1 Samuel 29:4

4 But the chiefs of the P'lishtim became angry and said to him, "Have the man return and go back to the place you set aside for him. Don't let him go into battle with us, because on the battlefield he might become our enemy. What better way could there be for him to get reconciled with his lord than by [cutting off] the heads of our men?

1 Samuel 29:4 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 29:4

And the princes of the Philistines were wroth with him
With Achish, for giving such a character of David, and taking his part, in order to detain him, if possible:

and the princes of the Philistines said unto him, make this fellow
return;
they speak of him with contempt, and insist on it that Achish order him to turn back, and go no further with them:

that he may go again to his place which thou hast appointed him;
to Ziklag, the place that Achish had given him for his residence, ( 1 Samuel 27:6 ) ; they did not desire to have him sent to his own country, and to Saul, since should a reconciliation be made between them, he would be of great service to Saul against them:

and let him not go down with us to battle;
into the valley of Jezreel, where the Israelites had pitched:

lest in the battle he be an adversary to us:
and fall upon them behind, being in the rear, while they were engaging in the front with Israel:

for wherewith should he reconcile himself unto his master?
to Saul he had offended, and fled from:

[should it] not [be] with the heads of these men?
the Philistines; or unless by the heads of these men ^F13; he had no other way of making his peace with his master but by cutting off the heads of the Philistines; and therefore he was a dangerous man to take with them into the battle.

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FOOTNOTES:

F13 (yvarb alh) "nisi per capita", Noldius, p. 257. No. 1147.

1 Samuel 29:4 In-Context

2 The leaders of the P'lishtim were passing by with their hundreds and thousands; David and his men were bringing up the rear with Akhish.

3 The chiefs of the P'lishtim asked, "What are these Hebrews doing here?"Akhish answered the chiefs of the P'lishtim, "This is David, who was a servant of Sha'ul, king of Isra'el. He's been with me now for well over a year, and I haven't found anything wrong with him between the time he deserted to me and now."

4 But the chiefs of the P'lishtim became angry and said to him, "Have the man return and go back to the place you set aside for him. Don't let him go into battle with us, because on the battlefield he might become our enemy. What better way could there be for him to get reconciled with his lord than by [cutting off] the heads of our men?

5 This is David! They used to dance and sing about him, 'Sha'ul has killed his thousands, but David his tens of thousands'!"

6 So Akhish summoned David and said to him, "As ADONAI lives, you have been upright; and I myself would be more than pleased to have you go on campaign with me; because I haven't found anything wrong with you between the day you arrived and now. However, the chiefs don't trust you.