1 Samuel 21:11

11 The servants of Akhish said to him, "Isn't this David, king of the land? Weren't they dancing and singing to each other, 'Sha'ul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands'?"

1 Samuel 21:11 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 21:11

And the servants of Achish said unto him
Who knew who David was, and perceiving that he was respected by Achish:

[is] not this David the king of the land?
of the land of the Philistines; so some render the words, "the king of this land" ^F17; which belongs unto him for his conquest of Goliath; for this was what was proposed by him, that whoever was the conqueror should possess the kingdom; and seeing it belongs to him, O Achish, why dost thou admit him to court? thou wilt be driven from the throne, and we shall be his servants, and not thine ^F18: but rather they mean the king of the land of Israel, having heard that he was anointed king by Samuel, and was to succeed Saul; or rather, they called him so because he led out the armies of Israel as their general, and being victorious was more respected than even Saul was; for they had heard what the women sung in their songs as follows:

did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul hath
slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands?
which are the burden of their song, ( 1 Samuel 18:7 ) ; and from whence the servants of Achish concluded, that he was in greater authority or honour, and in greater esteem than Saul their king was.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 (Urah Klm) "rex hujus regionis", Vatablus.
F18 Vid. Jarchium & Jesaiam in loc.

1 Samuel 21:11 In-Context

9 The cohen said, "The sword of Golyat the P'lishti you killed in the Elah Valley, is over there behind the ritual vest, wrapped in a cloth. If you want it, take it; it's the only one here." David said, "There's nothing like it; give it to me."

10 The same day, David took flight from Sha'ul and went to Akhish king of

11 The servants of Akhish said to him, "Isn't this David, king of the land? Weren't they dancing and singing to each other, 'Sha'ul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands'?"

12 These remarks were not lost on David, and he became very much afraid of Akhish king of Gat.

13 So, as they were watching, he changed his behavior and acted like a madman when they had hold of him, scratching marks on the doors of the city gate and drooling down his beard.