1 Samuelchapter 29
11 verses · Samuel, Nathan and Gad, by tradition · 10th century BC · History
Then the commanders of the Philistines asked, “What about these Hebrews?” Achish replied, “Is this not David, the servant of King Saul of Israel? He has been with me all these days, even years, and from the day he defected until today I have found no fault in him.”
Introduction
Samuel, Nathan and Gad, by tradition, History, 1 Samuel Overview.
This chapter answers a question every later Israelite would ask about David and the battle where Saul died. The Philistine armies are gathering, and David marches in their rear guard with the king he has served. Listen to the Philistine commanders and the song they remember. Listen to Achish praise a man whose deception he never discovered, and to the oath he swears. Listen above all to David's reply, and ask which lord and which enemies he means. The dismissal turns out to be a rescue.
Context
- Who
- Israelites who needed to know whether their king had fought against Israel
- What
- An account of the Philistine commanders refusing to let David march with them, and of Achish sending him home.
- Where
- Aphek on the coastal plain, where the Philistine forces mustered before moving north to Jezreel.
- When
- The eve of the battle of Gilboa; on the common reckoning about 1010 BC.
- Why
- To show that David had no part in the battle where Saul died, and that God brought him out of a trap of his own making.
Historical context
The chapter belongs to David, who is here a vassal captain in a Philistine order of battle, and to Achish, who has trusted him for sixteen months.
Show the rest of the historical context, 5 more paragraphs
The time is the muster before Gilboa, within days of the battle. The site places it about 1010 BC.
The place is Aphek on the coastal plain, the same staging point from which the Philistines marched when the ark was lost in chapter 4. Israel is camped at the spring in Jezreel, to the north.
The occasion is a review of troops. The five Philistine rulers pass their units in order, by hundreds and by thousands, and David's six hundred come up in the rear with Achish.
A first hearer knew the objection the commanders raise was professional rather than personal. A mercenary unit with old ties to the enemy is a standard way to lose a battle, and they say so at verse 4. Yigael Yadin describes the review and the ordering of units as real procedure.
A first hearer also caught the weight of the song they quote at verse 5. Philistine officers knew Israel's victory songs by heart, which is itself a measure of how thoroughly David had beaten them. The same words had made his name at 18:7 and had followed him to Gath at 21:11.
Significance
The chapter answers a question a later Israelite would certainly ask. It says plainly that David was sent home before the march, over the protest of the man who wanted him there.
Show the rest of the significance, 2 more paragraphs
It also shows a man taken out of a trap he had walked into by his own reasoning. He was removed by the suspicion of enemy generals who did not trust him.
The dismissal is the deliverance in a second sense. Sent away at first light, David and his men march south, which is the only reason they reach Ziklag when they do.
This chapter in Jewish lifeWhat this chapter is in Jewish life and reading.
How it is read
The corpus holds one commented verse of this chapter in English, and it is a note on a single word. On the Philistine lords asking about David, Rashi reads the verb of his stay as dwelling (Rashi on I Samuel 29:3:1, the Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J., CC-BY). He points to Bereishis 25:18 for the same sense (same ref). The rest of the chapter is commented across by three writers whose English the corpus does not hold, so they stand as citations. Malbim comments at I Samuel 29:1:1, 29:2:1, 29:4:1, 29:5:1, 29:6:1, 29:7:1, 29:8:1 and 29:9:1. Metzudat David comments at 29:2:1, 29:3:1, 29:4:1, 29:5:1, 29:6:1, 29:7:1, 29:8:1, 29:9:1 and 29:10:1. Radak comments at 29:2:1, 29:3:1, 29:4:1, 29:5:1, 29:6:1 and 29:10:1. The corpus holds twenty-four comments on this chapter and one rabbinic locator. That this weighting fits a chapter turning on a council of war rather than on a saying is the writer's reading.
What the rabbis say
The corpus records one rabbinic locator on this chapter, a Midrash without text. The Philistine lords' question about the Hebrew with Achish draws Midrash Tehillim 34:1. The rabbis teach in that place, and this site reports it as their teaching rather than as a rule of the text.
Sources: Rashi, Rashi on I Samuel 29:3:1, the Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J., CC-BY; Malbim, Malbim on I Samuel 29:1:1, 29:2:1, 29:4:1, 29:5:1, 29:6:1, 29:7:1, 29:8:1 and 29:9:1, cited only, no English version in the corpus; Metzudat David, Metzudat David on I Samuel 29:2:1, 29:3:1, 29:4:1, 29:5:1, 29:6:1, 29:7:1, 29:8:1, 29:9:1 and 29:10:1, cited only; Radak, Radak on I Samuel 29:2:1, 29:3:1, 29:4:1, 29:5:1, 29:6:1 and 29:10:1, cited only.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
The Philistine lords will not have David in the battle
1 Samuel 29:1-2
the Philistines brought all their forces together at Aphek: The Philistines gather at Aphek while Israel camps in Jezreel. David marches behind with Achish at the last stage of the outlaw years that began at Adullam. Henry and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the chapter opens with David inside the army marching toward the field where Saul dies.
1 Samuel 29:1
“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.”
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
1 Samuel 29:1
“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.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
David and his men marched behind them with Achish: David's men march at the rear as the bodyguard of Achish, the post he was given at 28:2, as Albert Barnes notes. Matthew Henry names the trap David stood in. If Saul fell in this battle, the blame would be laid at David's door.
1 Samuel 29:2
“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.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
1 Samuel 29:2
“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.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Samuel 29:2
“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.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 Samuel 29:3-4
The commanders answer that David could regain Saul's favour only with Philistine heads. Clarke and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that their suspicion sits closer to the truth than Achish's trust. David had spent his time at Ziklag raiding peoples he never named to his Philistine lord.
1 Samuel 29:3
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?”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
the commanders of the Philistines were angry with Achish: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown fault David for what he tells Achish, offering to fight against the enemies when he likely had no purpose to fight. They see an earlier false step bearing its fruit. The anger of the commanders keeps David out of the battle.
1 Samuel 29:4
“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.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Samuel 29:4
“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.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
The song first sung by Israel's women at 18:7 returns here from Philistine mouths. It does the opposite work now, praise that once cost David Saul's jealousy costs him a place in the Philistine line. His own reputation becomes the means that keeps him off the field at Gilboa.
1 Samuel 29:5
“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.”
Sent back at daybreak, good as an angel of God
1 Samuel 29:6-7
Achish swears “As surely as the LORD lives,” a Philistine king using the covenant name of Israel's God. Some older commentators read it as something learned in David's company. He lays the whole dismissal on the leaders and praises David in the same breath he sends him away.
1 Samuel 29:6
“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.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Samuel 29:6
“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? He hath now been with me a full year and four months, chap. xxvii, 7, and he was with me some years ago, chap. xxi, 10, and since their time hath been known to me.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
turn back now and go in peace: Achish sends David back before the leaders take fresh offense. Matthew Henry says the early start served the same end, as the leaders would grow more suspicious if David stayed. Albert Barnes sees Providence in the dismissal, which sent David home in time to recover his wives at Ziklag.
1 Samuel 29:8-9
David protests he has done nothing, and Wesley reads the protest as performance, since David had let Achish believe he raided Judah. Achish finds David as pleasing as an angel of God, which Henry sets beside Zechariah's promise. Henry names the difference between a court compliment and a divine word.
1 Samuel 29:8
“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.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Samuel 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.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
pleasing in my sight as an angel of God: Achish compares David to an angel of God, and Wesley takes the phrase to mean one in whom no fault is found, as Achish said. Wesley adds that the nations also believed in good spirits who served God as messengers. Adam Clarke thinks Achish learned the phrase from David.
1 Samuel 29:9
“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.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
1 Samuel 29:9
“What Achish says of David, God, by the prophet, says of the house of David ( Zech. xii. 8 ), that it shall be as the angel of the Lord. But the former is a court-compliment; the latter is a divine promise.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 Samuel 29:10-11
get up early in the morning, along with your master’s servants who came with you: David and his men return toward Philistine land while the Philistines go up to Jezreel. Wesley reads the timing as providence, since God knew Ziklag needed a rescuer before David did. Keil and Delitzsch note the chapter removes David from the field where Saul falls, so his hand is clear.
1 Samuel 29:10
“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.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
So David and his men got up early: The verse parts the armies, David south toward Ziklag and the Philistines north to Jezreel for the battle in which Saul falls. Bede drew on the meaning of the place names, Jezreel as the seed of God and Aphek as new wrath. Three days later David reaches a burned Ziklag.
1 Samuel 29:11
“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.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)evangelical
How this psalm is built
The form: Narrative, a council scene at a muster, in which a foreign king's testimonial is overruled by his own commanders, as Jamieson, Fausset & Brown classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Saul has slain his thousands, sung a third time | The song the women of Israel sang at 18:7 is quoted here at verse 5 by Philistine commanders. It had cost David Saul's favour when Israel sang it, and it costs him a place in the Philistine line when Gath sings it. The store's exposition note on verse 5 records the reversal, that his own reputation is the means that keeps him off the field at Gilboa.John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament, 1748 to 1763, on 1 Samuel 29:5. | 1 Samuel 29:5, 1 Samuel 18:7, 1 Samuel 21:11 |
| I have found no fault in him, said twice | Achish clears David to the commanders at verse 3 and then to David's face at verse 6, in almost the same words both times. At verse 9 he adds a third form of it, that David is as pleasing in his sight as an angel of God. The store's exposition note on verses 3 to 4 records that the commanders' suspicion sits closer to the truth than the king's trust.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on 1 Samuel 29:3. | 1 Samuel 29:3, 1 Samuel 29:6, 1 Samuel 29:9 |
| What have I done, put to a Philistine king | David's protest at verse 8 uses the same form he used to Saul at 26:18, what have I done and what evil is in my hand. The store's exposition note on verses 8 to 9 records that several of the older writers read the protest as performance. David had led Achish to believe he was raiding Israelite towns while striking Israel's enemies at 27:8 to 10. The text gives the words and no verdict.John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765, on 1 Samuel 29:8. | 1 Samuel 29:8, 1 Samuel 26:18, 1 Samuel 27:10 |
| Two armies named at the top and the bottom of the chapter | Verse 1 puts the Philistines at Aphek and Israel by the spring in Jezreel. Verse 11 sends David south to Philistine territory and the Philistines north to Jezreel. The chapter opens and closes on the same two movements, and between them the one man who belonged to neither army is removed from the field.Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710, on 1 Samuel 29:1. | 1 Samuel 29:1, 1 Samuel 29:11 |
The historical value
12 more paragraphs on the patterns
The two places in verse 1 are the campaign's own geography. The Philistines gather at Aphek and Israel camps by the spring in Jezreel, which is the ground the battle of chapter 31 is fought over. The store's exposition note on verses 1 to 2 records that Jezreel is where Saul's line falls two chapters later.
The chapter shows how a Philistine army was organised. Verse 2 has the leaders marching out units of hundreds and thousands, with David and his men behind them. Verse 4 shows the commanders overruling the king of Gath in council, which is the kind of decision the five lords of the Philistines are shown taking elsewhere in the book.
The site carries the identification of ancient Gath with Tell es-Safi in this book's dossier, which is the city Achish rules and the place David had been living since 27:3.
The debated concept
Whether David intended to fight against Israel is the chapter's open question, and Scripture gives no answer. His reply to Achish at 28:2 commits to nothing while sounding like consent, as the store's exposition note on verses 1 to 2 of chapter 28 records. His protest here at verse 8 asks why he may not go and fight the enemies of my lord the king, and the phrase can be read of Achish or of Saul. The store's exposition note on verses 8 to 9 records that several of the older writers read the protest as performance rather than sincerity. Matthew Henry and John Wesley both take that line. The narrator states the words and makes no judgment.
What Achish's oath at verse 6 shows is read two ways in the store's note on verses 6 to 7. Some of the older writers take a Philistine king swearing by the covenant name as a mark of what he had picked up in a year and four months of David's company. Others take it as the courtesy of a man swearing by the god of the person he is addressing. The text records the oath and explains nothing.
Whether the compliment at verse 9 carries any weight is a smaller question the writers raise. Matthew Henry, cited in the store's note on verses 8 to 9, sets the court compliment beside a prophecy. Achish says David is as an angel of God, and Zechariah promises that the house of David would be as the angel of the LORD. Henry names the difference between the two rather than letting them merge.
The divine connection
The chapter records no word from the LORD, and the older writers read the whole of it as providence working through Philistine suspicion. John Wesley, cited in the store's note on verses 10 to 11, holds that David did not yet know Ziklag needed him. God did know, and sent him back exactly when a raided home called for a rescuer. That is a reading of the sequence rather than a claim the text makes. What the text supplies is the timing, David marching south at verse 11 and reaching a burned town on the third day at 30:1.
The second effect is the one the whole following book rests on. David is absent from the battle in which Saul dies, so no one can say that the man who took the throne helped to empty it. The chapter does not say this, and the narrative of 2 Samuel 1 to 4 depends on it throughout.
How the rest of Scripture reads this chapter
The New Testament does not cite 1 Samuel 29. Within the Old Testament the song of verse 5 is the thread. It is sung by the women of Israel at 18:7, quoted by the servants of Achish at 21:11, and quoted by the commanders here. The same march is told from the other side at 1 Chronicles 12:19 to 22. That passage records the men of Manasseh who deserted to David as he went up with the Philistines, and states that the Philistine lords sent him away.
Keep studying
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, 1832, on 1 Samuel 29:6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1871, cited in the store's exposition note on verses 3 to 4; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament, 1765, on 1 Samuel 29:11 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710, on 1 Samuel 29:8.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Jamieson Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Books of Samuel and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.