1 Samuel 21:11

11 When the servants of Achish saw him, they said, "Can this be David, the famous David? Is this the one they sing of at their dances? Saul kills by the thousand, David by the ten thousand!"

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 priest said, "The sword of Goliath, the Philistine you killed at Oak Valley - that's here! It's behind the Ephod wrapped in a cloth. If you want it, take it. There's nothing else here."

10 "Oh," said David, "there's no sword like that! Give it to me!"

11 When the servants of Achish saw him, they said, "Can this be David, the famous David? Is this the one they sing of at their dances? Saul kills by the thousand, David by the ten thousand!"

12 When David realized that he had been recognized, he panicked, fearing the worst from Achish, king of Gath.

13 So right there, while they were looking at him, he pretended to go crazy, pounding his head on the city gate and foaming at the mouth, spit dripping from his beard.