1-Samuel 29
[1-Samuel 29:1] NOW THE PHILISTINES GATHERED TOGETHER ALL THEIR ARMIES
TO APHEK: AND THE  ISRAELITES PITCHED BY A FOUNTAIN WHICH IS IN
JEZREEL.

[1-Samuel 29:2] 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.

[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?

[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?
Achish was the leader of the Philistines yet when necessary his princes
were quite prepared to upbraid him and he bowed to their will He was
also deluded by David twice, once when David pretended to be a crazy lunatic
and later when David claimed he had been out  marauding his own people of
Judah whereas in fact he had been razing  Gentile pagan settlements to the
ground.. Nevertheless Achish does not come across as a fool but rather
as a possibly sympathetic personality who felt an affinity for David and
somehow have even wanted to be misled by him.  This feeling may have been
mutual since we find that David after becoming king and defeating the
Philistines kept Achish  (or his sucessor) alive as a tributary monarch in Gath
(1-Kings 2:39-40).  Later David married the daughter of the King of
Geshur  (2-Samuel 3:3). David when he became king also  had the Plethi
and Creti who were probably foreign mercenaries as part of his personal
bodyguard as well as men from Gath:
"ALL THE CHERETHITES, AND ALL THE   PELETHITES, AND ALL THE GITTITES,
SIX HUNDRED MEN WHICH CAME AFTER HIM FROM GATH"  [2-Samuel 15:18].
Alternately, tt may be that the 600 men spoken of here were the
Israelites who had served with him under Achish in Gath or it may be that they
were Philistines or other non-Israelites  who would normally have been found
in Philistine employ.  Sat all events, foreigners would not be strangers
at the Court of King David as we shall see again later.  So too,  David
was
not entirely a stranger at the Court of King Achish. Even in the time
of Saul there were indications that Hebrew served with the Philistines
cf.  1-Samuel 14:21 [A point we have not examined but which may be
worth noticing is the frequent use of the Term "Hebrew" instead of
"Israelite" in the Books of  Samuel.

[1-Samuel 29:5] IS NOT THIS DAVID, OF WHOM THEY SANG ONE TO ANOTHER IN
DANCES, SAYING, SAUL SLEW HIS THOUSANDS, AND DAVID HIS TEN
THOUSANDS?

[1-Samuel 29:6] 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.

[1-Samuel 29:7] WHEREFORE NOW RETURN, AND GO IN PEACE, THAT THOU
DISPLEASE NOT THE   LORDS OF THE PHILISTINES.

[1-Samuel 29:8] 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?

[1-Samuel 29:9] 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.

[1-Samuel 29:10] 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.

[1-Samuel 29:11] 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.

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SAMUEL INDEX