1 Samuel 27:6
in 1 Samuel 27That day Achish gave him Ziklag, and to this day it still belongs to the kings of Judah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.
KJV
Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day: wherefore Ziklag pertaineth unto the kings of Judah unto this day.
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This verse in 1 Samuel 27
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAchish gave him Ziklag - Ziklag was at first given to the tribe of Judah, but afterwards it was ceded to that of Simeon, Jos 15:31; Jos 19:5. The Philistines had, however, made themselves masters of it, and held it to the time here mentioned; it then fell into the tribe of Judah again, and continued to be the property of the kings of Judah.
This site's exposition
some town in the country
on 1 Samuel 27:5-7
David asks Achish for some town in the country rather than lodging in the royal city, and Henry credits two motives, freedom to keep his own worship apart from Gath's idols and plain unwillingness to burden his host as an uninvited guest. Achish gives him Ziklag, a town Joshua had assigned to Judah that the Philistines had since held, and Henry reads the gift as a king of sense and honor restoring land that was never rightly his to keep. The town becomes the property of Judah's own kings from that day, and David dwells there a full year and four months before Saul's death ends the exile.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
Therefore Achis gave him on that day Siceleg, etc. Siceleg is interpreted as the purification of a raised voice; but to purify a voice is to bring a voice to itself, with careful discretion, to inquire which speech smells of truth, which of falsehood. Therefore, …
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
It was given to the tribe of Judah before, Josh. xv, 31, but the Philistines kept the possession of it 'till this time. And being given by them to David, it now belonged not to the tribe of Judah; but to the king of Judah, David and his heirs forever. To this day - This, and some such clauses seem to have been added, after the main substance of the several books was written.
Note, There is nothing lost by humility and modesty, and a willingness to retire. Real advantages follow those that flee from imaginary honours. Here David continued for some days, even four months, as it may very well be read (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Then Achish gave him Ziklag that day,....
But either it was never subdued, or the Philistines had, in some struggle with Israel, made themselves masters of it. Perhaps they had got it unjustly, and Achish, being a man of sense and honour, took this occasion to restore it. The righteous God judgeth righteously.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Ziklag - This was properly one of the cities of Simeon within the tribe of Judah (marginal references), but it had been taken possession of by the Philistines. The exact situation of it is uncertain. Unto this day - This phrase, coupled with the title the kings of Judah, implies that this was written after the revolt of Jeroboam, and before the Babylonian captivity.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Why should your servant remain… And be a burden to you. 2 Probably, Dovid did not want to live with idolaters and therefore asked in a diplomatic fashion, e.g., ‘Why should your servant be a burden to you,’ to settle in a separate city.
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. 6 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
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּתֶּן־ | vaiyiten- | and he gave | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| ל֥וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אָכִ֛ישׁ | ʾakhish | Achish | H397 → | 21 times |
| בַּיּ֥וֹם | baiyom | on the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַה֖וּא | hahu' | <the> that | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צִֽקְלָ֑ג | tziklag | Ziklag | H6860 → | 15 times |
| לָכֵ֞ן | lakhen | <to> therefore | H3651 → | 771 times |
| הָיְתָ֤ה | hayetah | it has belonged | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| צִֽקְלַג֙ | tziklag | Ziklag | H6860 → | 15 times |
| לְמַלְכֵ֣י | lemalkhei | to [the] kings of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| עַ֖ד | ʾad | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| הַיּ֥וֹם | haiyom | the day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הַזֶּֽה׃ פ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
וַיִּתֶּן־and he gave
vaiyiten-H5414 →2011 times
ל֥וֹto <the> him
lo
אָכִ֛ישׁAchish
ʾakhishH397 →21 times
בַּיּ֥וֹםon the day
baiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַה֖וּא<the> that
hahu'H1931 →1879 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
צִֽקְלָ֑גZiklag
tziklagH6860 →15 times
לָכֵ֞ן<to> therefore
lakhenH3651 →771 times
הָיְתָ֤הit has belonged
hayetahH1961 →3559 times
צִֽקְלַג֙Ziklag
tziklagH6860 →15 times
לְמַלְכֵ֣יto [the] kings of
lemalkheiH4428 →2525 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
עַ֖דuntil
ʾadH5704 →1261 times
הַיּ֥וֹםthe day
haiyomH3117 →2304 times
הַזֶּֽה׃ פ<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 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
Joshua 15:31Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 30:1
On the third day David and his men arrived in Ziklag, and the Amalekites had raided the Negev, attacked Ziklag, and burned it down.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Samuel 30:1
Through
1 Samuel 30:14We raided the Negev of the Cherethites, the territory of Judah, and the Negev of Caleb, and we burned down Ziklag.”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 25:16
therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, I will stretch out My hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the remnant along the coast.
- Zephaniah 2:5
Woe to the dwellers of the seacoast, O nation of the Cherethites! The word of the LORD is against you, O Canaan, land of the Philistines: “I will destroy you, and no one will…
- 1 Kings 1:38
Then Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, went down and set Solomon on King David’s mule, and they escorted him to Gihon.
- 1 Kings 1:44
And with Solomon, the king has sent Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah son of Jehoiada, along with the Cherethites and Pelethites, and they have set him on the king’s mule.
- 2 Samuel 8:18
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were priestly leaders.
- Ezekiel 25:16
Through
Nehemiah 11:28in Ziklag; in Meconah and its villages;
it leads to
- Joshua 15:31
Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Joshua 15:31
Through
1 Chronicles 12:20When David went to Ziklag, these men of Manasseh defected to him: Adnah, Jozabad, Jediael, Michael, Jozabad, Elihu, and Zillethai, chiefs of thousands in Manasseh.
it leads to
- 1 Samuel 29:11
So David and his men got up early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
- 1 Samuel 29:11
About 1 Samuel
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceNegev borderZiklagThe Philistine town David ruled from, burned by Amalekite raiders while his men were away, where David found strength in the LORD…
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; 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.