1 Samuel 27:3

3 David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

1 Samuel 27:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 27:3

And David dwelt with Achish at Gath
The metropolis of his kingdom, called, ( 1 Samuel 27:5 ) , the royal city:

he and his men, every man with his household;
or family; which they brought with them, to secure them from the malice of Saul; who in their absence might have destroyed them, as being the families of traitors and fugitives, and might be the more readily received by Achish, as he might hope for some advantage front them; and besides were pledges of their fidelity to him, and of their design to continue with him:

[even] David with his two wives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail
the Carmelitess, Nabal's wife;
who had been the wife of Nabal; of these (See Gill on 1 Samuel 25:43).

1 Samuel 27:3 In-Context

1 David, however, said to himself, “One of these days now I will 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 stop searching for me all over Israel, and I will slip out of his hand.”

2 So David set out with his six hundred men and went to Achish son of Maoch, the king of Gath.

3 David and his men settled in Gath with Achish. Each man had his family with him, and David had his two wives: Ahinoam of Jezreel and Abigail of Carmel, the widow of Nabal.

4 And when Saul learned that David had fled to Gath, he no longer searched for him.

5 Then David said to Achish, “If I have found favor in your eyes, let me be assigned a place in one of the outlying towns, so I can live there. For why should your servant live in the royal city with you?”