1 Samuel 29:4

Of the fatted calf, and unleavened bread, which she set upon a table before them, in the best manner she could: then they rose up, and went away that night; that it might not be seen in what house they had been, and that they might get to the camp without being discovered by the Philistines, or known by the Israelites that they had been out.   John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible. 1 Samuel 29:1 INTRODUCTION TO FIRST SAMUEL 29 This chapter gives an account of David's going forth with the armies of the Philistines, 1 Samuel 29:1; of his being objected to by the princes of the Philistines, who insisted upon his being sent back, 1 Samuel 29:3; of the report Achish made of it to David, and the discourse that passed between them upon it, 1 Samuel 29:6; whereby David had a way unexpectedly opened for him to be freed from this service, which he gladly embraced, 1 Samuel 29:11. Ver. 1. Now the Philistines gathered together all their armies to Aphek,.... Not the city in the tribe of Judah of that name, Joshua 15:53; where the Philistines had a camp in the time of Samuel, 1 Samuel 4:1; but rather that in the tribe of Asher, Joshua 19:30; unless there was one of this name in the tribe of Issachar, not mentioned, since it seems to have been near Jezreel and Shunem, which were both in that tribe, Joshua 19:18; and the Israelites pitched by a fountain which is in Jezreel; in the valley of Jezreel; of which See Gill on "Joshua 19:18" and See Gill on "Hosea 1:5". 1 Samuel 29:2 Ver. 2.

29:1-5 David waited with a secret hope that the Lord would help him out of his difficulty. But he seems to have been influenced too much by the fear of man, in consenting to attend Achish. It is hard to come near to the brink of sin, and not to fall in. God inclined the princes of the Philistines to oppose David's being employed in the battle. Thus their dislike befriended him, when no friend could do him such a kindness.

And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him,.... With Achish, for giving such a character of David, and taking his part, in order to detain him, if possible: and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, make this fellow return; they speak of him with contempt, and insist on it that Achish order him to turn back, and go no further with them: that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him; to Ziklag, the place that Achish had given him for his residence, 1 Samuel 27:6; they did not desire to have him sent to his own country, and to Saul, since should a reconciliation be made between them, he would be of great service to Saul against them: and let him not go down with us to battle; into the valley of Jezreel, where the Israelites had pitched: lest in the battle he be an adversary to us: and fall upon them behind, being in the rear, while they were engaging in the front with Israel: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? to Saul he had offended, and fled from: should it not be with the heads of these men? the Philistines; or unless by the heads of these men (m); he had no other way of making his peace with his master but by cutting off the heads of the Philistines; and therefore he was a dangerous man to take with them into the battle. (m) "nisi per capita", Noldius, p. 257. No. 1147.

1 Samuel 29:4 . Make this fellow return to his place — To Ziklag, which they were content he should possess. For wherewith should he reconcile, &c. Should it not be with the heads of these men? — That is, of the Philistines. They reasoned wisely, according to the common maxims of prudence and true policy; for by such a course great enemies have sometimes been reconciled together. But the Divine Providence was no doubt concerned in suggesting these prudential considerations to their minds; for by this means David was delivered from that great strait and difficulty into which he had brought himself, and from which no human wisdom could have extricated him; either of being an enemy to, and fighting against his country, (as before observed,) or being false to his friend and to his trust. And, by the same providential incident, he was sent back time enough to recover his wives, and the wives and children of his men, and his all, from the Amalekites, which would have been irrecoverably lost if he had gone to this battle. And the kindness of God to David was the greater, because it would have been most just for God to have left him in those distresses into which his own sinful counsel had brought him.

Verses 4-6. - Angrily rejecting the testimony of Achish in David's favour, they say, Make this fellow (Hebrew, "the man") return, that he may go again to his place, i.e. to Ziklag. He shall not go down with us to battle. Though the Philistines marched up into the Israelite territory, yet they speak naturally of going down into battle, because while armies usually encamped on opposite ranges of hills, they descended into the plain between for the encounter. An adversary. Hebrew, "a satan," without the article, and so in 1 Chronicles 21:1 . As a proper name it has the article, as in the books of Job and Zechariah. Should he reconcile himself. The verb means, "to make himself pleasing," "to commend himself." The heads of these men, pointing to the Philistine ranks. David of whom they sang, etc. The song of the Jewish maidens seems to have been as well known in Philistia as in the land of Israel On the former occasion it had made the Philistines drive him away from the court of Achish ( 1 Samuel 21:11-15 ); here, too, it made them drive him from their army, but he was thereby saved from the painful necessity of making war on his own country, and returned just in time to rescue his wives and property. ACHISH SENDS DAVID AWAY (vers. 6-11). 1 Samuel 29:4

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 be an adversary to us: for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master? should it not be with the {c} heads of these men? (c) Would not Saul receive him to favour, if he would betray us?

Were wroth with him; were unsatisfied and offended with Achish for this intention and declaration. Make this fellow return: herein the wise and gracious providence of God appeared, both in helping him out of those snares and difficulties, out of which no human wit could have extricated him, but he must either have been, or have been thought, to be a traitor, and an ungrateful, unworthy person either to the one or to the other side; and moreover in giving him the happy opportunity of recovering his own and his all from the Amalekites, which had been irrecoverably lost if he had gone into this battle. And the kindness of God to David was the greater, because it had been most just for God to have left David in all those distresses into which his own sinful counsel and course had brought him. Of these men, i.e. of these our soldiers: they speak according to the rules of reason and true policy, for by this very course great enemies have sometimes been reconciled together.

4. the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him—It must be considered a happy circumstance in the overruling providence of God to rescue David out of the dangerous dilemma in which he was now placed. But David is not free from censure in his professions to Achish (1Sa 29:8), to do what he probably had not the smallest purpose of doing—of fighting with Achish against his enemies. It is just an instance of the unhappy consequences into which a false step—a departure from the straight course of duty—will betray everyone who commits it.

But the princes, i.e., the four other princes of the Philistines, not the courtiers of Achish himself, were angry with Achish, and demanded, "Send the man back, that he may return to his place, which thou hast assigned him; that he may not go down with us into the war, and may not become an adversary (satan) to us in the war; for wherewith could he show himself acceptable to his lord (viz., Saul), if not with the heads of these men?" הלוא, nonne, strictly speaking, introduces a new question to confirm the previous question. "Go down to the battle:" this expression is used as in 1 Samuel 26:10 ; 1 Samuel 30:24 , because battles were generally fought in the plains, into which the Hebrews were obliged to come down from their mountainous land. "These men," i.e., the soldiers of the Philistines, to whom the princes were pointing.