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1 Samuel
Chapter Twenty-nine
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 29
This
chapter gives an account of David's going forth with the armies of the
Philistines
1 Samuel 29:1; of
his being objected to by the princes of the Philistines
who insisted upon his
being sent back
1 Samuel 29:3; of
the report Achish made of it to David
and the discourse that passed between
them upon it
1 Samuel 29:6;
whereby David had a way unexpectedly opened for him to be freed from this
service
which he gladly embraced
1 Samuel 29:11.
1 Samuel 29:1 Then the
Philistines gathered together all their armies at Aphek
and the Israelites
encamped by a fountain which is in Jezreel.
YLT
1And the Philistines gather
all their camps to Aphek
and the Israelites are encamping at a fountain which
[is] in Jezreel
Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek
.... Not the
city in the tribe of Judah of that name
Joshua 15:53; where
the Philistines had a camp in the time of Samuel
1 Samuel 4:1; but
rather that in the tribe of Asher
Joshua 19:30;
unless there was one of this name in the tribe of Issachar
not mentioned
since it seems to have been near Jezreel and Shunem
which were both in that
tribe
Joshua 19:18
and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel; in the valley
of Jezreel; of which See Gill on Joshua 19:18 and
See Gill on Hosea 1:5.
1 Samuel 29:2 2 And
the lords of the Philistines passed in review by hundreds and by thousands
but
David and his men passed in review at the rear with Achish.
YLT
2and the princes of the
Philistines are passing on by hundreds
and by thousands
and David and his men
are passing on in the rear with Achish.
And the lords of the Philistines passed on by hundreds
and by
thousands
.... Not that there were so many lords
for there were but five
of them; but these marched
some at the head of hundreds with them
and others
at the head of thousands:
but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish; who being the
generalissimo brought up the rear
and David
whom he had appointed captain of
his bodyguards
attended him with his men
which in point of gratitude he could
not refuse; and yet was in the greatest strait and difficulty how to act
it
being both against his conscience and his interest to fight against Israel
and
was waiting and hoping for some appearance of Providence to deliver him out of
this dilemma
and which was quickly seen; but Abarbinel thinks David had no
other notion in going to the battle
but of being the bodyguard of Achish
and
accompanying him
and that he should not fight against Israel
nor for the
Philistines: neither harm the one
nor help the other.
1 Samuel 29:3 3 Then
the princes of the Philistines said
“What are these Hebrews doing
here?” And Achish said to the princes of the Philistines
“Is this
not David
the servant of Saul king of Israel
who has been with me these days
or these years? And to this day I have found no fault in him since he defected to
me.”
YLT
3And the heads of the
Philistines say
`What [are] these Hebrews?' and Achish saith unto the heads of
the Philistines
`Is not this David servant of Saul king of Israel
who hath been
with me these days or these years
and I have not found in him anything [wrong]
from the day of his falling away till this day.'
Then said the princes of the Philistines
.... To
Achish; not those of the court of Achish
who were his subjects
but the confederate
princes with him in this war
the lords of the other principalities
as appears
by the freedom they took with him
1 Samuel 29:4
what do these Hebrews here? or Jews
as
the Targum; what hast thou to do with them
or they to be with thee? men of
another nation and religion
and known enemies to the Philistines:
and Achish said unto the princes of the Philistines; in order to
soften them
and reconcile them to these men
and their being with him:
is not this David the
servant of Saul the king of Israel; between whom there had
been a quarrel
and the former had fled from the latter to him:
which hath been with me these days
or these years; had been with
him many days
and he might say years
as he had been with him one whole year
and part of another
see 1 Samuel 27:7; and
he might have known him longer
if he was the same Achish David first fled to;
Kimchi interprets it
that he knew him as well as if he had been with him as
many years as days:
and I have found no fault in him since he fell unto me unto
this day? the affair of David's going against the Geshurites
&c. not
being yet known by him
or
if it was
he approved of it
they being enemies of
his; this shows that David behaved with a great deal of prudence to have such a
character as this from a king of the Philistines.
1 Samuel 29:4 4 But the princes of the
Philistines were angry with him; so the princes of the Philistines said to him
“Make this fellow return
that he may go back to the place which you have
appointed for him
and do not let him go down with us to battle
lest in the
battle he become our adversary. For with what could he reconcile himself to his
master
if not with the heads of these men?
YLT
4And the heads of the
Philistines are wroth against him
and the heads of the Philistines say to him
`Send back the man
and he doth turn back unto his place whither thou hast
appointed him
and doth not go down with us into battle
and is not to us for
an adversary in battle; and wherewith doth this one reconcile himself unto his
lord -- is it not with the heads of those men?'
And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him
.... With
Achish
for giving such a character of David
and taking his part
in order to
detain him
if possible:
and the princes of the Philistines said unto him
make this fellow
return; they speak of him with contempt
and insist on it that Achish
order him to turn back
and go no further with them:
that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him; to Ziklag
the place that Achish had given him for his residence
1 Samuel 27:6; they
did not desire to have him sent to his own country
and to Saul
since should a
reconciliation be made between them
he would be of great service to Saul
against them:
and let him not go down with us to battle; into the
valley of Jezreel
where the Israelites had pitched:
lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: and fall upon
them behind
being in the rear
while they were engaging in the front with
Israel:
for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? to Saul he
had offended
and fled from:
should it not be
with the heads of these men? the Philistines; or unless by the heads of
these menF13הלא בראשי
"nisi per capita"
Noldius
p. 257. No. 1147. ; he had no other way
of making his peace with his master but by cutting off the heads of the
Philistines; and therefore he was a dangerous man to take with them into the
battle.
1 Samuel 29:5 5 Is
this not David
of whom they sang to one another in dances
saying: ‘Saul has
slain his thousands
And David his ten thousands’?”[a]
YLT
5Is not this David
of whom
they answer in choruses
saying
Saul hath smitten among his thousands
and
David among his myriads?'
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 1 Samuel 18:7.
1 Samuel 29:6 6 Then
Achish called David and said to him
“Surely
as the Lord lives
you
have been upright
and your going out and your coming in with me in the army is
good in my sight. For to this day I have not found evil in you since the day of
your coming to me. Nevertheless the lords do not favor you.
YLT
6And Achish calleth unto
David
and saith unto him
`Jehovah liveth
surely thou [art] upright
and good
in mine eyes is thy going out
and thy coming in
with me in the camp
for I
have not found in thee evil from the day of thy coming in unto me till this
day; and in the eyes of the princes thou art not good;
Then Achish called David
.... Being so near him
that he could call unto him himself
or he sent some person to him
to require his
presence with him:
and said unto him
surely
as the Lord liveth; or
"Jehovah liveth"; an oath by the true God
of whom Achish might have
some knowledge
as he also had of angels
from his conversation with David;
though the Heathens had a notion of a supreme Being
and yet worshipped other
gods
and whom they called Jove
from this name of Jehovah. Kimchi observes
that all confess a first cause; and therefore when he swore to David
he swore
by him in whom David believed
perhaps out of complaisance to him
or that
David might pay the greater regard to his oath:
thou hast been upright; sincere
honest
faithful
and just in all his deportment; yet not so sincere as he thought him
to be
witness the road he pretended he had taken against the south of Judah
1 Samuel 27:1
and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the host is
good in sight; his behaviour in the army
attending him as the keeper of his
head
or captain of his bodyguard
was exceeding agreeable to him
and he could
wish to have him continued:
for I have not found evil in thee
since the day of thy coming
unto me unto this day; whatever he had done before to the Philistines
having greatly
afflicted and distressed them in his wars with them
of which this seems to be
an exception:
nevertheless
the lords favour thee not; or thou art
not acceptable to them
yea
very offensive and disagreeable.
1 Samuel 29:7 7 Therefore
return now
and go in peace
that you may not displease the lords of the
Philistines.”
YLT
7and now
turn back
and go
in peace
and thou dost do no evil in the eyes of the princes of the
Philistines.'
Wherefore now return
.... To Ziklag:
and go in peace; not only in a peaceable manner
easy and
satisfied
as David was at his very heart to hear this
but all prosperity and
happiness attend thee; the JewsF14T. Bab. Beracot
fol. 64. 1.
Sepher Alphes
par. 1. fol. 421. 2. distinguish between wishing persons to go
in peace
and to go to peace; the former they observe has not issued happily
when the other has
and they instance in the wish of Jethro to Moses
and of
David to Absalom:
that thou displease not the lords of the Philistines: and what
would be the consequence of that he could not say
but suggests it would be
most for his peace and safety to depart.
1 Samuel 29:8 8 So David said to Achish
“But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as
long as I have been with you
that I may not go and fight against the enemies
of my lord the king?”
YLT
8And David saith unto
Achish
`But what have I done? and what hast thou found in thy servant from the
day that I have been before thee till this day -- that I go not in and have
fought against the enemies of my lord the king?'
And David said unto Achish
what have I done?.... This
question is anticipated by the speech of Achish
who had declared he had found
no evil in him; but David must say something to put on an appearance of concern
for being dismissed
when he was heartily glad of it:
and what hast thou found in thy servant
so long as I have been
with thee unto this day
that I may not go fight against the enemies of my lord
the king? which cannot be excused of great dissimulation
since nothing
was more foreign from his heart
and against his will
than fighting against
the Israelites
and which he determined to avoid if possible; and glad at heart
he was to be thus excused
and freed from the straits and difficulties he was
involved in; but that the Philistines might have no cause of suspicion of him
and that he was warmly attached to their interest among whom he was still to
continue
he put on these airs. Abarbinel is of opinion that the lords of the
Philistines were only afraid of David
but not of his men
and therefore were
not solicitous about their going
but his
which gave David a concern; and
since he was particularly singled out
he desired to know what special evil had
been found in him; but when he understood
by the following answer of Achish
that his servants were to go with him
he was content
and said no more; but
the princes asked
"what do these Hebrews here?" 1 Samuel 29:3.
1 Samuel 29:9 9 Then Achish answered and
said to David
“I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of
God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said
‘He shall not go up
with us to the battle.’
YLT
9And Achish answereth and saith
unto David
`I have known that thou [art] good in mine eyes as a messenger of
God; only
the princes of the Philistines have said
He doth not go up with us
into battle;
And Achish answered and said unto David
.... In reply
to the questions:
I know that thou art good in my sight as an angel of God: for his great
wisdom
and graceful behaviour
and inoffensive carriage:
notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said
he shall
not go up with us to the battle; though Achish had so good an opinion of
him
and had declared it in council
yet an order had passed there that he
should not go to battle with them; there were but five of them
and Achish was
one of the five
so that there were four to one for the dismissing him; and
Achish
though a king
was obliged to submit.
1 Samuel 29:10 10 Now therefore
rise early
in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you.[b] And as
soon as you are up early in the morning and have light
depart.”
YLT
10and now
rise thou early in
the morning
and the servants of thy lord who have come with thee
when ye have
risen early in the morning
and have light
then go ye.'
Wherefore now rise up early with thy master's servants that are
come with thee
.... Meaning his six hundred men
who were considered as the
servants and subjects of Saul
though with David: and which tacitly carried in
it the objection of the Philistine lords unto them
that since they were the
servants and subjects of Saul
they were not to be trusted in a battle with
him; lest finding an opportunity
they should seize it
and thereby ingratiate
themselves into his favour again:
and as soon as ye be up early in the morning
and have light
depart; he advises them to get away as soon as they could
lest the
Philistines should fall upon them
and force them
and he could not say what
mischief might befall them; wherefore for their safety it was best to depart as
soon as they could see their way.
1 Samuel 29:11 11 So David and his men rose
early to depart in the morning
to return to the land of the Philistines. And
the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
YLT
11And David riseth early
he
and his men
to go in the morning
to turn back unto the land of the
Philistines
and the Philistines have gone up to Jezreel.
So David and his men rose up early to depart in the morning
.... Being as
willing and ready to go as the Philistines were desirous they should:
to return into the land of the Philistines; for now they
were in the land of Israel
at Aphek
near Jezreel
from whence they went back
to Ziklag
which was within the principality of Gath; and
according to BuntingF15Travels
&c. p. 137.
was eighty eight miles from the place where the army of the
Philistines was; but it seems not very likely that it should be so far off:
and the Philistines went up to Jezreel; where the
army of the Israelites lay encamped
in order to fight them. By the dismission
of David from the army of the Philistines
he was not only delivered from a sad
plight he was in
either of acting an ungrateful part to Achish
or an
unnatural one to Israel; but also
by the pressing charge of Achish to get away
as early as possible in the morning
he came time enough to rescue the prey the
Amalekites had taken at Ziklag his city
as in the following chapter; and the
providence of God in this affair is further observable
as by some represented
since if David had stayed in the camp of the Philistines
it would not have
been so easy for him
on the death of Saul
to have got from them
and succeed
in the kingdom
as he could and did from Ziklag.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)