CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

27:1
But David thought to hims!"# $%& o" ths da's ( )i!! * dst+o'd *' th ha&d o" Sau!, Th *st
thi&g ( -a& do is to s-a. to th !a&d o" th Phi!isti&s, Th& Sau! )i!! giv u. sa+-hi&g "o+ m
a&')h+ i& (s+a!# a&d ( )i!! s!i. out o" his ha&d,$
In our last chapter David was thinking about moving to Philistia and now he does.
( )i!! * dst+o'd *' th ha&d o" Sau! Lit. I will be swept away.
David is reverting to his old human viewpoint thinking. He is discouraged, bored, rustrated, and
disillusioned. He eels helpless. !ter so many times protected by "od, David eels he has to depend upon
the Philistines or protection. He should have stayed where he was.
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So David a&d th si/ hu&d+d m& )ith him !"t a&d )&t ov+ to A-hish so& o" 0ao-h 1i&g o" 2ath,
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David a&d his m& stt!d i& 2ath )ith A-hish, Ea-h ma& had his "ami!' )ith him# a&d David had his
t)o )ivs: Ahi&oam o" 45+! a&d A*igai! o" Ca+m!# th )ido) o" Na*a!,
"ath is some thirty rugged miles northwest o the Desert o #iph, where David had been hiding earlier.
$hieme says the cities o Philistia were beautiul, un cities. David and his men are tired o living in a desert,
especially !bigail, who is used to the good lie.

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Wh& Sau! )as to!d that David had "!d to 2ath# h &o !o&g+ sa+-hd "o+ him,
%aul was not prepared or a war with Philistia, so he didn&t ollow David into Philistia. 'nce David is out o
"od&s (ill, %aul is no longer interested in hunting him. I suspect that David&s light to Philistia conirmed
%aul&s thinking that David was a traitor.
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Th& David said to A-hish# $(" ( hav "ou&d "avo+ i& 'ou+ 's# !t a .!a- * assig&d to m i& o& o"
th -ou&t+' to)&s# that ( ma' !iv th+, Wh' shou!d 'ou+ s+va&t !iv i& th +o'a! -it' )ith 'ou8$
David says he doesn&t want to be a burden on the king, he and his men and their amilies. He says he doesn&t
want to disturb the everyday commerce and activities o the city. He says he isn&t important enough to live in
the royal city. David is a very good con artist.
$he truth is that David didn&t want !chish knowing his business. !chish e)pected David to continue to be
the enemy o %aul and assist him against the Israelites, but David o course didn&t want to attack %aul or his
own countrymen, so David had to walk a thin line o pretense.
I also think David and his men also got bored living in "ath. $hey have or years been pursued by %aul. It
was a hard lie but e)citing. $hey miss the e)citement, so David wants to move to a place where they do
what they want without being watched by authorities.
$his is one o several instances o deceiving !chish.
*

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So o& that da' A-hish gav him :i1!ag# a&d it has *!o&gd to th 1i&gs o" 4udah v+ si&-,
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David
!ivd i& Phi!isti& t++ito+' a 'a+ a&d "ou+ mo&ths,
!chish gives him #iklag +v. ,-, which originally had been given to %imeon + .osh */0*, 12 c. .osh *103*, 4*-.
$he modern site o ancient #iklag is probably $ell esh5%hariah, which is about twenty5three miles south5
southwest o "ath,
!chish doubtless placed David in #iklag to protect Philistia against marauders rom the south. David6s
settlement there anticipates the subse7uent ownership o #iklag by the 8kings o .udah.8
$hieme says the city was deserted due to !rab raiders.
%ee *9hron *30*5:.

;
No) David a&d his m& )&t u. a&d +aidd th 2shu+its# th 2i+5its a&d th Ama!1its, <=+om
a&-i&t tims ths .o.!s had !ivd i& th !a&d /t&di&g to Shu+ a&d Eg'.t,>
?
Wh&v+ David
atta-1d a& a+a# h did &ot !av a ma& o+ )oma& a!iv# *ut too1 sh. a&d -att!# do&1's a&d
-am!s# a&d -!oths, Th& h +tu+&d to A-hish,
$hese three ;edouin tribes were the aboriginal inhabitants o the northwestern portion o the desert
between <gypt and %outh Palestine. +Pulpit- David would attack these people or supplies.
David raided the raiders. $hese tribes were constant enemies o Israel.
C!oths =eaning all their possessions.
!ter a raid, David would give to !chish a portion o the spoil.

1@
Wh& A-hish as1d# $Wh+ did 'ou go +aidi&g toda'8$ David )ou!d sa'# $Agai&st th Ngv o"
4udah$ o+ $Agai&st th Ngv o" 4+ahm!$ o+ $Agai&st th Ngv o" th A&its,$
!lthough David was raiding "eshurites, "ir>ites, and !malekites +v.?-, he told !chish that he was raiding
various sub districts o the @egev +v. *A- that belonged to or were controlled by .udah. David made re7uent
reports to !chish, but he let out the details. $hese areas have close ties to David and would be the last
people David would attack. $hese were all clans o the tribe o .udah.
!chish thought that David was killing Israelites living on the border o the desert, but he was actually killing
inhabitants o the desert. $his is another deceit o David&s.
**
H did &ot !av a ma& o+ )oma& a!iv to * *+ought to 2ath# "o+ h thought# $Th' might i&"o+m
o& us a&d sa'# BThis is )hat David did,C $A&d su-h )as his .+a-ti- as !o&g as h !ivd i& Phi!isti&
t++ito+',
David here kills everyone so that no survivors would be let to report to !chish who the raiders were.
He implies to !chish that .udahite hostility toward David is increasing, and at the same time he gains the
appreciation and loyalty o .udah by raiding their desert neighbors.
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David makes !chish believe he hates his own people.
He has evidence to prove it, the spoil.
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A-hish t+ustd David a&d said to hims!"# $H has *-om so odious to his .o.!# th (s+a!its# that
h )i!! * m' s+va&t "o+v+,$
;ut 8like @abal, !chish seriously underestimates David by regarding him as a servant or slave.8 !chish
thought that David was attacking Israelites, so he was happy, believing that David could never return to his
homeland, Israel.
h )i!! * m' s+va&t "o+v+ $he (;9 has, I&m going to make you my permanent bodyguard.
2;:1
(& thos da's th Phi!isti&s gath+d thi+ "o+-s to "ight agai&st (s+a!, A-hish said to David# $You
must u&d+sta&d that 'ou a&d 'ou+ m& )i!! a--om.a&' m i& th a+m',$
In the Hebrew the words accompany me.
2
David said# $Th& 'ou )i!! s "o+ 'ou+s!" )hat 'ou+ s+va&t -a& do,$
A-hish +.!id# $V+' )!!# ( )i!! ma1 'ou m' *od'gua+d "o+ !i",$
David has gotten himsel into a real mess. He&s been pretending to be attacking Israel and now he is ordered
to attack Israel or real.
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