1 Samuel 27:10

10 And Achish said , Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said , Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites.

1 Samuel 27:10 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 27:10

And Achish said, whither have ye made a road today?
&c.] Or whither had they rushed in, or poured in and spread themselves? or where had they made their excursion to fetch in the prey and booty they now brought?

and David said, against the south of Judah;
he meant against some people that lay to the south of the land of Judah, without it; but expressed himself so, that Achish might think he meant the southern parts of Judah within the country; which, though not a downright lie, was an equivocation, and made with a design to deceive; and was by no means agreeably to the character of David, nor to be defended nor imitated:

and against the south of the Jerahmeelites;
these were the descendants of Jerahmeel, the son of Hezron, the grandson of Judah, and so inhabited in the tribe of Judah, and very probably in the southern part of it, ( 1 Chronicles 2:9 1 Chronicles 2:25 1 Chronicles 2:26 ) ,

and against the south of the Kenites;
the posterity of Jethro; these, at least some of them, at the first seating of the children of Israel in the land of Canaan, went with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which lieth in the south of Arad, ( Judges 1:16 ) .

1 Samuel 27:10 In-Context

8 And David and his men went up , and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt.
9 And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive , and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned , and came to Achish.
10 And Achish said , Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said , Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites.
11 And David saved neither man nor woman alive , to bring tidings to Gath, saying , Lest they should tell on us, saying , So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines.
12 And Achish believed David, saying , He hath made his people Israel utterly to abhor him; therefore he shall be my servant for ever.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Whither...: or, Did you not make a road, etc
The King James Version is in the public domain.