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1 Samuel 27:3

in 1 Samuel 27

David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife.

KJV

And David dwelt with Achish at Gath, he and his men, every man with his household, even David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the Carmelitess, Nabal’s wife.

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This verse in 1 Samuel 27

Commentary

7 notes on this verse

A commentator

Cassiodorus

EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 55.1 · Written before 585.

"When the Philistines held him in Gath"; this is recounted in the text of the book of Kings [Samuel]. David was terrorized by attacks of Saul and thought that he would be hidden in the city of Gath among the Philistines. But we have said …

This site's exposition

even David with his two wives

on 1 Samuel 27:3-4

David settles at Gath with his household entire, even David with his two wives, and the text notes every man's family made the same crossing, more a clan on the move than a raiding band. Saul hears David has fled to Gath and lets the matter drop; Wesley reads Saul's own parting words to David, Return, my son, as proof the king never meant to hunt him past the border. Gill offers the plainer reading, that Saul kept spies out and simply saw no profit chasing an enemy into another king's country.

The record, by era

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

He was from the tribe of Caleb. The teachers of the synagogue were from the disciples of the lawgiver. For the scribes and Pharisees sat on Moses' seat (Matthew XXIII); who, since they then led other mortals by the grace of both human and divine …

A commentator

Bede

Commentary on Samuel · Written before 735.

proposed

And David dwelt with Achish in Gath, etc. Gath, which is translated as winepress, signifies the pressures and tribulations by which the faith of the Church is tested in this life; as also the Psalms, which are titled for the winepresses, declare. Achish, who is …

The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices

And David dwelt with Achish at Gath,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

Masters of families ought to take care of those that are committed to them, to protect and provide for those of their own house, and to dwell with them as men of knowledge.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

Every man with his household - So it appears that the men who consorted with David had wives and families. David and his company resembled a tribe of the wandering Arabs.

The words behind it

18 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֵּשֶׁב֩and he dwelt

    vaiyeshevH3427 →1079 times

  • דָּוִ֨דDavid

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • עִם־with

    ʾim-H5973 →1050 times

  • אָכִ֥ישׁAchish

    ʾakhishH397 →21 times

  • בְּגַ֛תin Gath

    begatH1661 →32 times

  • ה֥וּאhe

    hu'H1931 →1879 times

  • וַאֲנָשָׁ֖יוand men his

    vaanashavH582 →566 times

  • אִ֣ישׁeach one

    ʾishH376 →1663 times

  • וּבֵית֑וֹand household his

    uveitoH1004 →2046 times

  • דָּוִד֙David

    davidH1732 →999 times

  • וּשְׁתֵּ֣יand [the] two

    usheteiH8147 →768 times

  • נָשָׁ֔יוwives his

    nashavH802 →781 times

  • אֲחִינֹ֙עַם֙Ahinoam

    ʾachinoamH293 →7 times

  • הַיִּזְרְעֵאלִ֔יתthe Jezreelite [woman]

    haiyizreelitH3158 →

  • וַאֲבִיגַ֥יִלand Abigail

    vaavigayilH26 →17 times

  • אֵֽשֶׁת־[the] wife of

    ʾeshet-H802 →781 times

  • נָבָ֖לNabal

    navalH5037 →22 times

  • הַֽכַּרְמְלִֽית׃the Carmelite [woman]

    hakarmelitH3761 →

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

8 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 25:43David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. So she and Abigail were both his wives.5 works1 Samuel 25:42–43So Abigail hurried and got on a donkey, and attended by five of her maidens, she followed David’s messengers and became his wife.4 works1 Samuel 30:3When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.2 works1 Samuel 30:5David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive.2 works1 Samuel 25:3His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.2 works1 Samuel 25:18–35Then Abigail hurried and took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five butchered sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred clusters of raisins, and two hundred cakes of figs. She loaded them on donkeys2 works
The other 2 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Chronicles 3:1These were the sons of David who were born to him in Hebron: The firstborn was Amnon by Ahinoam of Jezreel; the second was Daniel by Abigail of Carmel;2 works2 Samuel 15:18and all his servants marched past him—all the Cherethites and Pelethites, and six hundred Gittites who had followed him from Gath.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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 25:3

    His name was Nabal, and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was an intelligent and beautiful woman, but her husband, a Calebite, was harsh and evil in his dealings.

    it leads to

    • Proverbs 14:1

      Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

    • Isaiah 32:5–7

      No longer will a fool be called noble, nor a scoundrel be respected.

    • Proverbs 31:10

      A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies.

    • Psalms 10:3

      For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

    • Proverbs 31:30–31

      Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 30:5

    David’s two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel, had been taken captive.

    it leads to

    • 2 Samuel 2:2

      So David went there with his two wives, Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail the widow of Nabal of Carmel.

    • 1 Samuel 25:42–43

      So Abigail hurried and got on a donkey, and attended by five of her maidens, she followed David’s messengers and became his wife.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 30:3

    When David and his men came to the city, they found it burned down and their wives and sons and daughters taken captive.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 34:19

      Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him from them all.

About 1 Samuel

David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
David Slays Goliath, Gustave Doré, 1866. Public domain.
1 Samuel: the study guide →Read 1 Samuel 27 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, Commentary on Samuel; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 55.1; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 1 Samuel 27 →