# 1 Samuel 27 📖: David Among the Philistines [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-1 Samuel Overview]] | [[1 Samuel 26]] | [[1 Samuel 28]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### David Aligns Himself with the Philistines [[#Verse 01.]] David thought to himself, “One of these days I’m going to be swept away by the hand of Saul! There is nothing better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Saul will despair of searching for me through all the territory of Israel and I will escape from his hand.” [[#Verse 02.]] So David left and crossed over to King Achish son of Maoch of Gath accompanied by his 600 men.  [[#Verse 03.]] David settled with Achish in Gath, along with his men and their families. David had with him his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelite and Abigail the Carmelite, Nabal’s widow.  [[#Verse 04.]] When Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he did not mount a new search for him. [[#Verse 05.]] David said to Achish, “If I have found favor with you, let me be given a place in one of the country towns so that I can live there. Why should your servant settle in the royal city with you?”  [[#Verse 06.]] So Achish gave him Ziklag on that day. (For that reason Ziklag has belonged to the kings of Judah until this very day.)  [[#Verse 07.]] The length of time that David lived in the Philistine countryside was a year and four months. [[#Verse 08.]] Then David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (They had been living in that land for a long time, from the approach to Shur as far as the land of Egypt.) [[#Verse 09.]] When David would attack a district, he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish.  [[#Verse 10.]] When Achish would ask, “Where did you raid today?” David would say, “The Negev of Judah” or “The Negev of Jerahmeel” or “The Negev of the Kenites.” [[#Verse 11.]] Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, “This way they can’t tell on us, saying, ‘This is what David did.’” Such was his practice the entire time that he lived in the country of the Philistines. [[#Verse 12.]] So Achish trusted David, thinking to himself, “He is really hated among his own people in Israel! From now on he will be my servant.” ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. David brought his six hundred men and their families to Gath (27:2-3). 2. Saul stopped searching for David once he heard David had fled to Gath (27:4). 3. Achish gave David the town of Ziklag (27:6), in the Negev, the southern dry region. 4. The note that Ziklag belonged to the kings of Judah "to this day" (27:6) shows the book was written after the kingdom divided. 5. David lived in Philistine territory for a year and four months (27:7). 6. David raided the Geshurites, Girzites, and Amalekites (27:8), enemies of Israel in the south. 7. David told Achish he had raided the southern parts of Judah and its allies (27:10), which was not true. 8. David left no survivors so no one could report what he was really doing (27:11). 9. Achish believed David had made himself so hated by Israel that he would serve him forever (27:12). 10. 1 Chronicles 12:1-7 lists warriors who joined David at Ziklag, including relatives of Saul from Benjamin. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the King who never gave in to despair or deceit. David told himself he would perish and lived a double life among the Philistines (27:1, 10-11), but Jesus trusted His Father fully, and no deceit was found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22). ## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. David said to himself that he would be swept away by Saul (27:1). How does what we tell ourselves affect our decisions? 2. David lived among the Philistines for over a year (27:7). How can a season of discouragement lead us into compromise? 3. David built his position on deception (27:10-12). Why does deception make life more complicated over time? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 1: David decides in his heart that Saul will destroy him unless he escapes to Philistine territory. - 📖 verse 6: Achish gives David the town of Ziklag. - 📖 verse 12: Achish trusts David, thinking he has made himself hated by Israel. ## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference - 🔗 [[Psalm 42#Verse 05.|Psalm 42:5]] - Why are you downcast, my soul? Hope in God. - 🔗 [[Proverbs 12#Verse 22.|Proverbs 12:22]] - The Lord detests lying lips. - 🔗 [[1 Chronicles 12#Verse 01.|1 Chronicles 12:1-7]] - Warriors join David at Ziklag. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 41#Verse 10.|Isaiah 41:10]] - Do not fear, for I am with you. - 🔗 [[1 Peter 02#Verse 22.|1 Peter 2:22]] - No deceit was found in Jesus' mouth. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[1 Samuel 27 - SOAP|Be Honest With Yourself]] ## 📂 Internal Notes