1 Samuel
Chapter 29
David, Excluded from the Battle
David, Excluded from the Battle1Now the Philistines mustered all their forces at Aphek; the Israelites were encamped beside the spring in Jezreel.
While the Philistine rulers went ahead of their groups of thousands and hundreds, David and his men were marching at the rear with Achish.
The Philistine chiefs asked: “Who are these Hebrews?” Achish replied to the Philistine chiefs: “This is David, servant of Saul, king of Israel. He has been with me for over a year, and since he fled to me up to the present day, I have found no fault in him.”
But the Philistine chiefs were angered at this and said to him: “Send that man back! Let him return to the place where you assigned him. He must not go down into battle with us lest he turn against us during the battle. How better could this fellow regain his master’s favor than by bringing him the heads of our men?
Is this not the David for whom they danced and sang: Saul has slain his thousands, but David his tens of thousands?”
So Achish called David and said: “As the Lord lives, you are honest, and I would like you to be with me in the camp, for I have found nothing wrong in you since you came to me up to the present day. But you displease the lords.
So it is better for you to leave and return quietly and do nothing to displease the Philistine lords.”
David asked Achish: “But what have I done? Have I done anything since I entered your service until now that would bar me from joining the fight against the enemies of my lord the king?”
Achish replied to David: “I myself hold nothing against you, but the Philistine chiefs are determined not to allow you to join us in battle.
Now, therefore, get up early tomorrow morning and leave with the soldiers who came with you.”
So David and his men left early in the morning and returned to the land of the Philistines. The Philistines, in the meantime, went on to Jezreel.
Commentaries
David Excluded from the Battle.
The narrative that began in 28:1ff continues. To understand the movements of the troops, one must consider the position of the Plain of Esdraelon, which runs from west to east, north of Carmel, separating the central tribes from those in the south. The Philistines have advanced from the coast and entered the plain from the west. Saul’s troops are moving down from Shechem toward the eastern part of the plain. They are gathering or retreating to the mountainous region south of Jezreel because they believe they are stronger in the mountains than on the plain. It is a full-scale campaign, more ambitious than the previous incursions from the coast into the hills through valleys and gorges. Each of the five Philistine princes assembles his troops, and there is a unified command. Mercenary soldiers were common at that time, but the battalion of deserters commanded by David cannot be trusted in battle against the Israelites. Unexpectedly, without any explicit intervention from God, David is spared from raising his hand against his people. The narrator takes this moment to gather foreign testimonies praising his hero, quoting the famous refrain of the Israelite girls once again.