1 Samuel 29:2
in 1 Samuel 29As the Philistine leaders marched out their units of hundreds and thousands, David and his men marched behind them with Achish.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands; and David and his men passed on in the rearward with Achish.
KJV
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.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 29
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBy hundreds, and by thousands - They were probably divided, as the Jewish armies, by fifties, hundreds, and thousands; each having its proper officer or captain.
This site's exposition
the Philistines brought all their forces together at Aphek
on 1 Samuel 29:1-2
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.
This site's exposition
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.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
And the satraps of the Philistines indeed marched by the hundreds, etc. Understand the last contingent either by the merit of humility or by the order of time. For in every age of the world, the nations of the gentiles have set up in battle …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds, and by thousands,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The lords - See Jdg 3:3 note, as distinguished from ordinary “princes” 1Sa 29:3. The military divisions of the Philistine army were by hundreds and by thousands, like those of the Israelites 1Sa 8:12. David and his men formed a body-guard to Achish 1Sa 28:2.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
From the day he settled. From the day of his camping with me. 1 See Bereishis:18, and Rashi there explains that נָפָל means ‘dwelt.’
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְסַרְנֵ֤י | vesarnei | and [the] rulers of | H5633 → | 22 times |
| פְלִשְׁתִּים֙ | felishtim | [the] Philistines | H6430 → | 287 times |
| עֹֽבְרִ֔ים | ʾoerim | [were] passing along | H5674 → | 556 times |
| לְמֵא֖וֹת | lemeot | to hundreds | H3967 → | 581 times |
| וְלַאֲלָפִ֑ים | velaalafim | and to thousands | H505 → | 505 times |
| וְדָוִ֣ד | vedavid | and David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| וַאֲנָשָׁ֗יו | vaanashav | and men his | H582 → | 566 times |
| עֹֽבְרִ֛ים | ʾoerim | [were] passing along | H5674 → | 556 times |
| בָּאַחֲרֹנָ֖ה | baacharonah | at the last | H314 → | |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| אָכִֽישׁ׃ | ʾakhish | Achish | H397 → | 21 times |
וְסַרְנֵ֤יand [the] rulers of
vesarneiH5633 →22 times
פְלִשְׁתִּים֙[the] Philistines
felishtimH6430 →287 times
עֹֽבְרִ֔ים[were] passing along
ʾoerimH5674 →556 times
לְמֵא֖וֹתto hundreds
lemeotH3967 →581 times
וְלַאֲלָפִ֑יםand to thousands
velaalafimH505 →505 times
וְדָוִ֣דand David
vedavidH1732 →999 times
וַאֲנָשָׁ֗יוand men his
vaanashavH582 →566 times
עֹֽבְרִ֛ים[were] passing along
ʾoerimH5674 →556 times
בָּאַחֲרֹנָ֖הat the last
baacharonahH314 →
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
אָכִֽישׁ׃Achish
ʾakhishH397 →21 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Samuel 6:4“What guilt offering should we send back to Him?” asked the Philistines. “Five gold tumors and five gold rats,” they said, “according to the number of rulers of the Philistines, since the same plague…
it leads to
- Judges 3:3
the five rulers of the Philistines, all the Canaanites, the Sidonians, and the Hivites who lived in the mountains of Lebanon from Mount Baal-hermon to Lebo-hamath.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 6:17–18
As a guilt offering to the LORD, the Philistines had sent back one gold tumor for each city: Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.
- Joshua 13:3
All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of…
- 1 Samuel 5:9
But after they had moved the ark to Gath, the LORD’s hand was also against that city, throwing it into great confusion and afflicting the men of the city, both young and old, with…
- 1 Samuel 5:6
Now the hand of the LORD was heavy on the people of Ashdod and its vicinity, ravaging them and afflicting them with tumors.
- Judges 3:3
Through
Joshua 13:3All the territory of the Philistines and the Geshurites, from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)—that of the five Philistine rulers of…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 2:18
Now what will you gain on your way to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
- Deuteronomy 2:23
And the Avvim, who lived in villages as far as Gaza, were destroyed by the Caphtorites, who came out of Caphtor and settled in their place.)
- Genesis 10:6
The sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim, Put, and Canaan.
- Jeremiah 2:18
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 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 (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.