Translation & Sermon by Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 17 Oct. 2021
In this chapter, we see significant development in relationship between David (the fugitive from Israel) and Akish (the Philistine King of Gath). Both express thoughtfulness and loyalty to one another, and we also find them talking about the one true God together. Yet at the same time there is an undercurrent of uncertainty as to where their loyalties actually lie and what they would do when push came to shove.
28:1 And it happened during those days that the Philistines assembled their army-camps for the muster to wage war in Israel, and Akish said to David, “Know for sure that that it will be with me that you and your men go out into the {battle}.” And David said to Akish, “{Now} then, you’ll know what your servant is doing!” And Akish said to David, “Then I shall appoint you protector of my head all your days!” [And let’s skip down to]
29:1 Now, the Philistines assembled all their army-camps at Aphek. Meanwhile, Israel was positioning itself at the spring which is in Jezreel. 2 And the Philistine lords went by in hundreds and by thousands. David and his men also went by with Akish, in his rear-guard. 3 But the officers of the Philistines said, “Why these Hebrews?” And Akish said to the officers of the Philistines, “Is this not David, servant of Saul King of Israel, who has been with me these days or these years? Indeed, I have not found anything [wrong] with him, from the time that he fell in {with me} until this day!” 4 But the officers of the Philistines got angry at him and {they} said to him, “Make the man go back and let him return to his place that you made him accountable for there, and don’t let him go down with us into the battle so that he doesn’t become an adversary against us in the battle, for with what might this guy make himself acceptable to his master? Wouldn’t it be with the heads of these men? 5 Is this not David about whom they celebrated in their circle-dances, saying, ‘Saul struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands!’?” 6 So Akish called for David and said to him, “As Yahweh lives, [I swear] that you are innocent and good in my eyes - {and so} was your going out and your coming in with me in the army-camp, for I have not found fault in you from the day of your coming to me until this day. But in the eyes of the lords you are not good. 7 So now, return and go in peace, and don’t do what is faulty in the eyes of the lords of the Philistines.” 8 Then David said to Akish, “But what have I done? And what have you found against your servant from the day when I started being in your presence until this day, that I shouldn’t go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” 9 And Akish answered David and said, “I know that in my eyes you are as good as an angel of God, however, the officers of the Philistines have said that you may not go up with us to the battle. 10 So now, wake up early in the morning – {you} and your lord’s servants who came with you, and once y’all have woken up early in the morning and there is light for you, then go.” 11 So David got up early in the morning to go – he and his men – to return to the land of the Philistines. Meanwhile the Philistines went up to Jezreel.
Our story starts as David catches wind of the Philistines mobilizing for another battle against Israel. As he probably wondered what the Philistines would expect of him and what he should do, King Akish drafts him. It seems Akish trusts him and considers David an able-bodied Philistine now, so it’s off to war against Israel.
However, the way Akish words his summons to David in Hebrew emphasizes the phrase “with me,” in other words, Akish is promising to make sure that they stay close together in this battle.
Is that because he really wants this superstar warrior protecting him, or is it because he doesn’t trust David enough to let him out of his sight? We are not told.
It’s even possible that Achish offered David a place in his army as a gesture of respect to win David's favor, all the time knowing that the other Philistines would veto it. This would take the heat off his relationship with David and put it on the other Philistine rulers.
But here the underlying tension is introduced. To whom will David be loyal: the Philistines or the Israelites?
It's hard to tell whether David would have actually fought with the Philistines to kill his fellow Israelites or if he would have turned on the Philistines in battle1.
So far his policy has been to avoid raiding Jewish cities.
But he left his family and supplies in Ziklag. If he was going to go on a rampage against the Philistines, you'd think he'd have the foresight to somehow protect his family and belongings in Philistine territory from retaliation!
Surely it must have occurred to David that maybe this would be the way he could defeat Saul and gain the throne of Israel. The complications of this were surely enough to banish the thought from his mind pretty quickly though.
David accepts the summons to join with the Philistines in this battle, saying, “You’ll see what your servant does.”
The emphasis in the Greek and Hebrew wording of David’s reply is not on what he “can” do but rather on the fact that Akish will see whatever he does.
Akish’s emphasis on it being with him that David will go to war makes that a certainty, and it also is some reassurance for David that he will not be separated from Akish whom he knows and trusts.
The ambiguity, however, of David’s response is striking.
It seems Akish knows better than to let David out from under his scrutiny, and Akish may have felt that keeping David in his ranks would make it more difficult for him to fight for Israel against the Philistines, because the Philistines he would be fighting next to would be his neighbors that he was beholden to.
Perhaps David’s response is a lighthearted acknowledgment that it is only to be expected that the Philistines wouldn’t trust him and would want to keep their eyes on him.
David thus avoided making any commitment to Akish one way or the other.2
Did David mislead Akish, and was that O.K.? Andrew Willett answered in the affirmative, as most commentators after him also did, “[W]e need not be so scrupulous, to yield some infirmity to have been in the Saints, where the Scripture hath set it down so plainly: for David in pretending that he desired to go and fight against the king’s enemies, therein apparently spoke against his own mind and affection... and he evidently flattered and lied to the king.”
David was in a pickle, so he deceived Akish, but it’s important to note that it was his own fault that he was in such an awkward situation.
Matthew Henry noted in his commentary, “Into this strait he brought himself by his own unadvisedness, in quitting the land of Judah, and going among the uncircumcised. It is strange if those that associate themselves with wicked people, and grow intimate with them, come off without guilt, or grief, or both.”
Or, to state it positively in David’s words, “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful...” (Psalm 1:1, NAW)
If David hadn’t made his home among the Philistines, he wouldn’t have been in this pickle.
Are there any ways that you have looked to the world and God’s enemies to provide what you need and thus created a conflict-of-interest between your duties to God and your obligations to the world?
Perhaps you are receiving federal aid money that comes with requirements to do certain things that are against your conscience.
Or maybe you’ve gotten kickbacks from supply companies as incentives for passing less-than-ideal products on to customers.
Or you’ve become dependent for employment on a company which is antagonistic to Christianity.
Or you’ve given up waiting on God to provide something you needed and instead went into debt to get it now and are regretting that move.
Or, like David, went to some human agency to protect you from a threat, only to find that you should have looked to God instead, but now your integrity is compromised.
The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 “...we urge you, brothers… to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands... so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” (ESV)
Whatever the case, God will not abandon you if you repent and put your trust in Him and seek to make things right again. God was very gracious to David in the way this circumstance turned out in his life, although God made him feel a little more heat first.
King Akish had considered David and decided he wanted David to be his bodyguard – literally the “protector of his head for all [the rest of] his days.” So he marches David’s regiment along with his troops from Gath, 30 miles up the Mediterranean coastal plain to the rendezvous point in Aphek, on the Philistine side of the hill-country of Ephraim, a central location in a sparsely-populated area from which they could choose to attack Israel from a number of different angles3.
The Philistines were a confederation of 5 city-states, so it appears that each of the five Philistine cities mustered their own regiments and passed in review in front of the lords of the other 4 cities while the five ruler-lords, together with each thousand-man unit’s commanding officer, studied each other’s troops and made plans together. (This was before they had football teams to occupy themselves with.) But when they saw this Hebrew regiment in the train of the Gath division they were like, “Whoah, what the heck does Akish think he’s doing?!”
Akish answers the question with a question, typical of Philistine custom in debate (which may be an indication he was aware that taking David into battle with him would be challenged). His words are literally “Is this not David...?”
The sense is not so much a question of identity (as in, “Help me out here, guys, I’m trying to decide, Is this David or is it somebody else?”);
rather it’s a setup for a mic-drop statement, “Hey guys, believe it or not, I’ve actually recruited Israel’s superstar warlord to fight for us! Can’t touch that!”
Akish vouches for David’s loyalty throughout his sojourn in Philistia, which seems to have been between one and two years.
It appears that David has indeed followed the advice that Jesus and the apostles later gave to be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (Matt. 10:16, KJV), and to “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside [the faith], redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” (Col. 4:5-6, NJKV)
But songs have a way of sticking in people's minds, and the Philistines remembered the song the women sang of David when he had killed Goliath: "Saul has killed his thousands, but David his myriads." Akish's advisors remembered that song the first time David sought asylum in Gath (21:11), and the Philistine army-officers remember it again now as Akish tries to bring David into battle with them4.
They may have also remembered the time in the earlier battle in chapter 14 when the Hebrews who were with the Philistines switched loyalties and started fighting against the Philistines from within the Philistine camp.
Furthermore, David and his soldiers already had a history of being turncoats. Akish inadvertently raises this question of loyalty by mentioning in v.3 that David had been the “servant” of Saul but now was “with” Akish (as his servant). But if David had abandoned King Saul earlier, what would stop him from leaving King Akish now? In fact, they reckoned, what better way for David to get back on good terms with Saul than for him to chop off a bunch of Philistine heads in this battle and then carry them to Saul – just like he had done with Goliath’s head several years earlier.
The Philistine rulers are not convinced that David considers Akish his master. They turn Akish’s statement against him and claim that David considers Saul to be his master.
The Philistine rulers handled this situation wisely by not taking the risk and by sending David back to his responsibilities in Ziklag. This was really smart, because, not only did it solve the problem of having an Israelite regiment in their army fighting with a conflict of interest against their homeland in Israel, it also gave David something positive he could do for the Philistines, namely to form a rear detachment and guard the back-door from attackers from the South while “all” the Philistine forces were away up North fighting Israel. (As we’ll see in the next chapter, that was a real danger.)
In v.6, Achish breaks the news to David, but notice how he begins, “As Yahweh lives...” Why would this pagan king swear by the true and living God? What on earth is the name of Yahweh5 doing on the lips of a Philistine king?? This tells us something more about the relationship between Akish and David. David must have told him about the LORD!
There must have been a great deal of respect between Achish and David. Achish must have been impressed by David's military prowess (that is probably what won his admiration initially), but when he saw the integrity and piety and justice and kindness of David over a period of years as David’s neighbor, and as he heard David share about the God he worshipped (You’ve read David’s Psalms and seen how central his relationship with God was; do you think he wouldn’t have shared that with his friends??), this must have created a serious respect in Achish's mind for David and his God! (Not to mention the respect already developed in his mind from the power God had displayed earlier through the plagues when the Philistines had captured the ark!) And now this Philistine king makes a promise in the name of Yahweh, ostensibly submitting himself to Yahweh’s accountability as he speaks what may have been his last words to David.
There is a lot that can be logically inferred from Akish says here. Puritan commentator Andrew Willett noted that when Akish in v.9 calls David “an angel of God” “Achish confesseth ... that there is ... one almightie God... that ... is just and upright, and therefore loveth such, as are so... also that the blessed Angels were ministering spirits unto this Jehovah.”
Exactly how much David shared and Akish believed, we don’t know, but here we have an example from David’s life of sharing about the Lord with an authority who was naturally hostile to the true faith – and it had an effect! Are you doing that with the hostile authorities in your life? Demonstrating the goodness of the Christian faith through a life of integrity and kindness while talking about Jesus? Who in your life would you like to hear say someday, like Akish did, “You know, your Jesus is a God worth having, all your comings and goings have been good as far as I am concerned; I’ve never seen you give in to evil. You are a real messenger of God, and I wish you the best!”
Of course, David objects to being sent away in v.8, using questions the way the Philistines did in their culture.
It’s hard to tell whether he is doing it for show6 (so as not to reveal what a relief it would be to him not to be forced to fight against his fellow-countrymen in Israel) or whether his feelings were genuinely hurt by the 4 against 1 decision of the Philistine lords not to let him go into battle with them.
At any rate, David affirms that he considers himself a “servant” of Akish (although I must admit there is some ambiguity to that: when David mentions “fighting against the enemies of my lord the king,” one has to wonder whether he meant King Saul or King Akish).
Akish probably took it as another affirmation of loyalty to himself, for in v.10, as I interpret it, Akish calls himself the “lord” of David and his men7.
Akish talks David down with the reassurance that he believes David is properly loyal to him, but that more time would be needed to convince the other Philistine lords, and now wasn’t the time to force the issue.8
It speaks of the considerateness of Akish that he didn’t order David immediately on a sleep-deprivation march in the black of night through unfamiliar territory back to Ziklag. He let David and his troops get a good night of sleep and leave as soon as they had enough light in the morning to see where they were going.
The Septuagint adds a little tag which might not be in the original manuscripts but is still an ancient tradition where Akish instructs David to go back to fulfill his duties in Ziklag and exhorts David not to hold a grudge against him because he still likes him.
This is the last mention of Akish during the life of David. It is possible that this was their last goodbye and that they never saw each other again.
The only other time after this in the Bible that Akish is mentioned is some 50 years later, under Solomon’s reign, where “Achish, son of Maacah,” is mentioned as being king of Gath in 1 Kings 2:39. His father’s name is spelled slightly different in 1 Kings than it is in 1 Samuel, so it may or may not have been the same guy. But if it was, then David must have made an exception for Akish in his campaigns against the Canaanites and left Akish at peace.
I think it’s also possible that Akish could have foreseen that this battle might end Saul’s life and that, in the ensuing leadership vacuum, David might be catapulted into the kingship of Israel. And as an Israelite warrior, David had already proved himself a formidable foe against the Philistines – and against Gath in particular. Akish’s almost-fatherly treatment of David at this time may have been his way of winning peace between their kingdoms.
At any rate, David marches southward, back to his home in Ziklag, and 1Chronicles 12:19-20 tells us that this excursion with the Philistine army, even though he didn’t get to fight, ended up swelling his ranks because some men from the tribe of Manasseh went over to David while he was going with the Philistines to battle against Saul… seven officers, each with a thousand men under them!
So, despite David’s foibles, God was good to him, and despite the question of where David’s true loyalty lay between Saul and Akish, his loyalty to God shines through and is seen even by the king of the Philistines.
The question of loyalty is one that we should apply to ourselves. Where does your loyalty lie?
For us, it’s not Israel vs. Philistia, it’s the kingdom of God vs. the kingdom of man. The heavenly Jerusalem vs. the earthly leviathan-state. Which are you going to identify with?
Alex and Theresia Fellows, Australians who served as missionaries for thirty years in Ethiopia told the following story recorded in Kay Bascom’s book Overcomers: God’s Deliverance Through the Ethiopian Revolution9. “At a grass church with a congregation made up of largely first and second generation Christians, a uniformed stranger arrived during a service. The congregation wondered, was it to forcibly conscript their young men for the war in Eritrea or the Ogaden? … The defenseless peasants sat apprehensively in the church that day as the officer stepped to the front and blurted out, ‘Who in this room believes in the God business?’ Perhaps half the hands went up slowly in the silence. ‘The rest of you, leave!’ he commanded. Those gone, another gruff question dared the remnant. ‘And who here believes in this Jesus Christ stuff?’ Silence. A few hands went up. ‘The rest of you are dismissed,’ he barked. When the last filed out, he ordered the door shut. With atheism being one of the articles of the Revolution, the little flock waited for their sentence. With deep emotion, he spoke: ‘I, too, am a Christian.’ Comforting them like a father, the officer encouraged and strengthened those remaining inside with the word of God.”
Would you have identified yourself with Jesus in that situation?
Are there worldly associations that you need to break with in order to free yourself from situations that compromise your faith? “Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful...” (Ps. 1:1, NAW)
If, however, you are in the place where God has called you to be, are you following David’s example of living a blameless life in the midst of a hostile environment?
1 Thessalonians 4:10-12 “...we urge you, brothers… to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands... so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” (ESV)
Matt. 10:16 “Be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves” (KJV)
Col. 4:5-6 “Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside [the faith], redeeming the time. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” (NJKV)
Are you working hard, being harmless, speaking graciously, and sharing with them about the Lord like David did with Akish? Are you an angel (or messenger) of God to non-Christians? If you also tell the truth, you’ll be a leg up on David. Besides, you never know, this may be the last conversation you ever have with them.
In the Overcomers book, another story is told about an Ethiopian man named Desalegn Tessema. He grew up in a Christian family and was persecuted for his faith in high school and college, but God provided him an important position in the Marxist revolutionary government under the wicked leadership of Mengistu as a “Deputy Subregion administrator... His parents were distressed that he would work for an atheistic government. ‘I assured them that this was from the Lord, just like Joseph had known that his appointment in Pharaoh’s court was designed by God. My parents were persuaded, and the elders of the church met to commend me to God in my new job, vowing to keep me in their prayers every day.’ From the very first, Desalegn declared himself openly as a practicing Bible-believing Christian. Accusations were gathered against him, listing all sorts of ‘crimes’ but somehow he stayed on duty. ‘When the TPLF overpowered the Mengistu government in 1991,’ Desalegn recounted later, ‘all the administrators ran away, fearing reprisals from the people. I stayed where I was. Some friends asked me, “Why don’t you take your family and flee for your life?” I replied that the Lord had called me to this job and was able to protect me under any circumstances. When the new government finally got around to investigating me, they asked the people of the district what sort of administrator I had been, and not one person testified against me….’ The Christian in a socialist society is simply to be the new man – a man whom only Christ can produce.”
If you’re not so sure you’re in the right place and anxious about how it’s all going to turn out, David probably had those feelings too, as we see from his Psalms, but he kept trusting God, and as we see from this story, God took care of David despite all kinds of harrowing situations.
Psalm 37 “About evil men don't heat yourself up... 3 Believe Yahweh and do what is good. Settle down on the land and associate with faithfulness... 5 Commit your way to Yahweh and believe on him, so it is He who will operate, 6 and He will bring forth your righteousness like the daylight and your justice like the noonday… 23 Man's steps are established by Yahweh, and His way is what he delights in and His way is what he delights in. 24 When he falls, he will not be thrown off, because it is Yahweh who is holding up his hand… 38 but transgressors will be altogether destroyed; the "after" of wicked men will be cut off.” (NAW)
You may almost slip, like Asaph later wrote about in Psalm 73:1-2 “Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold...23 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You hold me by my right hand. 24 You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory.” (NKJV)
Another story from the Overcomers book illustrates this point: Ekaso Eybero was an Ethiopian evangelist sent out from a well-established Christian church in the Wolaitta area to the “wild and quite unreached” Hamer area. As Mengistu’s Marxist-Leninist regime systematically turned every aspect of Ethiopian society upside-down, and all the missionaries had to leave and close down their missions and bible schools, and local churches were destroyed, many national evangelists went home, but not Ekaso. “‘When we came to this part of the country it was in spiritual darkness,’ Ekaso reasoned. ‘We have no intention of letting the people drift back into that darkness. They still need much teaching, so we’re staying… You see, we had no relatives there to help us… according to [the locals] we had brought in a useless foreign religion which did not fit in with their way of living. I replied to them, “You depend upon your cattle for life and strength; we depend upon our God.” They told me, “Your foreigners have gone, and the water supply has stopped” [because we couldn’t get gasoline to run the pump]. My response to that was to remind them what we had always believed; that God, the creator of rain, could supply all the water we would need - and theirs too.’ And He did.”
Keep trusting God even in the midst of wickedness, and He will deliver you.
LXX |
Brenton |
DRB |
KJV |
NASB |
NIV |
NAW |
MT |
28:1
Καὶ ἐγενήθη
ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις
ἐκείναις καὶ
συναθροίζονται
ἀλλόφυλοι
ἐν ταῖς παρεμβολαῖς
αὐτῶν |
28:1
And it came to pass in those days that the Philistines gathered
themselves together with their armies
to |
28:1 And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered together their armies, to be prepared for war against Israel: And Achis said to David: Know thou [now] assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to the war, thou, and thy men. |
28:1 And it came to pass in those days, that the Philistines gathered their armiesB together for warfare, to fight with Israel. And Achish said unto David, Know thou assuredly, that thou shalt go out with me to battleC thou and thy men. |
28:1 Now it came about in those days that the Philistines gathered their armed camps for war, to fight against Israel. And Achish said to David, "Know assuredly that you will go out with me in the camp, you and your men." |
28:1 X In those days the Philistines gathered their forces X X to fight against Israel. X Achish said to David, "You must understand that you and your men will accompany me in the army." |
28:1 And it happened during those days that the Philistines assembled their army-camps for the muster to wage war in Israel, and Akish said to David, “Know for sure that that it will be with me that you and your men go out into the {battle}.” |
28:1 וַיְהִי בַּיָּמִים הָהֵם וַיִּקְבְּצוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֶת-מַחֲנֵיהֶם לַצָּבָאD לְהִלָּחֵם בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וַיֹּאמֶר אָכִישׁ אֶל-דָּוִד יָדֹעַ תֵּדַע כִּי אִתִּי תֵּצֵא בַמַּחֲנֶהE אַתָּה וַאֲנָשֶׁיךָF: |
28:2
καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ
πρὸς Αγχους
Οὕτω |
28:2
And David said to Anchus, Thus |
28:2 And David said to Achis: X Now thou shalt know what thy servant will do. And Achis said to David: And I will appoint thee to guard my life for ever X. |
28:2 And David said to Achish, SurelyI thou shalt know what thy servant [canJ] do. And Achish said to David, Therefore will I make thee keeper of mine headK for everL X. |
28:2 X David said to Achish, "Very well, you shall know what your servant [can] do." So Achish said to David, "Very well, I will make you my bodyguard for X life." |
28:2
X
David
said X
X,
"Then you will |
28:2 And David said to Akish, “{Now} then, you’ll know what your servant is doing!” And Akish said to David, “Then I shall appoint you protector of my head all your days!” |
28:2 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל-אָכִישׁ לָכֵן אַתָּהM תֵדַע אֵת אֲשֶׁר-יַעֲשֶׂה עַבְדֶּךָ וַיֹּאמֶר אָכִישׁ אֶל- דָּוִד לָכֵן שֹׁמֵר לְרֹאשִׁי אֲשִׂימְךָ כָּל-הַיָּמִים: פ |
Intervening text is published with the previous sermon. |
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29:1 Καὶ συναθροίζουσιν ἀλλόφυλοι πάσας τὰς παρεμβολὰς αὐτῶν εἰς Αφεκ, καὶ Ισραηλ παρενέβαλεν ἐν Αεν[δωρ]N τῇ ἐν Ιεζραελ. |
29:1 And the Philistines gather all their armies to Aphec, and Israel encamped in Aen[dor], which is in Jezrael. |
29:1 Now all the troops of the Philistines were gathered together to Aphec: and Israel also encamped by the fountain, which is in Jezrahel. |
29:1
Now
the Philistines gathered together all their armies
to
Aphek, and the Israelites pitched
by |
29:1 Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek, while the Israelites were camping by the spring which is in Jezreel. |
29:1 X The Philistines gathered all their forces at Aphek, and Israel camped by the spring in Jezreel. |
29:1 Now, the Philistines assembled all their army-camps at Aphek. Meanwhile, Israel was positioning itself at the spring which is in Jezreel. |
29:1 וַיִּקְבְּצוּ פְלִשְׁתִּים אֶת- כָּל-מַחֲנֵיהֶם אֲפֵקָה וְיִשְׂרָאֵל חֹנִים בַּעַיִן אֲשֶׁר בְּיִזְרְעֶאלO: |
2 καὶ σατράπαι ἀλλοφύλων παρεπορεύοντο εἰς ἑκατοντάδας καὶ χιλιάδας, καὶ Δαυιδ καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτοῦ παρεπορεύοντο ἐπ᾿ ἐσχάτων μετὰ Αγχους. |
2 And the lords of the Philistines went on by hundreds and thousands, and David and his men went on in the rear with Anchus. |
2 And the lords of the Philistines marched with their hundreds and their thousands: but David and his men were in the rear with Achis. |
2 And the lords of the Philistines passed onP by hundreds and by thousands, but David and his men passed on in the rereward with Achish. |
2 And the lords of the Philistines were proceeding on by hundreds and by thousands, and David and his men were proceeding on in the rear with Achish. |
2 As the Philistine rulers marched with [their units of] hundreds and thousands, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish. |
2 And the Philistine lords went by in hundreds and by thousands. David and his men also went by with Akish, in his rear-guard. |
2 וְסַרְנֵיQ פְלִשְׁתִּים עֹבְרִים לְמֵאוֹת וְלַאֲלָפִים וְדָוִד וַאֲנָשָׁיו עֹבְרִים בָּאַחֲרֹנָה עִם-אָכִישׁ: |
3
καὶ εἶπον οἱ
σατράπαι τῶν
ἀλλοφύλων
Τίνες οἱ διαπορευόμενοι
οὗτοι; καὶ εἶπεν
Αγχους πρὸς
τοὺς στρατηγοὺς
τῶν ἀλλοφύλων
|
3
And the lords of the Philistines
said, Who are these that
passS
by?
And Anchus said to the captains of the Philistines, |
3
And the princes
of the Philistines
said [to
Achis]:
What mean these Hebrews?
And Achis said to the princes of the Philistines: |
3
Then said
the
princesT
of the Philistines,
"What do
these Hebrews
here?"
And Achish said unto
the princes of the Philistines, |
3
Then the commanders of the Philistines said, "What are
these Hebrews
doing
here?"
And Achish
said to the commanders
of the Philistines,
|
3
X
The
commanders of the Philistines
asked, "What about these Hebrews?"
X
Achish
replied X
X X X ,
|
3
But
the officers of the Philistines said, “Why
these Hebrews?”
And Akish said to the officers of the Philistines, |
3
וַיֹּאמְרוּ
שָׂרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים
מָה הָעִבְרִים
הָאֵלֶּה וַיֹּאמֶר
אָכִישׁ אֶל-שָׂרֵי
פְלִשְׁתִּים
|
4
καὶ ἐλυπήθησανX
ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ οἱ
στρατηγοὶ τῶν
ἀλλοφύλων
καὶ λέγουσιν
αὐτῷ X
X
Ἀπόστρεψον
τὸν ἄνδρα εἰς
τὸν τόπον αὐτοῦ,
οὗ κατέστησας
αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ, καὶ
μὴ ἐρχέσθω μεθ᾿
ἡμῶν εἰς τὸν
πόλεμον καὶ
μὴ γινέσθω
ἐπίβουλος
X
X τῆς
|
4
And the captains of the Philistines were displeased
at him, and X
X
they
say to him, Send the man away, and let him return to his place,
where thou didst set him; and let him not come with us to the war,
and let him not be a traitor X
X
in the |
4
But the prices of the Philistines
were angry with him, and X
X
they
said to him: Let this man return, and |
4
And
the princes of the Philistines were wroth
with him; and
the princes
of the Philistines
said unto
him, "Make this fellow return, that he may go again
to his
place which thou
hast
appointed him, and let him not
go
down with us to battle, lest in the battle he become an
adversary
to
us.
For wherewith
should
|
4 But the commanders of the Philistines were angry with him, and the commanders of the Philistines said to him, "Make the man go back, that he may return to his place where you have assigned him, and do not let him go down to battle with us, or in the battle he may become an adversary to us. For with what could this man make himself acceptable to his lord? Would it not be with the heads of these men? |
4
But the Philistine commanders were angry with him and X
X
said,
"Send the man back, that he may return to the place you
assigned him. He must not go with us into battle, or he will turn
against
us during the fighting. X
How
|
4 But the officers of the Philistines got angry at him and {they} said to him, “Make the man go back and let him return to his place that you made him accountable for there, and don’t let him go down with us into the battle so that he doesn’t become an adversary against us in the battle, for with what might this guy make himself acceptable to his master? Wouldn’t it be with the heads of these men? |
4 וַיִּקְצְפוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים וַיֹּאמְרוּ לוֹ שָׂרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּיםAB הָשֵׁב אֶת-הָאִישׁ וְיָשֹׁב אֶל-מְקוֹמוֹ אֲשֶׁר הִפְקַדְתּוֹ שָׁם וְלֹא-יֵרֵד עִמָּנוּ בַּמִּלְחָמָה וְלֹא- יִהְיֶה-לָּנוּ לְשָׂטָן בַּמִּלְחָמָה וּבַמֶּה יִתְרַצֶּה זֶה אֶל- אֲדֹנָיו הֲלוֹא בְּרָאשֵׁי הָאֲנָשִׁים הָהֵם: |
5 οὐχ οὗτος Δαυιδ, ᾧ ἐξῆρχον ἐν χοροῖς λέγοντες Ἐπάταξεν Σαουλ ἐν χιλιάσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ Δαυιδ ἐν μυριάσιν αὐτοῦ; |
5 Is not this David whom they celebrated in dances, saying, Saul has smitten his thousands, and David his ten thousands? |
5 Is not this David, to whom they sung in their dances, saying: Saul slew his thousands, and David his ten thousands? |
5 Is not this David, of whom they sang to one another in dances, saying: 'Saul slewAC his thousands, and David his ten thousands'?" |
5 "Is this not David, of whom they sing in the dances, saying, 'Saul has slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands'?" |
5 Isn't this the David X they sang about in their dances X: "'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands'?" |
5 Is this not David about whom they celebrated in their circle-dances, saying, ‘Saul struck down his thousands, but David his tens of thousands!’?” |
5 הֲלוֹא-זֶה דָוִד אֲשֶׁר יַעֲנוּ-לוֹ בַּמְּחֹלוֹת לֵאמֹר הִכָּה שָׁאוּל בַּאֲלָפָיו וְדָוִד בְּרִבְבֹתוֹAD: ס |
6 καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Αγχους τὸν Δαυιδ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ζῇ κύριος ὅτι εὐθὴς σὺ καὶ ἀγαθὸς ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς μου, [καὶ] ἡ ἔξοδός σου καὶ ἡ εἴσοδός σου μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἐν τῇ παρεμβολῇ, [καὶ] ὅτι οὐχ εὕρηκα κατὰ σοῦ κακίαν ἀφ᾿ ἧς ἡμέρας ἥκεις πρός με ἕως τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας· καὶ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς τῶν σατραπῶν οὐκ ἀγαθὸςAE σύ· |
6 And Anchus called David, and said to him, As the Lord lives, thou art right and approved in my eyes, [and so] is thy going out and thy coming in with me in the army, and I have not found [any] evil [to charge] against thee from the day that thou camest to me until this day: but thou art not approved in the eyes of the lords. |
6 Then Achis called David, and said to him: As the Lord liveth, thou art upright and good in my sight: [and so] is thy going out, and thy coming in with me in the army: and I have not found [any] evil in thee, since the day that thou camest to me unto this day: but thou pleasest not X X the lords. |
6 Then Achish called David, and said unto him, "Surely, as the LORD liveth, thou hast been uprightAF, and thy going out and thy coming in with me in the hostAG is goodAH in my sight. For I have not found evil in thee since the day of thy coming unto me unto this day. Nevertheless X X the lords favor thee not. |
6 Then Achish called David and said to him, "As the LORD lives, you have been upright, and your going out and your coming in with me in the army are pleasing in my sight; for I have not found evil in you from the day of your coming to me to this day. Nevertheless, you are not pleasing in the sight of the lords. |
6
So Achish called David and said to him, "As surely as the
LORD lives, you have been reliable,
and X
X I
would be pleased
[to
have]
you |
6 So Akish called for David and said to him, “As Yahweh lives, [I swear] that you are innocent and good in my eyes, {and so} is your going out and your coming in with me in the army-camp, for I have not found fault in you from the day of your coming to me until this day. But in the eyes of the lords you are not good. |
6 וַיִּקְרָא אָכִישׁ אֶל-דָּוִד וַיֹּאמֶר אֵלָיו חַי-יְהוָה כִּי-יָשָׁר אַתָּה וְטוֹב בְּעֵינַי צֵאתְךָ וּבֹאֲךָ אִתִּי בַּמַּחֲנֶה כִּי לֹא-מָצָאתִי בְךָ רָעָה מִיּוֹם בֹּאֲךָ אֵלַי עַד-הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה וּבְעֵינֵי הַסְּרָנִים לֹא- טוֹב אָתָּה: |
7 καὶ νῦν ἀνάστρεφε καὶ πορεύου εἰς εἰρήνην, καὶ οὐ μὴ ποιήσεις κακίαν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς τῶν σατραπῶν τῶν ἀλλοφύλων. |
7 Now then return and go in peace, thus thou shalt not do evil in the sight of the lords of the Philistines. |
7 X Return therefore, and go in peace, and X offend not the X eyes of the princes of the Philistines. |
7 Wherefore now return, and go in peace, that thou X displeaseAI not X the X XAJ lords of the Philistines." |
7 "Now therefore return and go in peace, that you may not X displease X the X X lords of the Philistines." |
7
X
X Turn
back and go in peace; do nothing |
7 So now, return and go in peace, and don’t do what is faulty in the eyes of the lords of the Philistines.” |
7 וְעַתָּה שׁוּב וְלֵךְ בְּשָׁלוֹם וְלֹא-תַעֲשֶׂה רָע בְּעֵינֵי סַרְנֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים: ס |
8 καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ πρὸς Αγχους Τί πεποίηκά [σοι] καὶ τί εὗρες ἐν τῷ δούλῳ σου ἀφ᾿ ἧς ἡμέρας ἤμην ἐνώπιόν σου [καὶ] ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης, ὅτι οὐ μὴ ἔλθω πολεμῆσαι τοὺς ἐχθροὺς τοῦ κυρίου μου τοῦ βασιλέως; |
8 And David said to Anchus, What have I done [to thee]? and what hast thou found in thy servant from the [firstAK] day that I was before thee [even] until this day, that I should not come and war against the enemies of the lord my king? |
8 And David said to Achis: But what have I done, or what hast thou found [in me] thy servant, from the day that I have been in thy sight until this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king? |
8
And David said unto Achish, But what have I done? and what hast
thou found in thy servant |
8
X
David
said to Achish, "But what have I done? And what have you
found in your servant from the day when I |
8
"But what have I done?" asked David X
X.
"X
What
have you found against your servant from the day X
I
|
8 Then David said to Akish, “But what have I done? And what have you found against your servant from the day when I started being in your presence until this day, that I shouldn’t go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?” |
8 וַיֹּאמֶר דָּוִד אֶל-אָכִישׁ כִּי AM מֶה עָשִׂיתִי וּמַה-מָּצָאתָ בְעַבְדְּךָ מִיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר הָיִיתִי לְפָנֶיךָ עַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה כִּי לֹא אָבוֹא וְנִלְחַמְתִּי בְּאֹיְבֵי אֲדֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ: |
9 καὶ ἀπεκρίθη Αγχους πρὸς Δαυιδ X X Οἶδα ὅτι ἀγαθὸς σὺ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς μου X X X, ἀλλ᾿ οἱ σατράπαι τῶν ἀλλοφύλων λέγουσιν Οὐχ ἥξει μεθ᾿ ἡμῶν εἰς πόλεμον. |
9 And Anchus answered David X X, I know that thou art good in my eyes X X X, but the lords of the Philistines say, He shall not come with us to the war. |
9 And Achis answering, X said to David: I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: But the princes of the Philistines have said: He shall not go up with us to the battle. |
9 And Achish answered and said to David, I know that thou art good in my sight, as an angel of God: notwithstanding the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. |
9 But Achish replied to David X X, "I know that you are pleasing in my sight, like an angel of God; nevertheless the commanders of the Philistines have said, 'He must not go up with us to the battle.' |
9 X Achish answered X X X X, "I know that you have been as pleasing in my eyes as an angel of God; nevertheless, the Philistine commanders have said, 'He must not go up with us into X battle.' |
9 And Akish answered David and said, “I know that, in my eyes, you are as good as an angel of God, however, the officers of the Philistines have said that you may not go up with us to the battle. |
9 וַיַּעַן אָכִישׁ וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל-דָּוִד יָדַעְתִּי כִּי טוֹב אַתָּה בְּעֵינַי כְּמַלְאַךְ אֱלֹהִים אַךְ שָׂרֵי פְלִשְׁתִּים אָמְרוּ לֹא-יַעֲלֶהAN עִמָּנוּ בַּמִּלְחָמָה: |
10
καὶ νῦν ὄρθρισον
τὸ πρωί, [σὺ]
καὶ οἱ παῖδες
τοῦ κυρίου
σου οἱ ἥκοντες
μετὰ σοῦ, [καὶ
πορεύεσθε
εἰς τὸν τόπον,
οὗ κατέστησα
ὑμᾶς ἐκεῖ, καὶ
λόγον λοιμὸν
μὴ θῇς ἐν καρδίᾳ
σου, ὅτι ἀγαθὸς
σὺ ἐνώπιόν μου·]
καὶ ὀρθρίσατε
ἐν τῇ |
10
Now then rise
up early
in the morning, [thou]
and the servants of thy lord that are come with thee, [and
go to the place where I appointed you, and entertain no evil
thought in thy heart, for thou art good in my sight:]
and rise
early
for your |
10
Therefore arise
X
in
the morning, [thou],
and the servants of thy lord, who came with thee: and when you are
up
before |
10 Wherefore now rise up early in the morning with thy master's servants that are come with thee: and as soon as ye be up early in the morning, and have light, X depart. |
10 "Now then arise early in the morning with the servants of your lord who have come with you, and as soon as you have arisen early in the morning and have light, X depart." |
10
X
Now
get
up early
X
X,
along with your master's servants who have come with you, X
X
and
leave in the morning as soon as |
10 So now, wake up early in the morning – {you} and your lord’s servants who came with you, and once y’all have woken up early in the morning and there is light for you, then go.” |
10 וְעַתָּה הַשְׁכֵּם בַּבֹּקֶר וְעַבְדֵי אֲדֹנֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר-בָּאוּ אִתָּךְAO וְהִשְׁכַּמְתֶּם בַּבֹּקֶר וְאוֹר לָכֶם וָלֵכוּ: |
11
καὶ ὤρθρισεν
Δαυιδ αὐτὸς
καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες
αὐτοῦ ἀπελθεῖν
|
11
So David arose
early,
he and his men, to depart |
11 So David X and his men arose [in the night], that they might set forward in the morning, and returned to the land of the Philistines: and the Philistines went up to Jezrahel. |
11 So David X and his men rose up early to depart in the morning, to return into the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. |
11 So David arose early, he and his men, to depart in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines. And the Philistines went up to Jezreel. |
11 So David X and his men got up early X X in the morning to go back to the land of the Philistines, and the Philistines went up to Jezreel. |
11 So David got up early in the morning to go – he and his men – to return to the land of the Philistines, while the Philistines went up to Jezreel. |
11 וַיַּשְׁכֵּם דָּוִד הוּא וַאֲנָשָׁיו לָלֶכֶת בַּבֹּקֶרAP לָשׁוּב אֶל-אֶרֶץ פְּלִשְׁתִּים וּפְלִשְׁתִּים עָלוּ יִזְרְעֶאל: ס |
1Abarbanel suggested that perhaps David committed to merely be Akish’s bodyguard and protect him, but take no offensive against any Israelite. Matthew Henry expressed skepticism of that idea.
2cf. Willett: “David gave this wise answer unto Achish, neither directly promising his help, as Josephus saith, ‘he did prompte polliceri operam, readily promise his help’: neither yet denying the same: but he waited upon God for his direction...”
3This is the majority opinion among Bible scholars, although there are some who advocate for it being located up in the Jezreel Valley closer to Saul’s position at Mt. Gilboa.
4Matthew Henry made an interesting application, writing, “Who would be fond of popular praise or applause when, even that may, another time, be turned against a man to his reproach?”
5McCarter is quoted by Tsumura as saying it was only a “matter of courtesy,” but Tsumura didn’t seem to agree, nor did most other commentators.
6Commentators who came down on this side included Matthew Henry, Goldman, Gill, Jamieson, and Keil & Delitzsch.
7Henry, Gill, & Keil & Delitzsch however, thought that Akish’s description of David’s men as “the servants of your lord” was speaking of Saul as their king. Tsumurah, on the other hand, thought it referred to David as the “lord” of the 600 men with him. The text is ambiguous, but since Akish nowhere speaks of Saul or David as “lord,” I assume he speaks of himself.
8“[Akish] reported the words of the Princes of the Philistims in better manner then they first spake them... teaching us, that when we report a tale from another’s mouth, we should make not the worst but the best of it.” ~A. Willett
92018, Wiph and Stock Publishers, Eugene OR
AMy
original chart includes the NASB and NIV, but their copyright
restrictions have forced me to remove them from the
publicly-available edition of this chart. I have included the ESV in
footnotes when it employs a word not already used by the KJV, NASB,
or NIV. (NAW is my translation.) When a translation adds words not
in the Hebrew text, but does not indicate it has done so by the use
of italics (or greyed-out text), I put the added words in [square
brackets]. When one version chooses a wording which is different
from all the other translations, I underline it. When a
version chooses a translation which, in my opinion, either departs
too far from the root meaning of the Hebrew word or departs too far
from the grammar form of the original text, I use strikeout.
And when a version omits a word which is in the original text, I
insert an X. (I also place an X at the end of a word if the original
word is plural but the English translation is singular.) I
occasionally use colors to help the reader see correlations between
the various editions and versions when there are more than two
different translations of a given word. The only known Dead Sea
Scroll containing any part of 1 Samuel 28 of 29 is 4Q51Samuela,
which has been dated between 50-25 B.C. and which contains fragments
of verses 28: 1-3, 22-25, and 29:1. Where the DSS is legible and is
in agreement with the MT, the MT text is colored purple. Where the
DSS supports the LXX with omissions or text not in the MT, I have
highlighted with
yellow the LXX and its translation into English, and where I
have accepted that into my NAW translation, I have marked it with
{pointed brackets}.
BLit. “camps,” NASB = “armed camps,” NIV & ESV = “forces” (“force” is not the central meaning of this Hebrew word). In v.5, where this word recurs, KJV changes to “host” (usually reserved for translating a different Hebrew word צבא), and NIV changes to “army,” NASB to “camp.”
CNASB, NIV (uncharacteristically), and ESV all follow the MT instead, which reads “camp/army.”
DThe LXX reads as though the word were צאת instead of צבא. The DSS is not legible at this point for comparison. Either Hebrew word would make sense (the latter being a synonym for the word קבץ “assembled” used earlier in this verse (compare with אסף in 17:1), and the former being used in the phrase “go out to battle” at the end of this verse), and neither changes the overall meaning.
EDSS reads לחמה** “war/battle” instead of the MT’s “camp/army.” The LXX and Vulgate follow the DSS reading. Both would be true ultimately.
FDSS adds *laurzy “Jezreel” This piece of information is found in all the mss in 29:1 & 11, but only in the DSS here, so it doesn’t add anything new or different.
GAppears to be reading the MT אתה (“you”) as though it were עתה (“now”). The Vulgate nunc appears to support LXX.
HAll later Greek versions rendered more closely to the MT with fulaka thV kefalhV mou “protector of my head.”
INASB & ESV = “very well,” NIV renders more literally “then.” The same word begins Akish’s reply at the end of the verse, but there KJV switches to “therefore,” and NIV switches to “very well.”
JThe concept of “ability” is not part of the context of the Hebrew or Greek word for “do” here. The ambiguity of David’s response is striking. It seems Akish knows better than to let David out from under his scrutiny, and Akish may have felt that keeping David in his ranks would make it more difficult for him to fight for Israel against the Philistines, because the Philistines he would be fighting next to would be his neighbors that he was beholden to. Perhaps David’s response is a lighthearted acknowledgment that it is only to be expected that the Philistines wouldn’t trust him and would want to keep their eyes on him. David thus avoided making any commitment to Akish one way or the other. (Henry, K&D, Goldman) cf. Willett: “David gave this wise answer unto Achish, neither directly promising his help, as Josephus saith, ‘he did prompte polliceri operam, readily promise his help’: neither yet denying the same: but he waited upon God for his direction...”
K“Head” is the literal meaning of the Hebrew word, but NASB, NIV, and ESV render it “body” (which would be a different word in Hebrew).
LIn Greek & Hebrew literally “all the days;” NASB, NIV, and ESV render “for life,” which has the same sense in English.
MAlthough this section is illegible, there is not enough room in the DSS manuscript for all the words in the MT. It appears that the DSS omits the phrases אֶל-אָכִישׁ לָכֵן אַתָּה “to Akish, ‘Therefore you’” But these words are in the LXX and Vulgate. The NIV drops the first phrase “to Akish” but not the second. The addressee (Akish) is already clear from context, however, and the opening conjunction of the quote doesn’t really add information, and the emphatic “you” is not necessary because the following verb is spelled 2nd person singular (“you shall know”), so it makes no difference in meaning, whether or not the words are original.
NThe LXX simply transliterated the Hebrew word into Greek letters, thinking it to be a place name, whereas most English versions translate the Hebrew word into what it means in English. (Some Greek versions did translate it as phgh “fountain.”)
OThere seems to be some debate on the part of Bible scholars as to the location of Aphek. The popular location is on the coastal plain directly above Gath, west of the hill country of Ephraim and south of the Mt. Hermon range. If that is so, then the Jezreel spoken of here could perhaps be the one mentioned in 1 Kings 21:1 and 2 Kings 9:30 as being in close proximity to Samaria. K&D, on the other hand, claimed that Aphek was an as-yet-undiscovered village in the Jezreel valley, much closer to the final battle. Most commentators located Jezreel in the valley known by that name north of the Mt. Hermon range: Goldman wrote that it is “generally identified with Ain Jalud, a copious spring at the foot of Mount Gilboa.” Jamieson wrote, “Jezreel on the northern slope of Gilboa, and at the distance of twenty minutes to the east, is a large fountain, and a smaller one still nearer; just the position which a chieftain would select, both on account of its elevation and the supply of water needed for his troops.” K&D further describe it as “a very large fountain, which issues from a cleft in the rock at the foot of the mountain on the north-eastern border of Gilboa, forming a beautifully limpid pool of about forty or fifty feet in diameter, and then flowing in a brook through the valley.”
PNASB = “proceeding,” NIV = “marched,” The Hebrew word has to do with “going over.”
QWith the exception of 1 Ki. 7:30, every instance of this word in the Hebrew Bible refers to the five leaders of the Philistine pentapolis. All other occurrences follow: Jos. 13:3; Jdg. 3:3; 16:5, 8, 18, 23, 27, 30; 1 Sam. 5:8, 11; 6:4, 12, 16, 18; 7:7; 6-7; 1 Chr. 12:20. Tsumura, notwithstanding, claimed that “sarn” and “sar” were interchangeable and argued against distinguishing between the Philistine “lords” and “officers” in this context, but I didn’t find his argument convincing.
RSymmachus = prosefugen moi (“fled to me”), reflecting the Targum reading, which is also the Vulgate reading. The LXX is the MT reading, though.
SThe consonantal Hebrew word here is the same as the one translated “those passing by/proceeding/marching” in the previous verse. It was used of the children of Israel, as I understand, in reference to their migration from Egypt to Canaan, especially their “passing over” the Red Sea and the Jordan River. The Canaanites called them “those who pass over,” but it wasn’t what the Jews called themselves.
TThis word is used in conjunction with being an officer over a thousand troops in 8:12, 17:18, 18:13 (which also mentions it as an office over 100 troops), thus the NASB, NIV, and ESV = “commanders” (although this isn’t the Hebrew root for “command” צוה).
ULit. “fell,” NASB = “deserted,” NIV = “left”
VAkish answers a question with a question, typical of Philistine custom in debate, which may be an indication he is aware that taking David into battle with him should not be done as a matter of course but will need to be deliberated. The sense is not so much a question of identity, even though his words are literally, “Is it not David?” It’s more like a statement of triumph, “Believe it or not, I’ve actually recruited Israel’s superstar warlord to fight for us against Saul!” It’s interesting how those on the other side of the argument turn this phrase against Akish in v.5, saying the same words (“Is it not David?”).
Wcf.
27:7 “Achish exaggerates a little, the better to convince his
confederates” ~Goldman
Tsumura, on the other hand,
commented
that it was a perfectly natural figure of speech to
describe a year and 4 months.
XLit. “were pained” cf. Aquila = parwxunqhsan (“were thrown into fits”), Symmachus = wrgisqhsan (“were enraged”), and Theodotian = equmwqhsan (“were angered”)
YAll the later Greek versions render this phrase closer to the MT with satan en polemw (“a satan [transliterating the Hebrew word rather than translating it as “adversary”] in battle”)
ZThe NIV followed the Vulgate here. The Hebrew pronoun is actually “these” not “our,” but the only men present were Philistine troops, so the sense is the same.
AANASB = “make himself acceptable,” NIV = “regain favor”
ABThe Greek, Latin, and Syriac versions, all with far older manuscripts than the oldest-known MT manuscripts, omit the reduplication of the subject “the Philistine officers,” but it doesn’t change the meaning at all, although Tsumurah suggested that the reduplication in the MT might imply a conference among the princes.
ACESV translates more literally “struck down.”
ADThis is a quote from 18:7 which reads the same except for the extra yod in the plural being switched between the two words for “thousand.” In both passages, the Qere recommended correcting the words for “thousands” that were missing the extra yod to the more proper plural spelling including the yod (בְּרִבְבֹתָיו), but it makes no change in meaning. The meaning of the number “ten thousand” is probably not intended to be precise, just as, when we transliterate the Greek word “myriad” into English, we don’t mean precisely 10,000; we just mean a huge number – more than is worth counting.
AESymmachus translated the euthus (“right”) early in this verse as well as this word with forms of arestos (“pleasing”).
AFNIV = “reliable,” ESV = “honest,” but the KJV “right/righteous” is more literal.
AGESV = “campaign” (This is the Hebrew and Greek word for “camp” not the word for “troops.”)
AHThe Hebrew and Greek adjective here is literally “good.” The same word is used at the end of the verse, but there the KJV is oddly paraphrastic, translating it as a verb “they favor.” The NASB is at least consistent in translating both “pleasing” (following Symmachus). NIV renders “pleased… approve,” and ESV renders “right … approve.” Same in v.9 except that there the ESV renders it “blameless.”
AIThis is the same Hebrew and Greek word that the KJV (and most other versions) translated “evil” in v.6.
AJThe KJV and NASB are oddly periphrastic here. The Hebrew and Greek read literally, “… and not do evil in the eyes of the lords...”
AKThis word was added by Brenton; it’s not in the Vaticanus or the LXX.
ALThe Hebrew and Greek read literally, “I was before the face of you.” NASB & NIV changed the verb to “came.” The ESV explained it well with “entered your service” – although they changed the verb, the preposition, and the noun to do it.
AMDavid picked up on the Philistine propensity to ask questions during debate.
ANIn v.4, the Philistine lords said that David couldn’t “go down” (ירד) to the battle, but now Akish is quoting them as saying David can’t “go up” (עלה) to the battle. Perhaps they are synonymous terms, but it makes me wonder if there was some development in the Philistines battle plan that involved more travel uphill (through the Mt. Hermon range?) as opposed to clashing with Israel down in the plain.
AOThe Septuagint and old Latin versions (but not the Vulgate) add another sentence which basically recaps stuff recorded in earlier verses which Akish has already said. It is a curious insertion, and it rings true to what I would expect in his parting words. Unfortunately the DSS is obliterated at this point, so we don’t know whether it would corraborate with the Septuagint or not.
APThe Septuagint and Syriac omit “in the morning” but the Vulgate kept it and inexplicably added “in the night.”