1 Samuel 29

David And His Men Rejected by Philistine Commanders

When King Achish commissioned David and his men to fight with him against Israel, the Philistine commanders’ incredulity prevented the future king from joining them in battle. 

What Are These Hebrews Doing?

Military Units

Vs. 1 - The Philistines brought all their military units together at Aphek while Israel was camped by the spring in Jezreel.

Vs. 3 - Then the Philistine commanders asked, “What are these Hebrews doing here?”

The four rulers who shared the military command with Achish were suspicious when they saw David with six hundred Israelites among their own forces. They well knew of David’s previous victories over the Philistines, and suspected that David and his men might turn against the Philistines during the battle.      - Don Fleming

No Fault

Vs. 3 - From the day he defected until today, I’ve found no fault with him

Many commentators note that, though Achish did not find fault, David had been consistently dishonest about his loyalties and his intentions.  He had used Philistine territory as a safe base from which to continue attacking the enemies of Israel. 

But others who study this passage describe David as a complete defector who was fully invested in the Philistine cause.  In this view, David was not deceptive but rather desperate and doubtful. 

Send Him Back

Vs. 4 - The Philistine commanders, however, were enraged with Achish and told him, “Send that man back and let him return to the place you assigned him.

The other Philistine kings could hardly believe how naive Achish was being. They saw that David would probably turn against them in the upcoming battle to regain acceptance with his commander, Saul. They proceeded to use the same phrase Achish had used to defend David, "Is this not David?" to impress on their gullible comrade what a danger David posed to them.                     - Thomas Constable

Go Back Quietly

What Have I Done?

Vs. 8 - “But what have I done?” David replied to Achish.

David was disappointed at this, for he had possibly planned to do what the Philistine leaders suspected he would do. At the same time, the Philistine leaders may have saved David from an act of folly, because if he had fought in war against his own people, they would hardly want to accept him as their king.       - Don Fleming

The author does not speculate on David’s intentions in this story.  Did he really want to fight against his own people?  Was he angry with them or with God?  Or was this all a continuation of his charade of loyalty to the Philistines so that they would continue to allow him to live in Ziklag? 

Early in The Morning

Vs. 11 - So David and his men got up early in the morning to return to the land of the Philistines.

The very same Philistines who will finally dispose of Saul (Chapter 31) are the ones who unwittingly rescue David.             - Brueggemann

David’s departure providentially prevented him from participating in the battle that would claim Saul’s life.     - Bryan E. Beyer

This chapter is an encouraging revelation of how God takes care of His own when they are under extreme stress and not entirely obedient. David had come close to running out of ideas about how he could preserve his life. The name of God does not appear in chapter 27 or in chapter 29, except in Achish’s references to Him, suggesting that God’s guidance was scarce while David was in Philistine territory. 

David had even resorted to deception to protect himself. Nonetheless God continued to guard His anointed servant, even in a foreign land. Even when we do not sense it, God cares for us, as a shepherd.        - Thomas Constable