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.

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?

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.

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.

Commentary

Verse 1

Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary
David objected to by the Philistines.
David waited with a secret hope that the Lord would help him out of his difficulty. But he seems to have been influenced too much by the fear of man, in consenting to attend Achish. It is hard to come near to the brink of sin, and not to fall in. God inclined the princes of the Philistines to oppose David's being employed in the battle. Thus their dislike befriended him, when no friend could do him such a kindness.
McArther Bible Commentary
gathered … encamped. The Philistines were assembling for battle while the Israelites were still camping by the spring. This picks up the story line originally started in 1Sa 28:1, but which was sidelined to communicate Saul's encounter with the medium. Aphek. Located about twenty-four miles north of Gath (cf. 1Sa 4:1). Jezreel. Only a few miles south of Shunem, and forty miles northeast of Aphek, Jezreel was north of Mt. Gilboa.
Bible Cross References
Joshua 12:18 Joshua 19:30 1 Samuel 4:1 1 Samuel 28:1 1 Samuel 28:25 2 Samuel 2:9 2 Samuel 5:17 1 Kings 20:30 1 Kings 21:1 2 Kings 9:30 Psalm 83:7

Verse 2

Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary
David objected to by the Philistines.
David waited with a secret hope that the Lord would help him out of his difficulty. But he seems to have been influenced too much by the fear of man, in consenting to attend Achish. It is hard to come near to the brink of sin, and not to fall in. God inclined the princes of the Philistines to oppose David's being employed in the battle. Thus their dislike befriended him, when no friend could do him such a kindness.
John Wesley's Bible Commentary
With Achish - As the life - guard of Achish. Achish being, as it seems, the general of the army.
Bible Cross References
Numbers 10:25 1 Samuel 28:1 1 Samuel 28:2 1 Chronicles 12:19

Verse 3

Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary
David objected to by the Philistines.
David waited with a secret hope that the Lord would help him out of his difficulty. But he seems to have been influenced too much by the fear of man, in consenting to attend Achish. It is hard to come near to the brink of sin, and not to fall in. God inclined the princes of the Philistines to oppose David's being employed in the battle. Thus their dislike befriended him, when no friend could do him such a kindness.
John Wesley's Bible Commentary
The princes - The Lords of the other eminent cities, who were confederate with him in this expedition. These days or years - That is, did I say days? I might have said years. He hath now been with me a full year and four months, (1 Samuel 27:7) , and he was with me some years ago, (1 Samuel 21:10) , and since their time hath been known to me. And it is not improbable, but David, after his escape from thence, might hold some correspondence with Achish, as finding him to be a man of a more generous temper than the rest of the Philistines, and supposing that he might have need of him for a refuge, in case Saul continued to seek his life. Since he fell - Revolted, or left his own king to turn to me.
McArther Bible Commentary
no fault. David had proven himself as an honorable and righteous man before Achish, who knew that he could trust David.
Bible Cross References
1 Samuel 27:1 1 Samuel 27:7 1 Samuel 29:6 1 Chronicles 12:19 1 Chronicles 12:20 Daniel 6:5

Verse 4

Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary
David objected to by the Philistines.
David waited with a secret hope that the Lord would help him out of his difficulty. But he seems to have been influenced too much by the fear of man, in consenting to attend Achish. It is hard to come near to the brink of sin, and not to fall in. God inclined the princes of the Philistines to oppose David's being employed in the battle. Thus their dislike befriended him, when no friend could do him such a kindness.
John Wesley's Bible Commentary
Make this fellow - Herein the wise and gracious providence of God appeared, both in helping him out of these difficulties, out of which no human wit could have extricated him, but he must have been, an ungrateful person either to the one or the other side, and moreover in giving him the happy opportunity of recovering his own, and his all from the Amalekites, which had been irrecoverably lost, if he had gone into this battle. And the kindness of God to David was the greater, because it had been most just for God to have left David in those distresses into which his own sinful counsel had brought him. These men - That is, of these our soldiers, they speak according to the rules of true policy; for by this very course, great enemies have sometimes been reconciled together.
McArther Bible Commentary
he become our adversary. The Philistine lords were not as willing as Achish to give favor and trust to David. Being very shrewd in their estimation of potential hazards, they realized that he might be feigning loyalty to the Philistines in order to seize a strategic moment in the battle when he could betray and fight against them.
Bible Cross References
1 Samuel 14:21 1 Samuel 27:6 1 Samuel 29:9 1 Samuel 30:1

Verse 5

Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary
David objected to by the Philistines.
David waited with a secret hope that the Lord would help him out of his difficulty. But he seems to have been influenced too much by the fear of man, in consenting to attend Achish. It is hard to come near to the brink of sin, and not to fall in. God inclined the princes of the Philistines to oppose David's being employed in the battle. Thus their dislike befriended him, when no friend could do him such a kindness.
McArther Bible Commentary
David, of whom they sang. The fame of David had spread throughout the land. The Philistine lords were no stranger to the skill and the victories that God had given to mighty David.
Bible Cross References
Exodus 15:20 1 Samuel 18:7 1 Samuel 21:11

Verse 6

Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary
He is dismissed by Achish.
David scarcely ever had a greater deliverance than when dismissed from such insnaring service. God's people should always behave themselves so, as, if possible, to get the good word of all they have dealings with: and it is due to those who have acted well, to speak well of them.
McArther Bible Commentary
as the Lord lives. When seeking the highest standard by which to assure David of his credibility, Achish swore by the existence of David's God. It is evident that the pagan world knows of God, but the irony is that their knowledge does not necessarily lead to repentance.
Bible Cross References
1 Samuel 5:8 1 Samuel 27:8 1 Samuel 29:3 1 Samuel 29:7 2 Samuel 3:25 2 Kings 19:27 Isaiah 37:28

Verse 7

Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary
He is dismissed by Achish.
David scarcely ever had a greater deliverance than when dismissed from such insnaring service. God's people should always behave themselves so, as, if possible, to get the good word of all they have dealings with: and it is due to those who have acted well, to speak well of them.
Bible Cross References
1 Samuel 29:6 1 Samuel 29:8

Verse 8

Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary
He is dismissed by Achish.
David scarcely ever had a greater deliverance than when dismissed from such insnaring service. God's people should always behave themselves so, as, if possible, to get the good word of all they have dealings with: and it is due to those who have acted well, to speak well of them.
John Wesley's Bible Commentary
David said &c. - This was deep dissimulation and flattery, no way to be justified. None knows, how strong a temptation they are in to compliment and dissemble, which they are in who attend great men.
McArther Bible Commentary
the enemies of my lord the king? David's fidelity to Achish seemed to be at its climax in this expression of loyalty. David appears to have been fully prepared to do battle on behalf of Achish against his enemies, namely, Israel. In light of David's former refusal to stretch out his hand against the Lord's anointed (1Sa 24:6, 1Sa 24:10; 1Sa 26:9, 1Sa 26:11, 1Sa 26:21), David might have been capitulating and compromising. He did not inquire of the Lord before going to live with Achish, nor did he inquire of the Lord as to whether he should go out to battle with Achish. On the other hand, it could be that while David gave the appearance of loyalty, he actually believed the Philistines would not let him go out to battle, just as it actually happened (cf. 1Sa 27:8-12). The providence of God kept David from fighting against the Lord's anointed and his own countrymen.
Bible Cross References
1 Samuel 27:10 1 Samuel 29:7

Verse 9

Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary
He is dismissed by Achish.
David scarcely ever had a greater deliverance than when dismissed from such insnaring service. God's people should always behave themselves so, as, if possible, to get the good word of all they have dealings with: and it is due to those who have acted well, to speak well of them.
John Wesley's Bible Commentary
Angel of God - In whom nothing is blame - worthy. The Heathens 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.
McArther Bible Commentary
an angel of God. The degree to which Achish praised David has led some to believe that his eulogy was merely a formal attempt at flattery.
Bible Cross References
1 Samuel 29:4 2 Samuel 14:17 2 Samuel 14:20 2 Samuel 19:27

Verse 10

Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary
He is dismissed by Achish.
David scarcely ever had a greater deliverance than when dismissed from such insnaring service. God's people should always behave themselves so, as, if possible, to get the good word of all they have dealings with: and it is due to those who have acted well, to speak well of them.
Bible Cross References
1 Samuel 29:11 1 Chronicles 12:19 1 Chronicles 12:22

Verse 11

Matthew Henry's Concise Bible Commentary
He is dismissed by Achish.
David scarcely ever had a greater deliverance than when dismissed from such insnaring service. God's people should always behave themselves so, as, if possible, to get the good word of all they have dealings with: and it is due to those who have acted well, to speak well of them.
John Wesley's Bible Commentary
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 he say, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter?
McArther Bible Commentary
Jezreel. This was used to designate both a city about fifty-six miles north of Jerusalem as well as the plain of Jezreel, which served as a major battlefield for many nations. The city was situated in the territory of Issachar (Jos 19:18). It was bounded on the north and south by Megiddo and Beth Shean (1Ki 4:12) and on the west and east by Mt. Carmel and Mt. Gilboa.
Bible Cross References
Joshua 15:56 1 Samuel 29:10 1 Samuel 30:1