, but still at liberty.

GILL, "Wherefore now rise up early with thy master's servants that are come with thee,.... Meaning his six hundred men, who were considered as the servants and subjects of Saul, though with David: and which tacitly carried in it the objection of the Philistine lords unto them, that since they were the servants and subjects of Saul, they were not to be trusted in a battle with him; lest finding an opportunity, they should seize it, and thereby ingratiate themselves into his favour again: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, depart; he advises them to get away as soon as they could, lest the Philistines should fall upon them, and force them, and he could not say what mischief might befall them; wherefore for their safety it was best to depart as soon as they could see their way.

HENRY, "He lays all the blame of his dismission upon the princes, who would by no means suffer him to continue in the camp. “The king loves thee entirely, and would venture his life in thy hand; but the lords favour thee not, and we must not disoblige

54

them, nor can we oppose them; therefore return and go in peace.” He had better part with his favourite than occasion a disgust among his generals and a mutiny in his army. Achish intimates a reason why they were uneasy. It was not so much for David's own sake as for the sake of his soldiers that attended him, whom he calls his master's servants (namely, Saul's), 1Sa_29:10. They could trust him, but not them. (4.) He orders him to be gone early, as soon as it was light (1Sa_29:10), to prevent their further resentments, and the jealousies they would have been apt to conceive if he had lingered.PULPIT, "1Sa_29:10, 1Sa_29:11With thy master’s servants. It has been well remarked that while this would be a strange description of David’s own men, it would exactly describe that band of deserters belonging to the tribe of Manasseh who, instead of obeying Saul’s summons to the war with the Philistines, joined David about this time (see 1Ch_12:19-21). As soon as ye be up early in the morning, etc. If it was on the second day s march that the Philistine lords objected to David’s continuance with them, he would be back at Gath in two days, and on the third day reach Ziklag, as is said in 1Sa_30:1. However difficult David’s position may have been, still every one must condemn his conduct towards Achish as dishonourable; but God, who often deals with men more mercifully than they deserve, nevertheless rescued him from his state of perplexity, and saved him from the necessity of either fighting against his own countrymen or of still more dishonourably breaking his word to Achish by deserting in the battle. He also sent him home just in time to rescue from a miserable fate those whom he loved.

BENSON, "1 Samuel 29:10-11. With thy master’s servants — This intimates that the lords of the Philistines would not trust them, because they looked on them still as Saul’s subjects. David and his men rose up early — David did not then know how necessary this was for the relief of his own city. But God knew it well, and sent him thither accordingly. On how many occasions may we say, What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter!

ELLICOTT, "(10) With thy master’s servants.—The words have perplexed expositors. It is hardly the expression we should expect Achish to use of David’s followers. All Israelites were, of course, “subjects of Saul,” but the term would hardly be used except by one hostile to David, as Nabal was; he once (1 Samuel 25:10) made use of an insulting term of a like nature to David. Achish, we know, seemed ever kindly disposed to the outlawed son of Jesse. A probable suggestion has, however, been lately made, that the reference here is to those tribes of Manasseh (comp. 1 Chronicles 12:19-21) who had only lately come over to David. Was it not also possible that these very Manassites, who had only very recently deserted the king’s cause for David’s, were known to some of the Philistines as Saul’s soldiers, and that their suspicions had been awakened in the first place by finding them marching under David’s standard in the division of Gath?

LANGE, "1 Samuel 29:10. With the servants of thy lord, that Isaiah, of Saul; whose subjects they were. [On the text see “Textual and Grammatical.”—Tr.]

55

1 Samuel 29:11. David returns to Philistia, to Ziklag ( 1 Samuel 30:1).—That David, in order to avoid a sad alternative, himself artfully roused the opposition of the Philistine princes to his participation in the campaign (as Thenius thinks not impossible), Isaiah, even if possible, too bold a conjecture; the narrative gives no ground for it.

PETT, "1 Samuel 29:10“For this reason now rise up early in the morning with the servants of your lord who are come with you, and as soon as you are up early in the morning, and have light, depart.”So David was ordered to depart for Ziklag, along with his men (the other servants of his lord, Achish, who were with him) as soon as the sun arose, and there was light. Note the threefold emphasis on ‘early in the morning’ in 1 Samuel 29:10-11. There was to be no delay. It would seem that battle was about to be joined. In the writer’s mind there was also the knowledge of a further reason for haste, and that was that, unknown to all at this stage, Ziklag was under attack and would shortly lay in ruins.The emphasis on the fact that David and his men must depart in the light of day stands in stark contrast to Saul who had departed into ‘that night’ (1 Samuel 28:25). The threefold emphasis in respect of David may be intended to emphasise the contrast. We are to see that David was marching forward into the light of day, while Saul was heading into the dark, because one was living according to YHWH’s commandments, whereas the other had held YHWH at arm’s length and had finally turned away from Him completely.Some see ‘servants of your lord’ as indicating their past service to Saul, but it is not likely that that is how Achish would see David and his men (in spite of 1 Samuel 29:3).

11 So David and his men got up early in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

56

GILL, "So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning,.... Being as willing and ready to go as the Philistines were desirous they should: to return into the land of the Philistines; for now they were in the land of Israel, at Aphek, near Jezreel, from whence they went back to Ziklag, which was within the principality of Gath; and, according to Bunting (o), was eighty eight miles from the place where the army of the Philistines was; but it seems not very likely that it should be so far off: and the Philistines went up to Jezreel; where the army of the Israelites lay encamped, in order to fight them. By the dismission of David from the army of the Philistines, he was not only delivered from a sad plight he was in, either of acting an ungrateful part to Achish, or an unnatural one to Israel; but also, by the pressing charge of Achish to get away as early as possible in the morning, he came time enough to rescue the prey the Amalekites had taken at Ziklag his city, as in the following chapter; and the providence of God in this affair is further observable, as by some represented, since if David had stayed in the camp of the Philistines, it would not have been so easy for him, on the death of Saul, to have got from them, and succeed in the kingdom, as he could and did from Ziklag.

HENRY, " God's providence ordered it wisely and graciously for him. For, besides that the snare was broken and he was delivered out of the dilemma to which he was first reduced, it proved a happy hastening of him to the relief of his own city, which sorely wanted him, though he did not know it. Thus the disgrace which the lords of the Philistines put upon him prove, in more ways than one, an advantage to him. The steps of a good man ore ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. What he does with us we know not now, but we shall know hereafter, and shall see it was all for good.

K&D, "1Sa_29:11In accordance with this admonition, David returned the next morning into the land of the Philistines, i.e., to Ziklag; no doubt very light of heart, and praising God for having so graciously rescued him out of the disastrous situation into which he had been brought and not altogether without some fault of his own, rejoicing that “he had not committed either sin, i.e., had neither violated the fidelity which he owed to Achish, nor had to fight against the Israelites” (Seb. Schmidt).

ELLICOTT, " (11) To return into the land of the Philistines.—No doubt David and his officers rejoiced at their escaping the terrible alternative of either turning traitors to the kindly man who had so hospitably received them in their distress, or of appearing in arms with the Philistines when they came into collision with the Israelites under Saul. But they little thought in how sore a danger their wives and children and homes were at this juncture. Their release from the Philistine army was not a moment too soon to save these.57

WHEDON, " 11. The Philistines went up to Jezreel — The village of Jezreel, the modern Zerin, (see on Joshua 19:18,) was about three miles south of Shunem, so that in this movement the Philistines advanced towards the Israelites. The modern village stands “upon the brow of a very steep rocky descent of one hundred feet or more towards the northeast.” — Robinson.

PETT, "1 Samuel 29:11‘So David rose up early, he and his men, to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.’So early the next morning David and his men rose up and returned to Philistia, while the Philistines themselves advanced on the valley of Jezreel, where battle would take place on Israelite soil. Y

GUZIK, "(1Sa_29:11) David returns to Ziklag and the Philistines army prepares to meet Saul.So David and his men rose early to depart in the morning, to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.

a. To return to the land of the Philistines: The Holy Spirit makes it clear. All of this that happened in this chapter should have waked David up. He should have heard God speaking in many ways, but he didn’t. Instead, he made his return to the land of the Philistines. What will it take to bring David around? Because God loves David, He will do what it takes.

LANGE, "HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL

1. God’s patience is such that the sins of the members of His kingdom are not visited with expulsion from communion with Him, so long as they, like David, direct their inner life to Him in faith, and are willing to be guided by Him. But such sins as we here see in David—fear of Prayer of Manasseh, unfaith, having recourse to heathen protection, deceitful behaviour towards the kind and honorable king Achish—God does not pass by, on the one hand, without the exhibition of His punitive righteousness, partly punishing sin with sin, as we here see in David from a fundamental sin (doubt and little faith) all other sins issuing, these again coming one from another, partly inflicting internal anguish and external perplexities and painful experiences; but, on the other hand, he restrains evil consequences, and brings into play former exhibitions of His helping might (as here in the Philistines’ recollection of David’s victory over Goliath and the army), so to order all things according to His mercy and wisdom that the blameworthy evil does not lead to destruction, and subserves the ends of His providential government of the world.

58

2. Certainly David’s untruthfulness is not to be measured by Christian morality (Then.), for the mingling of the standpoints of the Old and New Testaments by introducing the latter into the former, both as respects moral knowledge and biblical ethics, and as respects religious truth and biblical dogmatics, is set aside by the difference of the two Testaments in the development of the history of revelation and the kingdom of God. Especially in judging of individual, concrete, ethical phenomena in the relation between man and Prayer of Manasseh, where the principle of love is limited by national relations, we must take into consideration the limitation of the theocratic principle of life to the sphere of the national life in respect to those peoples that were outside of the theocracy. Nevertheless all ethical phenomena in the life of the Old-Testamental bearers of the divine revelation and the theocratic principle must be looked at from the highest point of view, which is given in God’s holy will itself, and judged as to their ethical character and value by the absolute standard. The God of absolute truth ( Numbers 23:19; 2 Samuel 15:29) demands truth from his “saints” (comp. Exodus 20:6 with 1 Samuel 19:6 and Proverbs 6:16-19; Deuteronomy 19:11). To the God of truth and faithfulness ( Psalm 40:10-12, 9–11]) the lips must not speak falsehood ( Psalm 34:15, 13]), as David himself declares. Apart, however, from the stand-point of Revelation, David’s conduct to Achish is condemned from the stand-point of natural-human morality by the unsuspecting faithfulness and honor of the heathen king.

59