References (20)
And David arose and fled that day from Saul and came to Achish, king of Gath. [He flees to his arch-enemy Achish, and with him he takes the sword that belonged to Achish's dead hero Goliath.]
And Achish's servants said to him, "Is this not David, the king of the land? Do they not sing of him in their dances, saying,
Saul has slain his 1,000,
and (but) David his 10,000?" []
And David took these words to heart (put these words in his heart) and became very afraid of Achish, king of Gath.
Then Achish said to his servants, "When you see a man who is a fool, why do you bring him to me?
And David arose and went down, he and the 600 men who were with him, to Achish, the son of Maoch, king of Gath. [The first time David came to Gath, he was alone, or had only a few soldiers with him. Now he has his army with him and does not fear Achish, see , ; .]
And David stayed with Achish in Gath, he and his men, each man with his household, even David with his two wives, the Jezreelite Ahinoam [] and Abigail [short form of Abigail], the Carmelite wife of Naval [].
And David said to Achish, "If I have found favor (undeserved love – Hebr. chen) in your eyes, let them give me a place in one of your towns in the country, so that I may live there, for why should your servant live in the royal city with you?"
And
Achish gave him
Ziklag that day. Therefore,
Ziklag belongs to the kings of Judah to this day.
And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the raiment. And he returned, and came to Achish.
Achish asked, "Where did you make a raid today?" And David replied, "Against southern Judah, against southern Jerachmel, and against southern Qeni."
And Achish believed David and said, "He has made his people Israel utterly detest him, therefore he shall be my servant forever."
And it came to pass in those days [some time later] that the Philistines gathered their army for battle, to fight against Israel. Then Achish said to David, "You shall know for certain that you shall go out with me in the army, you and your men."
David replied to Achish, "Therefore, know that your servant will do as you say." Achish said to David, "Therefore, I will make you my bodyguard (literally: the guardian of my head) forever."
And the leaders of the Philistines went out in [groups of] 100 and in [groups of] 1,000, and David and his men went over in the rear with Achish [the king of Gath].
The leaders of the Philistines asked, "What are these Hebrews doing here?" Achish replied to the leaders of the Philistines, "Is this not David, the servant of Saul, king of Israel? He has been with me for over a year (literally: 'days even years'), and I have found no fault in him since he came to me to this day?"
And Achish called David and said to him, "As the Lord (Yahweh) lives, you have been honest, and you have gone out and you have gone in with me in the army and have been good in my eyes, for I have found no evil in you since the day you came to me to this day, but you are not good in the eyes of the leaders.
And David said to Achish, "But what have I done? What have you found in your servant since I came to you to this day, that I cannot go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?"
And Achish answered and said to David, "I know that you are good in my eyes, like an angel (messenger) of God (Elohim), yet the leaders of the Philistines say that he shall not go up with us to battle.
And it came to pass, when three years had passed, that two of Shimei's servants ran away to Achish, the son of Maacah, king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, "Behold, your servants are in Gath."
And Shimi arose and saddled his donkey and went to Gath, to Achish, to seek his servants, and Shimi went and brought back his servants from Gath.
