Chapter Twenty-Nine

David’s time in the Philistine camp. The Philistine princes’ distrust of him. David’s return to Ziklag.

1 Samuel 29:1. The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and the Israelites encamped by the spring that is in Jezreel. Aphek is elevated terrain northwest of Sodom. The low-lying area of Jezreel is to the west of Gilboa, to the south of Aphek. Thus, during Saul’s absence at Endor, the positions of the warring sides shifted to the clear disadvantage of the Hebrews: the Philistines withdrew a little northward and took the elevated position; the Hebrews, having abandoned the height of Gilboa, descended to the adjacent low-lying area.

1 Samuel 29:2. The princes of the Philistines were marching with their hundreds and thousands, and David and his men were marching in the rear with Achish. The princes of the Philistines are the rulers of the separate Philistine regions subject to Achish. See the note to 1 Sam 6:17.

1 Samuel 29:4. The princes of the Philistines were angry with him, and the princes of the Philistines said to him, “Send this man back, that he may return to the place to which you have assigned him; he shall not go down with us to battle, lest he become an adversary to us in the battle. For with what could he better endear himself to his master than with the heads of these men? 1 Samuel 29:5. Is not this David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying, ‘Saul has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands’? The decisive distrust of the Philistine princes toward the renowned victor over the Philistines and faithful servant of Saul, David, helped the latter escape from his extremely delicate position in the camp of the enemies of the Hebrew people.

1 Samuel 29:8. David said to Achish, “But what have I done? And what have you found in your servant from the day I entered your service until now, that I should not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? 1 Samuel 29:9. Achish replied to David, “I know that you are as blameless 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.’ 1 Samuel 29:10. Now rise early, you and the servants of your lord who have come with you, and go to the place that I have appointed for you, and harbor no unkind thought in your heart, for you are good in my sight; rise early in the morning, and as soon as it is light, depart. The conversation confirmed for David that Achish personally harbored no distrust of him and that he could safely return to the welcoming Ziklag (1 Sam 27). “Go to the place that I have appointed for you,” that is, to the city of Ziklag.