1-Samuel 27
[1-Samuel 27:1] AND DAVID SAID IN HIS HEART, I SHALL NOW PERISH ONE DAY
BY THE HAND OF  SAUL: THERE IS NOTHING BETTER FOR ME THAN THAT I SHOULD
SPEEDILY ESCAPE INTO THE LAND OF  THE PHILISTINES; AND SAUL SHALL
DESPAIR OF ME, TO SEEK ME ANY MORE IN ANY COAST OF ISRAEL: SO SHALL I ESCAPE
OUT OF HIS HAND.

[1-Samuel 27:2] AND DAVID AROSE, AND HE PASSED OVER WITH THE SIX
HUNDRED MEN THAT WERE WITH HIM UNTO ACHISH, THE SON OF MAOCH, KING OF GATH.
We Saw above (chapter 21:11-15) how once before David had fled to the
Court of Achish. He  had then found himself in danger and been forced to
pretend he was a madman so they would not harm him in accordance with an
Ancient Taboo that was then held and still is sometimes. Prior to that he had
fought against Achish and must have acquired a degree of familiarity
with him. An enemies in warfare sometimes develop a kind of mutual respect
and even liking for each other.  This is exceptional but it does happen. 
It may even be that on the previous occasion Achish intuited that David
was not really barmy but he played along for the sake of his followers.  In
all nations it is usually the intellectuals and leadership who will switch
sides (for better or for worse) with much more alacrity than the
commoners. The Philistines contained elements from the Mycenean and Anatolian
(modern Turkey)  areas as well as from Cyprus and Crete but a good proportion
of the population was of Canaanite stock.  The cultural surroundings of
the Philistines were overwhelmingly Canaanite. Here and there
archaeologists have found the exist of strange customs such as a sacred graveyard for
dogs in the Philistine city of Ashkelon and a few inscriptions that could
not (yet) be deciphered as well as Mycenean (Greek) type artifacts  but on
the whole the Philistines were Canaanite in culture and what was not
Cananite was Egyptian or an imitation of Egyptian.
On the whole they spoke a similar language to that of the Hebrews and
at the popular level their customs and psychology may have ben similar.
Shimeon ben Ephrat also points out that it was not unknown in Biblical
times for warriors to change sides and the phenomenon is recalled in
Greek legends from Mycenean (Greek) times.  David was a renowned warrior and
he arrived with 600 tried and tested warriors of formidable ability.  In
the eyes of ACHISH if David and his men really were changing sides then
they would have been considered a very valuable acquisition.

    Yehudah Kiel ("Daat Mikra") quotes an opinion that the Achish  to
whom David came over with his men was a different monarch from that to whom
David had previously pretended to be a lunatic.  It is quite frequent
for all the rulers of certain dynasties to bear the same name.

[1-Samuel 27:3] AND DAVID DWELT WITH ACHISH AT GATH, HE AND HIS MEN,
EVERY MAN WITH HIS HOUSEHOLD, EVEN DAVID WITH HIS TWO WIVES, AHINOAM THE
JEZREELITESS, AND ABIGAIL THE CARMELITESS, NABAL'S WIFE.

[1-Samuel 27:4] AND IT WAS TOLD SAUL THAT DAVID WAS FLED TO GATH: AND
HE SOUGHT NO MORE AGAIN FOR HIM.
It could be that part from David no longer being within his realm the
fact that David had apparently crossed sides  in the eyes of Saul  may have
permanently impaired his ability to return and lead Israelites in the
future, i.e. Saul ceased to search him out since he was no longer a
threat to he monarchy.

[1-Samuel 27:5] AND DAVID SAID UNTO ACHISH, IF I HAVE NOW FOUND GRACE
IN THINE EYES, LET THEM GIVE ME A PLACE IN SOME TOWN IN THE COUNTRY, THAT
I MAY DWELL THERE: FOR WHY  SHOULD THY SERVANT DWELL IN THE ROYAL CITY
WITH THEE?

[1-Samuel 27:6] THEN ACHISH GAVE HIM ZIKLAG THAT DAY: WHEREFORE ZIKLAG
PERTAINETH UNTO  THE KINGS OF JUDAH UNTO THIS DAY..
Ziklag was in the south and had originally been given by the Tribe of
Judah to Simeon (Joshua 19:5) but apparently the Philistines had taken it
away from them.

[1-Samuel 27:7] AND THE TIME THAT DAVID DWELT IN THE COUNTRY OF THE
PHILISTINES WAS A FULL YEAR AND FOUR MONTHS.
  "A FULL YEAR": Hebrew "yamim" literally meaning "days" but often used
to express a full year. Even so  "yamim" could also be used for a period
of less than a year and one opinion says here it means only a few days. We
thus are not sure whether David stayed with the Philistines for a year
and four months or for only a few days more than four months which to my
mind seems the most likely in this case.

[1-Samuel 27:8] AND DAVID AND HIS MEN WENT UP, AND INVADED THE
GESHURITES, AND THE  GEZRITES, AND THE AMALEKITES: FOR THOSE NATIONS WERE OF OLD
THE INHABITANTS OF THE LAND, AS THOU GOEST TO SHUR, EVEN UNTO THE LAND OF EGYPT.

[1-Samuel 27:9] AND DAVID SMOTE THE LAND, AND LEFT NEITHER MAN NOR
WOMAN ALIVE, AND   TOOK AWAY THE SHEEP, AND THE OXEN, AND THE ASSES, AND THE
CAMELS, AND THE APPAREL, AND RETURNED, AND CAME TO ACHISH.

[1-Samuel 27:10] AND ACHISH SAID, WHITHER HAVE YE MADE A ROAD TO DAY?
AND DAVID SAID, AGAINST THE SOUTH OF JUDAH, AND AGAINST THE SOUTH OF THE
JERAHMEELITES, AND AGAINST THE SOUTH OF THE KENITES.

[1-Samuel 27:11] AND DAVID SAVED NEITHER MAN NOR WOMAN ALIVE, TO BRING
TIDINGS TO GATH, SAYING, LEST THEY SHOULD TELL ON US, SAYING, SO DID
DAVID, AND SO WILL BE HIS MANNER ALL THE WHILE HE DWELLETH IN THE COUNTRY OF
THE PHILISTINES.

[1-Samuel 27:12] AND ACHISH BELIEVED DAVID, SAYING, HE HATH MADE HIS
PEOPLE ISRAEL  UTTERLY TO ABHOR HIM; THEREFORE HE SHALL BE MY SERVANT FOR EVER.
It says much for the 600 followers of David that David could utter an
untruth of such magnitude and be confident that none of his men would
talk and neither would any of their womenfolk unless they were that
disciplined and dedicated so that even to their wives the secret was not divulged..



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