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1 Samuel
Chapter Twenty-seven
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 27
David,
fearing he should perish by the hand of Saul at one time or another, went into
the land of the Philistines, which Saul hearing of, sought no more after him, 1 Samuel 27:1; and
finding favour in the eyes of the king of Gath, desired a place in his country
might be given him to reside in; and accordingly Ziklag was given him, 1 Samuel 27:5; from
whence he made excursions into the land of the Amalekites, and others, and
utterly destroyed them; but imposed on the king of Gath, pretending he had made
his road into the southern parts of Judah, 1 Samuel 27:8.
1 Samuel 27:1 And David said
in his heart, “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; and Saul will despair of me, to seek me anymore in any part of
Israel. So I shall escape out of his hand.”
YLT
1And David saith unto his
heart, `Now am I consumed one day by the hand of Saul; there is nothing for me
better than that I diligently escape unto the land of the Philistines, and Saul
hath been despairing of me -- of seeking me any more in all the border of
Israel, and I have escaped out of his hand.'
And David said in his heart,.... Within himself, and
to himself; while he was pondering things in his own mind, and considering the
circumstances in which he was, and things appearing, very gloomy to him, he
falls into a fit of unbelief and thus addresses himself:
I shall now one day perish by the hand of Saul; for though he
was returned to his place, he knew he was restless and uneasy, very inconstant
and unstable, and not at all to be depended on; yea, he might conclude that
Saul, observing that God was with him in protecting and defending him, and by
delivering him into his hands once and again, he would be the more jealous of
him, and envious at him, and seek all opportunities and advantages against him;
and he feared that one time or another such would offer, and would be taken,
and so he should perish by him: this was a strange fit of unbelief he was sunk
into, and very unaccountable and unreasonable it was, had he but considered his
being anointed king by the Lord, the promise of God to him, which could not
fail, and the providence of God that watched over him from time to time:
there is nothing better
for me than that I should speedily escape into the land of the Philistines; which may
seem strange, when he was advised by the Prophet Gad to depart from the land of
Moab, and go into the land of Judah, 1 Samuel 22:5, and
where he had been so wonderfully preserved; and when he was in so much danger,
when in the land of the Philistines before, insomuch that he was obliged to
feign himself mad, 1 Samuel 21:13; and
seeing this also was the very thing he lately dreaded, and cursed the men that
should be the cause of his going out of his own land into an idolatrous one:
and Saul shall despair of me, to seek me any more in any coast of
Israel; hearing that he was gone into a foreign country, would seek for
him no more in any part of the land of israel, and so despair of ever getting
him into his hands, would lay aside all thoughts about him for the future:
so shall I escape out of his hand; and be for ever safe:
these were the carnal reasonings of his mind, under the prevalence of unbelief;
and shows what poor weak creatures the best of men are, and how low their
graces may sink as to exercise, when left to themselves.
1 Samuel 27:2 2 Then
David arose and went over with the six hundred men who were with him to
Achish the son of Maoch, king of Gath.
YLT
2And David riseth, and
passeth over, he and six hundred men who [are] with him, unto Achish son of
Maoch king of Gath;
And David arose,.... From the place where he was:
and he passed over; the borders of land of Canaan:
with the six hundred men that were with him; having
neither lost any, nor had any added to him, since he was at Keilah, 1 Samuel 23:13,
unto Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath; whether this
was the same Achish David was with before, 1 Samuel 21:10, is
not certain; it seems as if he was not the same, since he is described as the
son of Maoch, as if it was to distinguish him from him; though it is not
improbable that he was the same person. Some thinkF1Hieron. Trad.
Heb, in 2 Reg. fol. 78. E. that he is described not from his father, but from
his mother, whose name was Maacha. The circumstances of David were now very
much altered from what they were when he went to Gath before; then he went
secretly, now openly; then as a person unknown, now as well known; then alone,
now with six hundred men; then when discovered he was seized by the princes of
Gath, and brought before the king, and was driven from his presence; but now he
came either at the invitation of Achish, hearing how he had been treated by
Saul, and thinking to attach him to his interest, and make him more and more
the enemy of Saul, and so free himself from a very powerful one, and of whose
wisdom and prudence, and military skill, and courage, and valour, he might hope
to avail himself; or David sent an embassy to him, to treat with him about his
coming into his country, and settlement in it, and terms to mutual satisfaction
were agreed upon.
1 Samuel 27:3 3 So
David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, and
David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the
Carmelitess, Nabal’s widow.
YLT
3and David dwelleth with
Achish in Gath, he and his men, each one with his household, [even] David and
his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail wife of Nabal the
Carmelitess.
And David dwelt with Achish at Gath,.... The metropolis of
his kingdom, called, 1 Samuel 27:5, the
royal city:
he and his men, every man with his household; or family;
which they brought with them, to secure them from the malice of Saul; who in
their absence might have destroyed them, as being the families of traitors and
fugitives, and might be the more readily received by Achish, as he might hope
for some advantage front them; and besides were pledges of their fidelity to
him, and of their design to continue with him:
even David with his
two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife; who had been
the wife of Nabal; of these See Gill on 1 Samuel 25:43.
1 Samuel 27:4 4 And
it was told Saul that David had fled to Gath; so he sought him no more.
YLT
4And it is declared to Saul
that David hath fled to Gath, and he hath not added any more to seek him.
And it was told Saul that David was fled to Gath,.... Who very
probably had his spies out to watch his motions, and report to him where he
was, and what he was doing:
and he sought no more again for him; by which it seems as if
he would have sought after him again, had he continued in the land of Israel;
but now being gone, and in an enemy's country, and having nothing to fear from
him while there, he laid aside all thoughts of seeking after him.
1 Samuel 27:5 5 Then David said to Achish,
“If I have now found favor in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town
in the country, that I may dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in
the royal city with you?”
YLT
5And David saith unto
Achish, `If, I pray thee, I have found grace in thine eyes, they give to me a
place in one of the cities of the field, and I dwell there, yea, why doth thy
servant dwell in the royal city with thee?'
And David said unto Achish,.... After he had been
some time with him:
if I have now found grace in thine eyes; or was in
favour, as he thought himself to be, by various instances of respect shown him:
let them give me a place in some town in the country, that I may
dwell there: he does not ask for a city or town, but a place in one of them,
though one was given him; but of whom he asks it, it is not easy to say; though
it is certain that Achish gave it him, 1 Samuel 27:6.
Perhaps he might desire it might be given him by Achish, with the consent of
his princes and nobles, or at least of his privy council; that so it might be
to general satisfaction, and the grant more authentic; though it may be
impersonally read, as in the Vulgate Latin version, "let there be given me",
&c. David's view in this might be partly to prevent the envy of the
courtiers of Achish, who might think that David was too near the king, and
might have too great an interest in him, and receive too many of his favours,
and become his chief confidant and prime minister; and partly to preserve
himself and people from all temptations to idolatry, and corruptions in
religion; as also that ho might have an opportunity, without the knowledge of
Achish, to fall upon the enemies of Israel; though the excuse he made was as
follows:
for why should thy servant dwell in the royal city with thee? for so Gath
was; and six hundred men and their families might seem to crowd the city; and
this reasoning of his might suggest, that he and his men were a straitening of
him, and a burden on him; and it might seem as if he was a rival with him in
state and dignity, when he was no other than a servant of his.
1 Samuel 27:6 6 So Achish gave him Ziklag
that day. Therefore Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah to this day.
YLT 6And Achish giveth to him in
that day Ziklag, therefore hath Ziklag been to the kings of Judah till this
day.
Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day,.... A city
which in the division of the land was given to the tribe of Judah, and after
that to the tribe of Simeon, Joshua 15:31;
though it seems not to have been possessed by either of them, at least not
long, but soon came into the hands of the Philistines, who kept it till this
time, and now it returned to its right owners; according to BuntingF7Travels,
&c. p. 136. it was twelve miles from Gath:
wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day; not to the
tribe of Judah, though it originally belonged to it, but to the kings of it,
it, being granted to David, who quickly after this became king of Judah; and
this was annexed to the crown lands, and ever after enjoyed by the kings, of
the house of Judah; for this was not given for a temporary habitation, but for
perpetual possession. This clause seems to be added by the continuator of this
history, after the death of Samuel; who might be Gad or Nathan; some say Ezra,
and Abarbinel that Jeremiah was the writer of it.
1 Samuel 27:7 7 Now the time that David
dwelt in the country of the Philistines was one full year and four months.
YLT
7And the number of the days
which David hath dwelt in the field of the Philistines [is] days and four
months;
And the time that David dwelt in the country of the Philistines,.... At Gath
and Ziklag:
was a full year and four months; or "days and four
months"; days being sometimes put for a year, Judges 17:10;
though some interpret it not of a year, but of some few days out of the fifth
month, besides the four months; so Jarchi and Kimchi; and JosephusF8Antiqu.
l. 6. c. 13. sect. 10. makes his abode to be four months and twenty days; but,
according to the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, it was only four
months; and so it may be rendered, "days, that is, four months"; for
according to the Jewish chronologyF9Sepher Olam Rabba c. 13. p. 37.
Samuel died four months before Saul, and this flight of David was after the
death of Samuel, and when Saul died he left the land of the Philistines, and
took the throne of Judah; See Gill on 1 Samuel 25:1.
1 Samuel 27:8 8 And David and his men went
up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites,[a] and the
Amalekites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of
old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Egypt.
YLT
8and David goeth up and his
men, and they push unto the Geshurite, and the Gerizite, and the Amalekite,
(for they are inhabitants of the land from of old), as thou comest in to Shur
and unto the land of Egypt,
And David and his men went up,.... From Ziklag, where
they dwelt:
and invaded the Geshurites; some of the old
inhabitants of the land of Canaan, the remains of the Amorites, whose land was
given to the half tribe of Manasseh, but could never be expelled; and therefore
David had a just right to invade them, and, if he could, either expel or
destroy them; see Deuteronomy 3:14;
these are the Geshurites which are joined with the Philistines, Joshua 13:2,
and the Gezrites; the inhabitants of Gezer, which place fell
to the tribe of Ephraim; but that tribe could not drive out the inhabitants of
it, and therefore David now fell upon them as the enemies of Israel, and seized
on their country, as belonging to them, Joshua 16:3,
and the Amalekites; the sworn and implacable enemies of Israel,
and whose memory they were laid under obligation to root out. These were such
as had escaped the sword of Saul, and had fled to the more distant parts,
against whom David now went; and perhaps these had fled to and mixed themselves
with the people here mentioned:
for these nations were of old the inhabitants of the land; of the land
of Canaan:
as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt; see 1 Samuel 15:7.
1 Samuel 27:9 9 Whenever David attacked
the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away the sheep, the
oxen, the donkeys, the camels, and the apparel, and returned and came to
Achish.
YLT
9and David hath smitten the
land, and doth not keep alive man and woman, and hath taken sheep, and oxen,
and asses, and camels, and garments, and turneth back, and cometh in unto
Achish.
And David smote the land,.... In which the above
mentioned people dwelt, that is, the inhabitants of it:
and left neither man nor woman alive; for these
being the old Canaanites and Amalekites, according to the law of God were not
to be spared, but utterly destroyed; which may be observed to remove the charge
of cruelty that might be brought against David on this account, Deuteronomy 7:2;
though this must be understood of such that came within his reach; for it is
certain there were people of these several names after this; see 1 Samuel 30:1,
and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the
camels,
and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish; at Gath, to
make a report of what he had been about and done; and what he brought was a
good booty for the support of his men and their families.
1 Samuel 27:10 10 Then Achish would say,
“Where have you made a raid today?” And David would say, “Against the southern area
of Judah, or against the southern area of the Jerahmeelites, or against
the southern area of the Kenites.”
YLT
10And Achish saith, `Whither
have ye pushed to-day?' and David saith, `Against the south of Judah, and
against the south of the Jerahmeelite, and unto the south of the Kenite.'
And Achish said, whither have ye made a road today?.... Or
whither had they rushed in, or poured in and spread themselves? or where had
they made their excursion to fetch in the prey and booty they now brought?
and David said, against the south of Judah; he meant
against some people that lay to the south of the land of Judah, without it; but
expressed himself so, that Achish might think he meant the southern parts of
Judah within the country; which, though not a downright lie, was an
equivocation, and made with a design to deceive; and was by no means agreeably
to the character of David, nor to be defended nor imitated:
and against the south of the Jerahmeelites; these were
the descendants of Jerahmeel, the son of Hezron, the grandson of Judah, and so
inhabited in the tribe of Judah, and very probably in the southern part of it, 1 Chronicles 2:9,
and against the south of the Kenites; the posterity
of Jethro; these, at least some of them, at the first seating of the children
of Israel in the land of Canaan, went with the children of Judah into the
wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad, Judges 1:16.
1 Samuel 27:11 11 David would save neither
man nor woman alive, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they should
inform on us, saying, ‘Thus David did.’” And thus was his behavior all
the time he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.
YLT
11Neither man nor woman doth
David keep alive, to bring in [word] to Gath, saying, `Lest they declare [it]
against us, saying, Thus hath David done, and thus [is] his custom all the days
that he hath dwelt in the fields of the Philistines.'
And David saved neither man nor woman alive to bring tidings
to Gath,.... How David had fallen upon these people, and destroyed great
numbers of them, and carried off their substance; which would have given great
offence to Achish, and caused him to have driven him out of his country once
more; though Abarbinel is of opinion that these Geshurites, &c. were haters
and enemies of Achish, and therefore were smitten and spoiled by David; or
otherwise it would have been such a piece of perfidy, rebellion, and
ingratitude, as mast have made the name of David to stink, since it could not
but be known sooner or later; but being the enemies of Achish, no notice was
taken of it afterwards, nor inquiry made about it, nor complaint made of it, by
any of their neighbours: nor does he suppose they were all cut off, and much
less that this was done that it might not be told in Gath what destruction he
had made; but that the sense is, that he did not carry the captives to Gath, to
be disposed of there; for they would have told from whence they came, and so
have contradicted what David said, and what he would have Achish understand, as
if he had been out against and smote some of the cities of Judah, that he might
place the greater confidence in him; which end would not have been answered, if
he had brought any of them to Gath; and so the words may be read without the
supplement we make, "spared neither man nor woman alive to bring to
Gath": and so could tell no tales. Though Josephus expressly saysF11Antiqu.
l. 6. c. 13. sect. 10. that David spared the men, and abstained from the
slaughter of them, fearing lest they should declare to the king what he had
done in plundering them:
saying, lest they should tell on us, saying, so did David: in such and
such places, such numbers of people he destroyed, and such quantities of cattle
and goods he carried off:
and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the
country of the Philistines: this is what may be expected will be done
by him in one place or another, as long as he stays here; nothing will be heard
of but desolation and destruction, in some part of the country of the Philistines
or another; or among those that were tributaries to them; so that it was not
safe that he should be allowed to abide in it.
1 Samuel 27:12 12 So Achish believed David,
saying, “He has made his people Israel utterly abhor him; therefore he will be my
servant forever.”
YLT
12And Achish believeth in
David, saying, `He hath made himself utterly abhorred among his people, in
Israel, and hath been to me for a servant age-during.'
And Achish believed David,.... As he would have him
understand his story; imposing upon him by ambiguous terms, insinuating he had
been against the southern parts of Judah, when he had been against foreign
nations that lay to the south of Judah:
saying, he hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; they shall
never forgive him the destruction of their cities, and the inhabitants of them,
and the plunder of their goods and cattle; his name will be had in the utmost
detestation and abhorrence, and he must never return thither any more:
therefore he shall be my servant for ever: would be glad
to continue with him as a servant, and be obliged to serve him faithfully and
truly, since his own people, and even those of his own tribe, would never more
receive him; it being, as he understood it, the south of Judah that he had been
plundering.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)