1 Samuel 29

David has been living among the Philistines, and now he is marching with them to fight Israel. The Philistine commanders refuse to trust him, and Achish reluctantly sends him home. Without any action of his own, David is spared from fighting his own people.

1 Samuel 29:1

The Philistines gather their whole army at Aphek, and Israel camps by the spring at Jezreel. The two sides are lining up for the battle in which Saul will die. The scene is set, and David is caught up in it.

BSA: forces (“armies, military might”): The Philistines are throwing everything they have into this fight, which shows how serious the danger to Israel is.

See also: 1 Samuel 28:1.

1 Samuel 29:2

The Philistine rulers march past in units of hundreds and thousands. David and his men follow at the rear with Achish. David has put himself in a dangerous spot, apparently about to fight against God’s own people.

BSA: behind them (“in the rear, following”): David is placed at the back, a sign that the Philistine commanders do not yet trust him.

1 Samuel 29:3

The Philistine commanders ask what Hebrews are doing among them. Achish defends David as a man who left Saul and has been faithful for a long time. His trust is real, but it rests on a deception, since David has been raiding Israel’s enemies while pretending otherwise.

BSA: defected (“fell away, turned against”): Achish sees David as a man who broke with Saul and joined the Philistine side. fault (“nothing wrong, no error”): Achish finds nothing to accuse David of, though David has been hiding the truth from him.

See also: 1 Samuel 27:8-12.

1 Samuel 29:4

The commanders are furious. They fear that in the middle of the battle David will turn on them and win back Saul’s favor with Philistine heads. Their suspicion is sensible, and God uses it to rescue David from an impossible choice.

BSA: adversary (“enemy, opponent”): The word is the same as ‘satan’ in Hebrew, and it names someone who turns against you in the very moment of battle.

Hebrew: שָׂטָן (satan, H7854) — “adversary, one who opposes.” The Hebrew word behind ‘adversary’ is the one later used for Satan. Here it simply means a man who would turn against his allies.

1 Samuel 29:5

The commanders remember the victory song of the Israelite women. David’s fame as Israel’s champion is known even among the Philistines. The song that once made Saul jealous now keeps David out of the Philistine army.

BSA: dances (“celebratory movements, joyful expressions”): The song came from public celebrations, so the whole land knew it.

See also: 1 Samuel 18:6-7.

1 Samuel 29:6

Achish swears an oath ‘As surely as the LORD lives’, using Israel’s God’s name, and says David has been upright. He would be glad to have David beside him, but he has to bow to the other rulers. He is honest with David, though he trusts him for the wrong reasons.

BSA: upright (“straight, just, having integrity”): Achish praises David’s conduct as straight and dependable, in his own eyes. favor (“approval, goodwill”): David has Achish’s goodwill but not that of the other lords, and that decides the matter.

1 Samuel 29:7

Achish tells David to go back in peace so as not to upset the Philistine leaders. He speaks gently. What looks like a rejection is actually a protection for David.

BSA: peace (“shalom, completeness and wellness”): The word carries the sense of being safe and whole, and David is leaving with exactly that.

1 Samuel 29:8

David protests and asks what he has done wrong. He calls Achish ‘my lord the king’ and speaks of fighting ’the enemies of my lord the king’. This may be part of his continued pretense, and it keeps his cover. The text does not say what he would have done in the battle.

BSA: servant (“bondservant or slave”): David keeps playing the loyal servant of Achish, to the end of the story.

1 Samuel 29:9

Achish says David is as pleasing to him as an angel of God, a common way of praising someone as good and trustworthy. Yet he repeats that the commanders have forbidden David to go up to battle. His kind words cannot change the decision.

BSA: angel (“messenger, representative”): An angel is God’s messenger, so Achish is saying David seems as reliable and good as one.

Hebrew: מַלְאַךְ (mal’akh, H4397) — “messenger.” The Hebrew word simply means a messenger, and context decides whether it is a human or a heavenly one. Achish uses it as a high compliment.

See also: 2 Samuel 14:17.

1 Samuel 29:10

Achish tells David to leave early, at first light, with the men who came with him. The matter is settled quickly and quietly. David is given a way out without having to argue against his own people or betray his host.

BSA: master’s (“lord, one who has authority over you”): Achish speaks of Saul as David’s master, though David’s men now serve David.

1 Samuel 29:11

David and his men rise early and head back to Philistine territory, while the Philistines go up to Jezreel. David has no idea yet what awaits him at Ziklag. God has kept him from the battle where Saul will die, and his path to the throne stays clean.

BSA: Jezreel (“the city where God sows, nurtures growth”): The name means ‘God sows’, a hopeful name for the place where Saul’s reign will end and a new beginning will come.

See also: 1 Samuel 30:1; 1 Samuel 31:1.